Orange Cream Filled Chocolates for Halloween

Orange Cream Filled Chocolates 
for 

HALLOWEEN!

It's almost HALLOWEEN! With just a few days left 'till the big, delicious, candy filled night we know you're on the hunt for the perfect holiday treat. Easy enough that you can have it prepared for a party of thirty little bloodsuckers by Thursday, and tasty enough that the accompanying moms will think you're a chocolatier-ing badass. simple to make and all you need are a few candy molds. This recipe makes about 50 small chocolates and  can be made 'raw' by omitting the cooked beet juice for color. Its vegan, gluten-free, and free of common allergens. Did I mention we nailed the creamy, whipped orange cream texture? Its like a fluffy cloud of Halloween goodness. Though I'm sure they'd be great any time of the year. For a little added spookiness, sprinkle a tiny bit of turmeric on the top of each chocolate to add that festive orange color.

Ingredients:
3 cups shredded unsweetened coconut
2 tablespoons agave nectar
1 tablespoon orange extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup softened coconut oil
1/3 cup almond milk
12 ounces chocolate
optional:
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
3 tablespoons beet juice
(for color)

You'll also need candy molds for 50 small chocolates. You can do it in sections if you only have one or two molds, but it will take a lot longer. Molds are cheap and can be found at specialty cooking stores, places like Target, and online. 
Use a Halloween mold if you have it to make 'em even spoooookier!

Instructions:
Using the double-boiler method to keep the chocolate raw and from burning, being to melt all 12 ounces of chocolate. While the chocolate melts down, begin the filling.
In a food processor combine the coconut, agave, orange and vanilla extracts, coconut oil, and almond milk. Mix about 2 minutes until uniform in texture, whipped and fluffy. Now, optionally, you can color the filling like we did. You can alternately leave it plain and the cream will be whitish. Dye the filling by adding 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric and 3 tablespoons of beet juice, which we got by boiling one small beet in about 1/2 cup water until the water was deep red in color. You can also try using saffron instead of turmeric but it is very expensive.
Once the colors have been added (or not), put filling into a piping bag or a regular zippered plastic baggie with the corner cut and set aside.
For filling candy molds, there are two ways you can go. You can:

1) Use a small paintbrush to coat each candy mold with chocolate. Let harden in the fridge or freezer. Remove your hardened molds from the fridge. Use your piping bar or plastic bag with removed corner to squeeze filling into the hardened molds, filling them to ALMOST full, leaving just enough room for one more layer of chocolate to seal it all together. Place back in the fridge or freezer to set the filling, then remove and use the paintbrush to add on a final, sealing layer of chocolate to the top of molds. You can then use a spatula to scrape across the bottom, leveling out the newly applied chocolates so the bottoms are completely flat. (Or you can skip that step and just tap the molds onto the tables, leveling the chocolate- you don't need perfectly flat bottoms for them to be delicious!) Let cool, harden and set once again.
(We used & prefer this method. You are more in control this way.)

2) Fill each small mold about halfway with melted chocolate. Immediately pipe filling on top of the half filled molds, using your finger to apply a slight pressure to push the filling into the chocolate. Add just enough filling to fill the mold about 75%. The goal here is not to push too hard, so the filling doesn't push through the chocolate 'seal' and can be seen. Apply just enough pressure to force some of the chocolate to displace itself up the sides of the mold around the filling. Add a little finishing chocolate to cover the filling in the molds, use a spatula to scrape across the bottom, leveling out the newly applied chocolates so the bottoms are completely flat. (Or you can skip that step and just tap the molds onto the tables, leveling the chocolate- you don't need perfectly flat bottoms for them to be delicious!)
Allow to cool to and set.

Once the chocolates have all set and hardened, pop them out of the candy molds-carefully! It can be easy to break these fragile little guys if you apply too much pressure when releasing them from the molds. 
Once free from the molds, chocolates can be store in or out of the refrigerator for a few weeks. Just make sure they don't get too warm or they'll melt on ya'. Stores well in a sealed plastic bag or glass jar.
Makes about 50 chocolates. Enjoy!

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