The unoffical theme of Christmas Balls

The unoffical theme of Christmas Balls

Balls are an essential (and perhaps under-appreciated) part of Christmas.  Theres the colorful balls you hang on the tree.  The balls made of snow that you get to throw at unsuspecting and unprepared family members.  And the balls that make their appearances at holiday parties: cheese balls, meatballs, rum balls...

But I have for you today, my friends, the best holiday balls of all: Oreo Balls.  Im not sure where this recipe originated, though Im sure someone claims credit (and, to whoever that person might be, I am not at all greatly apologetic for not giving you your due).  My sister taught me to make them years ago; her roommate showed her...you get the idea.

This recipe contains three ingredients.  Thats right, THREE. It also requires no measuring.  And, these tasty little buggers blow people away every time I bring them to a party.  Though, when I bring them to a party, I usually try to class it up a little bit and call them something like "Oreo truffles" or "Oreo cheesecake bites."

The truth is...theyre balls.  Cheap, easy, fast.  But, oh, so delicious.  (And, also, perfect for any time of year.  Though if I allowed myself to make them year-round, they would be a staple in my diet, and my waist would not thank me.)

Heres what you need: Oreos, cream cheese, and almond bark (you buy it in the same place you buy the chocolate chips).  If you want to get fancy, you can also buy white chocolate almond bark for decorating.

Put the whole package of Oreos in a bowl and mash them up.  I used a potato masher (mostly because it made for a better picture than a spoon).  They can still be pretty chunky...the goal is just to not have any whole cookies left.

Next, add a whole block of cream cheese.

Then, mix the cookies and the cream cheese with a hand mixer.  At first, youre going to say, "What the heck is she talking about?!? This was a terrible idea! Theres no way the hand mixer is going to do anything except cause cookie bits and cream cheese to fly about my kitchen!!"  But, keep going.  Eventually, they will combine.  I promise.  Also, you should have used a bigger bowl (I make this mistake every time, and dont realize it until I am at this step).

Youll know youre done when you have this horrid looking brown goo.  Its ok if there are still some chunks of cookie, as long as theyre not THAT big.

Now, you take the brown goo and roll it into balls the size of walnuts.  Roughly.  I put mine on a baking sheet lined with wax paper.

Now, put them in the freezer for an hour or two.  (Full disclosure: I never do this because Im usually running late and dont have the time to do this before Im supposed to be at the party.  It works fine anyway.)

After the balls get nice and hard (in the freezer...what did you think I was talking about??), melt some almond bark in a bowl.  I usually use six cubes at once, and melt it in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time, stirring in between, so that I dont scorch the chocolate.  Lesson learned the hard way.

Dip each ball in the chocolate, coating it thoroughly (or mostly).  I use two forks to finagle the chocolate-coated ball onto a new sheet of wax paper to dry without messing up too much of the chocolate shell.

Im not very careful about how I dip the balls, so they usually end up with these goofy little wingy things attached to the bottoms.  I just break those off once theyre dry.  And voila - nice looking Oreo balls.

You could stop here, unless you want to be the super-impressive, over-achieving potluck attendee whose food contribution puts everyone else to shame (of course!). 

 In that case, melt some white chocolate almond bark, and put it in a plastic baggie with the tip of the corner cut off. (Dont melt the chocolate in the baggie....again, lesson learned the hard way).

Drizzle and swirl to your hearts content to pretty up your balls.  When youre done, youll be so sad that the drizzling is ending, that youll want to doodle smiley faces and write "I love you" in chocolate on your wax paper.  Whats that?  Thats just me?   So be it...

Once they dry, put them on a pretty platter, and youre done!  Now eat one.  Seriously.  You wont regret it.

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