Want to make something cute? Let me “googly” that for you.
Because sticking googly eyes on stuff makes for instant adorable. And in the case of candy eyes? Adorably edible.
And assuming you don’t find these Monster Truffles, an easy no-bake recipe from the geniuses at Delish, too cute to consume, you can always forgo the eyes when serving the treats on your Halloween holiday table — or bringing them to someone else’s.
Making these truffles, essentially two-bite Oreo cheesecake balls, doesn’t take long at all. And save the chocolate melting process, it’s a wonderful get-your-hands-dirty way to enjoy kitchen time with your favorite little ones, too.
From pressing the “pulse” button on your food processor or blender, to mashing the softened cream cheese into the dark and delicious cake ball “batter,” to what might be the best part — snatching up a few bits of Snickers or Reese’s Pieces nibbles before they make their way into the mix, it’s a fun-for-all activity, whether you’ve got tots in tow or not.
Of course, I switched a couple of things up.
One was by accident (I didn’t see the “chopped” part for the Reese’s Pieces and so put ’em in whole), but I also went multicolor on the sprinkles instead of all purple, since I had some Halloween sprinkles in the pantry already. You might want to change out the candy mix-ins with your favorites. I’d consider Twix or Heath bars. Mostly because I love them, but you do you.
Additionally, you could make your little monsters any color you want if green doesn’t suit, or do batches in different Halloween shades.
One thing to note: I didn’t use gel coloring, just the regular kind, and you need quite a bit (something like 20 drops) to achieve a deep shade of green.
And for those of you who’ve never melted chocolate before, I prefer the double-boiler method to the microwave one used in this recipe, but some experts would disagree. This article from King Arthur Baking (kingarthurbaking.com/blog/2023/02/08/how-to-melt-chocolate) tested several and has great info on all of them, no matter which you choose. Temperature is key: too hot (especially for white chocolate, which has a lower melting point), and the chocolate will “break” and become dry and unworkable. Low and slow is the move.
It’s great to have a second pair of hands when covering the balls, too — a pal who can help you get them from the forks to the parchment and do the necessary eyeball-sprinkles action before the chocolate begins to set.
They’re almost as fun to make as they are to eat.
My only complaint?
It’s hard to get them all to look at the camera at the same time.
Happy no-baking!
____
Monster Truffles
Recipe courtesy Delish (delish.com/holiday-recipes/halloween/a34535034/monster-truffles-recipe)
Ingredients
1 (14-ounce) package Oreos
1 (8-ounce) block cream cheese, softened
1 cup finely chopped Snickers
1/2 cup Reese’s Pieces, chopped
1 1/4 cups white chocolate chips
2 tablespoons coconut or vegetable oil
Green gel food coloring
Candy eyeballs
Purple sprinkles
Directions
1. In a food processor, pulse Oreos until fine crumbs form. Dump Oreo crumbs into a medium bowl and stir in cream cheese until well combined. Stir in Snickers and Reese’s until well combined.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a small cookie scoop, form mixture into small balls. Place on prepared baking sheet and freeze until slightly hardened, about 30 minutes.
3. In a medium microwave-safe bowl, combine white chocolate and oil. Microwave until just melted and stir until smooth, about 2 minutes. Stir 10 drops green gel coloring into the melted white chocolate and add more drops until desired color is achieved.
4. Dip one frozen ball into melted green chocolate until coated, remove using a fork, letting excess melted chocolate drip back into bowl. Arrange on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Press an eyeball into the top side of the coated truffle and sprinkle top with some sprinkles.
5. Repeat with remaining frozen balls and melted white chocolate. Freeze until chocolate hardens, about 15 minutes.