Date, Coconut & Walnut Truffles

This is yet another Christmas recipe from our childhood. Our mom used to make these all the time back when we were growing up and she would bust out batches of cookies for the holidays. This is another oldie that we decided needed to be resurrected this year. The name on our mom’s recipe card for these is “No-Bake Meatball Cookies” but they’re not cookies at all, so we took the liberty of renaming them ;-) we actually Googled “meatball cookies” and they are something different than these babies, so we're not sure where the name comes from. Even though our mom has this on one of her many “favorite” index cards, we also found it in the old ladies auxiliary cookbook that the Pecan Tassies came from. So many wonderful old treasures of recipes in that book! And these are no exception.

These truffles (we've decided that’s probably a standby description for them) are packed with dates, walnuts, coconut and miniature marshmallows, are held together with sweetened condensed milk, and then rolled in a mixture of ground nuts and coconut. They are sweet, rich, and amazingly rich. We absolutely love dates (probably even more than we love figs, which is a LOT), so these are right up our alley. They are different and a great treat to keep around during the holidays. Plus, they’re nostalgic, so big-time bonus!

Three years ago: Chocolate Chip Tea Cookies and Basic Biscotti

Date, Coconut, Walnut & Marshmallow Truffles

Yield: 96 to 120 truffles (depending on size) These truffles are so straightforward to mix and tasty!

• 3 cups (351 g) chopped walnuts
• 2 cups (168 g) graham cracker crumbs
• 2 cups (160 g) shredded coconut
• 1 pound (453.59 g) miniature marshmallows
• 1 pound (453.59 g) chopped dried dates
• 28 ounces (793.79 ml) sweetened condensed milk
• Extra coconut & ground nuts for rolling

• Combine the walnuts, graham cracker crumbs, coconut, marshmallows, dried dates and sweetened condensed milk in a large bowl with a wooden spoon until mixture is evenly moistened. In a shallow plate, mix together the extra coconut and ground nuts. Roll heaping teaspoons into balls and roll them in the coconut/ground nut mixture. Place on parchment-lined baking sheets to dry, at least 4 to 6 hours. Store in an airtight container.

• Yield: 96 to 120 truffles (depending on size)
• Prep: 10 minutes
• Total: 10 minutes

Ingredients

• 3 cups ( 351 g ) chopped walnuts
• 2 cups ( 168 g ) graham cracker crumbs
• 2 cups ( 160 g ) shredded coconut
• 1 pound ( 453.59 g ) miniature marshmallows
• 1 pound ( 453.59 g ) chopped dried dates
• 28 ounces ( 793.79 ml ) sweetened condensed milk
• Extra coconut & ground nuts for rolling

Method

1. Combine the walnuts, graham cracker crumbs, coconut, marshmallows, dried dates and sweetened condensed milk in a large bowl with a wooden spoon until mixture is evenly moistened. In a shallow plate, mix together the extra coconut and ground nuts. Roll heaping teaspoons into balls and roll them in the coconut/ground nut mixture. Place on parchment-lined baking sheets to dry, at least 4 to 6 hours. Store in an airtight container.