Candy Cane Oreo Truffles

I made 100 of these minty, chocolaty truffles last year for a holiday party, and they disappeared in minutes! They aren't true truffles since the inside is more like a moist cake than a silky ganache, making it have an unexpected texture inside. For the relatively few ingredients and simplicity, they make a great festive treat! If you are running short on time, roll it in cocoa powder instead of giving it a dark chocolate coating. However, if you do a dark chocolate coating, you can decorate them! Some decoration ideas are: crushed candy cane, edible glitter, a pinch of the cookie crumbs, chocolate drizzle, mint leaves, etc.

Ingredients

16 oz candy cane Oreo cookies

8 oz cream cheese, room temperature

8 oz finely chopped dark chocolate or 3 tbsp cocoa powder (for coating)

Directions

1.  In a food processor, grind the Oreo cookies until they are completely crushed.

2.  In a large bowl, mix the crushed cookies and cream cheese until it is well blended and there are no loose crumbs or streaks of cream cheese.  Form 1 tbsp size balls (~50).  Refrigerate the balls for at least 1 hour, until they are firm.

3.  Coat the truffles with one of the methods below.

Option 1 (Cocoa powder):  Roll each chilled ball in cocoa powder.  Transfer to an airtight container and store in fridge.

Option 2 (Dark chocolate shell):  Place 3.5 oz of dark chocolate in a small microwave bowl.  Heat at 15 second increments until the chocolate is mostly melted (stir every 15 seconds).  Once it is mostly melted, mix in the remaining 0.5 oz of dark chocolate and stir until they melt.  Dip the truffles one at a time in the melted chocolate, gently shake off the excess, and transfer to a parchment sheet to set.  If you are going to place a decoration on top, do so while the chocolate is still soft so it sticks.  If the chocolate thickens too much while you are dipping, microwave it for 10 seconds to bring the temperature up slightly.  Once all of the truffles are dipped, let the coating set for at least 3 hours.  Transfer to an airtight container and store in the fridge.