2-holiday cookie dough truffles that will blow your mind

Meet your new favorite sweet treat! These holiday cookie truffles have a secret ingredient that takes them to the next level. “Lick the spoon”, delicious cookie dough packaged in a chocolate shell. Go ahead and indulge— they’re packed with nutrients!

My 12-year old boys are on to me when it comes to baking. They realize there’s always a possibility that spinach, sweet potato, or cauliflower could be hiding somewhere, deep, dark, in the ingredients. Nothing is off-limits for me to at least try.

Like the time I tried to pass buttercream frosting off that was made with half butter, half steamed cauliflower. If you’ve ever steamed cauliflower, you know it’s the scent is anything but subtle and it outed itself immediately.

I’ll admit, not one of my better ingredient sneak attempts, but what if it had worked— we could eat buttercream frosting for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and feel good about it!

Even if my family can’t directly identify the healthy culprit, they know when something’s off and they’re not afraid to let me know. 

So, you can imagine my satisfaction and sheer delight when, to this day, they still haven’t discovered the base of these cookie dough truffles. 

It’s not a veggie, it’s not even a new concept in baking, but it is a bold substitution, nonetheless.

I didn’t set out to use them. In fact, I had this cookie dough truffle recipe nailed. My family had already taste-tested and emphatically approved. The truffles were blog ready!

Then, I was in my pantry, pulling ingredients to make another batch and something caught my eye. An ingredient I haven’t used in baking in quite some time.

The idea to try them as the truffle foundation popped into my head and immediately my wheels started turning. Could they work? Is this the stinky cauliflower buttercream incident all over again?

Despite my doubts, I couldn’t let it go, and decided to accept the challenge. It’s like they were goading me and I couldn’t refuse. 

It was definitely worth trying.

secret ingredient in cookie dough truffles

Chickpeas.

Yep, that’s right. The foundation of these cookie dough truffles is chickpeas. This idea may not be new to you if you’ve made chickpea chocolate chip cookies before.

When I have, the consistency was never right. The flavor was fine—after all, melted chocolate chips make anything taste good, right? 

However, there was little structure. It’s like the cookies needed—oh, I don’t know—to have a hard chocolate shell wrapped around them to keep the batter secure? Something like a truffle? Hmmm…

Although the texture of pureed chickpeas is perfect for cookie dough, you will have to get over one small obstacle while making them—their obvious chickpea smell. 

At one point in the process, you may question how you’ll pull off amazing truffles when the scent of chickpeas waft from your food processor. It’s nothing like steamed cauliflower but it may prompt doubt. 

Trust me. The scent dissipates when you add a touch of butter, vanilla, and chocolate chips. Even more once the batter chills. So hang tight, have faith, and think positive thoughts as you push the puree button. 

Why chickpeas?

Chickpeas offer many benefits including improved digestion, help with weight management and reduced risk of certain diseases like heart disease, cancer or diabetes. They’re also packed with protein and regulate blood sugar. 

Compare that with using white flour and sugar which are typical cookie dough ingredients. Those ingredients spike blood sugar levels and provide no additional nutrients like fiber, protein or vitamins and minerals.

So, if you can have a mouth-watering outcome, using the chickpeas versus the traditional ingredients, why wouldn’t you? You’re welcome 😉

how to make cookie dough truffles

After the success of trying chocolate chip cookie dough truffles, my mind raced with endless possibilities.

The foundation of this recipe was solid and I couldn’t help imagining other flavors to expand my cookie dough repertoire.

Thoughts of gingerbread or oatmeal raisin truffles danced in my head. I decided on sugar cookie dough with white chocolate and holiday sprinkles which will be a festive addition to any dessert tray.

tips for prepping the chickpeas

Rinse, drain, and add the chickpeas to a bowl of water to soak. After an hour, move the chickpeas around with your hand to release them from their shells. The shells will float to the top of the water, scoop the shells out with a slotted spoon and drain the chickpeas. Removing the shells provides extra creaminess. 

To make the truffles, you can use a high powered blender or food processor to make the dough. 

Tip: if using a blender, add half of the chickpeas with the wet ingredients. Blend, and add the remaining chickpeas. This ensures the chickpeas don’t clog up the blending process. Remove the wet batter from the blender and mix in the sweetener and flour until smooth. 

steps to make chocolate chip cookie dough truffles

• Measure out all of the ingredients.
• Prep chickpeas (rinse, de-shell using tips above).
• Place butter and swerve brown (subs in notes) in a small saucepan. Cook on low, whisking continuously until the swerve starts to dissolve, about 2-3 minutes.
• Before it starts to harden, quickly add butter and swerve to a blender or food processor. If using a blender, add butter/swerve combo, 1/2 chickpeas, milk, and vanilla. Blend. Add remaining chickpeas. Blend, Pour into a bowl, and mix in flour. Add chocolate chips. If using a food processor, add all ingredients at once except chips, puree, add batter to a bowl. Mix in chips.
• Refrigerate for an hour. 
• Scoop into truffle balls (see tips below). 
• Freeze for 1-2 hours.
• Dip in chocolate (see tips).
• Decorate.
• Store in refrigerator.

steps to make sugar cookie dough truffles

• Measure out all of the ingredients.
• Prep chickpeas (rinse, de-shell using tips above).
• Melt butter and white chocolate chips in the microwave until smooth (do this in 30-second intervals, normally it takes 2x’s)
• Place the chocolate/butter mixture in a blender or food processor. If you’re using a blender, add chickpeas, lemon juice, milk. and vanilla. Blend until smooth and transfer to a bowl. Add Swerve confectioners and flour. If you’re using a food processor, add all ingredients at once. Process until smooth.
• Refrigerate for an hour. 
• Scoop into truffle balls (see tips below). 
• Freeze for 1-2 hours.
• Dip in chocolate (see tips).
• Decorate.
• Store in refrigerator.

how to dip cookie dough truffles

Don’t be intimidate by dipping chocolate—the following steps make it very easy! Check out the video below.

• Chill your dough for an hour in the fridge.
• Take out and, using a cookie dough scoop, scoop out the dough and level it off with the back of a knife. Release the dough ball on a plate.
• Once all of the balls have been created, place them in the freezer to harden, about 1-2 hours.
• Using the double boiler method, place the chocolate and cocoa butter in a bowl over a small pot with an inch of barely simmering water. Whisk until the chocolate/butter is melted and smooth.
• Keep the bowl on the pot with the heat on low. Place parchment paper next to the stove. Have a fork, spoon, toothpick, and coconut oil close to the stove.
• Remove the truffle balls from the freezer.
• Dip a ball into the chocolate. Pour chocolate over the ball until it’s covered.
• Lay the ball on top of a fork, lightly tap your wrist to remove excess chocolate. Scrap the fork against the side of the pot, then slide the truffle ball onto the parchment (use the toothpick to guide it off the fork).
• Repeat until all of the truffles are complete.

You can decorate with sprinkles right after you place the ball on the parchment or wait to decorate when all of the balls are done by drizzling extra chocolate over top then adding sprinkles.

decorating truffles

Get creative here! My favorite ways to decorate truffles include:

• Drizzle melted chocolate using a fork or drizzle bottle
• Finely chopped toasted nuts
• Sprinkles
• Shredded coconut
• Cocoa powder

tips for making cookie dough truffles

• Pour the butter and Swerve brown quickly into the blender or food processor so it doesn’t start to harden.
• If blending, use 1/2 of the chickpeas with wet ingredients, blend until smooth, then add the remaining chickpeas and blend. This way your blender won’t jam up.
• Let cookie dough chill in the fridge (30-60 mins.) before scooping into balls.
• Use a cookie scoop (highly recommended) or rounded tablespoon to create truffle balls. See the video below.
• Use cocoa butter versus coconut oil for the chocolate shell because it doesn’t melt as quickly.
• Make sure truffle balls are frozen before dipping. Have parchment, a fork, a spoon, and a toothpick close by before taking the balls out of the freezer to start dipping.
• Keep the chocolate warm while you’re dipping. Keep it on the double-boiler with temp. on low or place a folded towel on a griddle or waffle oven. Place the bowl of chocolate on the towel and keep the griddle on low.
• Keep coconut oil close to dipping chocolate and add a teaspoon if it thickens and becomes hard to roll balls.

chocolate chip cookie dough truffles