Holiday Oreo Truffles

As the holidays approach, the grocery stores will fill up and the baking aisle will be crowded with people trying to prepare their favorite Christmas desserts. During this time of year, things can get super stressful for everyone. That's one of the reasons I love this simple and quick Holiday Oreo Truffles recipe. The truffle is a great treat, whether you're setting them out for company on Christmas Eve or bringing them to your coworker's house for the annual holiday party. The great thing about these is they can be made the day of, or a couple of days in advance and kept in the refrigerator or freezer. This recipe is also no-bake, which is such a sigh of relief for people. The use of stoves and ovens brings along the risk of overcooking and burning, but not with this one! Even if you have your Christmas menu set, you might want to bookmark this one for later use, as the red and green (or white like mine) colors can be changed to match any holiday (think pastels for Easter and red, white and blue for the Fourth of July!). 

HOW TO MAKE CHRISTMAS OREO BALLS

You Will Need:

• 1 (15.35oz) package of Oreos (any flavor, double stuffed or regular both work)
• 8oz cream cheese, softened
• 12oz white melting chocolate (not chocolate chips, but high quality melting chocolate)
• Red and green food coloring (oil-based)
• Sprinkles, if desired

Directions:

1. Place the Oreos in a food processor and blend until fine crumbs are formed.
2. Mix in the cream cheese until a sticky dough has formed.
3. Roll about 1-1 1/2 tablespoons of dough into a ball and set aside on a plate in a container that you can fit in the freezer. Freeze the balls for at least 30 minutes.
4. Place the white melting chocolate in a small microwave safe bowl and heat for 30 seconds at a time, stirring in between, until melted.
5. If you are adding food coloring, add a few droplets of food coloring to the melted white chocolate.

Dipping the Oreo Balls:

1. Cover a baking sheet with wax paper. Remove Oreo balls from the freezer. Drop them into the chocolate and roll  them around carefully with a fork.
2. There is likely one part that is flatter, which was the bottom of the ball when it sat in the freezer. Slide the fork underneath the flatter part and lift. Slide the bottom of the fork across the edge of the bowl to let the excess chocolate drip off, then set it on top of the wax paper.
3. Once on the wax paper, add sprinkles if desired.
4. The chocolate sets pretty quickly from there. Once you've dipped them all, refrigerate for at least 10 minutes to set.

MY REVIEW

I knew off the bat that I was going to like this turnout, as I am a huge Oreo fan. The inside of these resembles the soft Oreo in milk texture and taste that is loved by so many. This is a perfect recipe for when you forgot that you have to bring something to the bake sale, or when company is coming last minute and you need to throw something together. Because of the minimal ingredients and steps, the recipe moved quickly and in no time, I had this dessert ready. With that being said, I did run into a problem or two. For the chocolate, I used Ghirardelli white baking chocolate and I bought red meltables from Michael's craft store. I couldn't find any oil-based food coloring, so I bought chocolate that was already colored. This was a good test since half of my chocolate was the high quality kind that was mentioned in the recipe and the other half was the type that the reader is told to stay away from. And let me tell you, it made a world of a difference. With the red meltables, the chocolate didn't stay wet long at all. By the time I dipped four and tried to put Christmas sprinkles on them, they were already dry and the sprinkles rolled right off. The chocolate also created a hard, thick coating around the Oreo ball which I didn't love. Again, I deviated from the recipe and this was my fault. When using the higher quality chocolate as directed, it covered the ball in a thin chocolate layer and stayed wetter longer, allowing me to dip them all and get the sprinkles on. As expected, this was one of the messier recipes I reviewed. Although I said it was quick and simple, that does not mean your counter won't need a good wiping after. In terms of the recipe and directions, it was pretty spot on besides the size and amount they made. The original recipe says it will make 24 and to make the balls 1 or 1 1/2 tablespoons big. I used a tablespoon measuring spoon and I only got 18 Oreo balls. If you are making these for a big crowd, you'll want to either lessen the size or use more Oreos and cream cheese. Besides that, I really enjoyed this recipe. There's just so many things you can do with it, including letting kids design and decorate their own as an activity. Overall, I'd give this recipe a 9.5/10. Versatile, easy to follow, and soooo tasty!

Original recipe: https://thecozycook.com/no-bake-oreo-truffles-cookbook-giveaway/#wprm-recipe-container-23104