Cocoanut Creams

Five ingredients, no cooking, no thermometer, no fuss. Cocoa powder and powdered sugar sifted together, blended with milk and vanilla, then studded with walnuts and rolled into small balls. A final dusting in the reserved cocoa-sugar mixture gives them a classic truffle finish.

These are the kind of old-fashioned candy that showed up at church socials and bake sales before everyone owned a stand mixer. The mixing happens in a bowl with a spoon, and the shaping happens with your hands. Nothing fancy, nothing complicated.

The cocoa-to-sugar ratio here produces a candy that leans bittersweet rather than cloyingly sweet. Two cups of powdered sugar sounds like a lot until you factor in ¾ cup of unsweetened cocoa balancing it out.

Pro Tips

• Sift the cocoa and powdered sugar together thoroughly before adding the milk. Lumps in dry cocoa are stubborn and show up as bitter pockets in the finished candy.
• Add the milk gradually and stir as you go. The mixture should be stiff enough to hold a ball shape. Too much milk and they flatten out.
• Chill the mixture for 15 to 20 minutes if it’s too soft to roll. Cold dough shapes much easier.
• Store in the fridge in a single layer. These soften at room temperature and the cocoa coating absorbs moisture from the candy.

Variations

• Use pecans or almonds instead of walnuts for a different nut flavor.
• Roll finished balls in shredded coconut for a chocolate-coconut combination.
• Add a pinch of espresso powder to the cocoa mixture for a mocha version with deeper chocolate flavor.