The simplest things can often be the best.
And I’m glad my husband reminded me of this concept as it came time to select a dessert recipe for Easter dinner this weekend.
To be honest, I have a knack for overcomplicating things for myself in the kitchen. This tendency comes from a lethal combination of enthusiasm, the desire to please and a bit of culinary naiveté.
Case in point: On New Year’s Eve, we hosted our first big dinner party. The most I’ve ever cooked for previously was a grand total of four. Was my first instinct to select a basic menu that I had made before? Nope. Instead, I triumphantly decided to try my hand at a prime rib for all of our 14 guests.
Thankfully, my hubby reigned me in on that idea. Instead, we opted for something a little more manageable: his famous sausage and veggie pasta, and my breaded eggplant. Everyone seemed satisfied. And as an added bonus, I avoided the massacre of an expensive slab of meat.
With this in mind, I picked one of my tried, tested and true recipes for Easter: Super Simple Oreo Cheesecake Truffles. Don’t let the word “truffle” deceive you. These rich, chocolately morsels could not be easier with only THREE ingredients.
Oreo cookies. Cream cheese. Melted chocolate wafer. That’s it. Oh, and did I mention it’s no bake?
- The raw ingredients
All you have to do is toss a box of Oreos into the food processor, and combine the crumbs with a block of cream cheese. Roll into bit-sized balls. Refrigerate, then dip into melted chocolate.
The truffles end up looking like something you could have picked up at Godiva. And they are absolutely delicious! Who doesn’t like Oreo cheesecake?
I think my new kitchen mantra will be: keep it simple. I’ll let you know how that goes. More blog posts to come!
Super Simple Oreo Cheesecake Truffles
(I saw this recipe a couple of years ago on the Chocolate Fool blog, but it originated from the great Bakerella)
Ingredients:
• 1 package Oreo cookies
• 8oz. package cream cheese (softened)
• About 5 cups of white or dark chocolate melting wafers
Directions:
1. Break Oreo cookies in half and put them into your food processor. Pulse on high until they are ground into fine crumbs.
2. Place softened cream cheese in a mixing bowl. I cut the cream cheese brick into small chunks. Using a hand or stand mixer on medium speed, add in the Oreo crumbs until combined. Mixture doesn’t have to be smooth. Tiny flecks of cookie give the truffles texture.
3. Roll the mixture into 1 inch balls and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Refrigerate for at least an hour.
4. Start melting the chocolate over a double boiler. (I boil water in a sauce pan. Once boiling, I place a metal mixing bowl on top with about two cups of wafers. Turn heat down and stir until chocolate is completely smooth)
5. Dip each ball in chocolate, tap off the excess and place onto parchment paper to cool. I’ve tried a variety of different utensils for dipping. I like chopsticks the best. A plastic fork with the middle tines cut out also works. You have to work quickly because the chocolate hardens, and the cheesecake balls get mushy. Work with smaller batches of melted chocolate, it’s easier.
6. Drizzle some contrasting chocolate on top of truffles, if desired.
7. Refrigerate overnight. Enjoy!
- Into the food processor
- Pre-chocolate dipped truffles. They look so naked…
- Now that’s better!
- Place them on to the baking sheet, then straight to the fridge!
- Voila! A truffle is born!
- Yum!
Baking By Night 