Running to Bake: Christmas Baking Series #3: Candy Cane Oreo Cheesecake Truffles

I just had an AMAZING weekend. I mean, it was seriously, seriously awesome. Not only did I get to check a few items off my Winter Bucket List AND reached one of my goals for 2013, but I got to reconnect with old friends, spend time with hubby and the fam and just relax a bit. It was one of those perfect winter weekends. Oh, and I also made these amazing truffles as part of my Christmas Baking Series, but we'll get to that in a sec.

So we have this one set of family friends. Our parents have known each other forever, and so have the kids. We make a point at LEAST one time a year to get together and visit. Usually it is over the holidays when things are TOTALLY crazy and hectic, so the visit is short but sweet. THIS year, we manages to wrangle all the girls together to meet downtown for drinks and giggles. We met up in the Distillery District which was PACKED because of a Christmas Market, so the only place we could find to eat was OUTSIDE. It ended up being awesome and we had a totally valid excuse to drink hot chocolate and Baileys (check that off the bucket list) A totally awesome afternoon.

Moms and their girls!

On Sunday, it was hubby's family Christmas with the WHOLE fam jam. His family is crazy huge. With 10 Aunts and Uncles, plus their kids and their KIDS kids, there are A LOT of people. They are loud and fun and I love them. I am so so grateful to have married into such a wonderful family. Hubs and I also got the added "luck" to be Santa and Mrs. Claus for the kids, which turned out to be super fun.

THEN to top it all off, I came up with this concoction below and made some SERIOUSLY amazing truffles. I've been making basic Oreo Cheesecake Truffles for quite some time now, but when I was shopping on the weekend I found CANDY CANE OREOS...

SO, I formulated these Candy Cane Oreo Cheesecake Truffles in my head and they are FANTASTIC. Like, seriously amazing. They are cheesecakey and candy caney and truffly. I could eat these all day.

Candy Cane Oreo Cheesecake Truffles

By: ME!

Ingredients:

1 regular sized pack of Candy Cane Oreos OR Regular Ones

20-30 mini candy canes

1 brick of cream cheese (8oz)

1 tsp peppermint extract

3 cups milk chocolate chips

Method:

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.

In a food processor, combine the Oreo cookies and 15 candy canes (NOTE: If you don't have the Candy Cane Oreos, combine regular Oreos with about 20-25 mini candy canes) I have a tiny food processor so I had to do mine in a couple batches.

In a large bowl, combine the crushed candy canes/Oreos with the cream cheese and peppermint extract. You could be fancy and use a mixer, but I just got in there with my hands. I find it combines more evenly when I do it that way.

When everything is combined (it will look like dirt) roll the mixture into 1/2" balls and place them on your baking sheet. You can really make them as large or small as you want, but I like this size. There is enough oomph to them, but they aren't too big. When you're done rolling (should make about 36) put the baking sheet into the freezer for about 15-20 mins.

Before you take out the balls (is it sad that I giggled when I wrote that?) take the rest of your candy canes (you only need 5-6) fold them up in wax paper and smash them with a hammer. Next, put about 1.5 cups of the chocolate chips into a microwaveable bowl and heat for 1 &1/2 min in the microwave, taking out at 30 second intervals to stir. Do this until chocolate is completely melted. Line another baking sheet with aluminum foil.

One by one, dip the truffle balls into the chocolate and make sure they are totally coated. Using a fork, scoop out the truffle from underneath. This allows the chocolate to drip through the fork. Place the truffle on the baking sheet and sprinkle with the crushed candy cane. Continue until the chocolate in the bowl starts to cool. Add the remaining chocolate and repeat the melting & dipping process.

When you're done, place the truffles in the freezer. If you have any left over chocolate, mix in the rest of your crushed candy cane (or crush more), mix and pour onto a lined baking sheet and put in the freezer. VOILA - Candy Cane Bark (winter bucket list item # 2 checked off!)