Oreo cheesecake truffles

The BEST truffles in all the world. (photo by Lauren)

Fiddly confectionery has never been my strong point – my ganache splits as reliably as a celebrity marriage – so I was thrilled to discover that you can make delicious, presentable truffles from little more than whizzed up Oreos and cream cheese. I love Oreos. Naff American cookies they may be, but their dark sort-of-chocolate flavour is so distinctive, and works brilliantly as a cheesecakey filling. Plus there is no added sugar in this recipe, which tends to please those people prone to complaining that sweets are too, well, sweet.

My recipe was adapted from this one on Channel 4 Food, and over the last year I’ve rustled them up for every AWOT meeting to a rapturous response – which I can’t take credit for, because you’re about to see they are just really ruddy easy.

  • 145g Oreos (1 long packet)
  • 100g cream cheese (this is half a standard tub of Philadelphia)
  • 200g dark chocolate
  • 200g white chocolate

To feed a crowd, simply double the quantities above – two packets and one whole tub. If you want to make a token gesture towards healthy eating, light cream cheese works just as well.

  1. Empty the packet of Oreos into a food processor and blend until they reach a soft, sand-like consistency. If you don’t have a food processor you could probably put them in a sandwich bag and bash them with a rolling pin, though it might take a bit of elbow grease to achieve the same effect.
  2. Empty the Oreo crumbs into a mixing bowl, add the cream cheese and cream together with a spoon until smoothly combined. You could use the mixer attachment in a food processor for this bit too I suppose, but conversely I like to do this bit by hand.
  3. When the cream cheese is thoroughly mixed through you should have a thick, grainy paste. Now you’re ready to start forming the truffles.
  4. Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper, shiny side-up, and make sure your hands are super clean. Take teaspoonfuls of the mixture, roll between your palms until spherical, and space them out on the baking tray. When you’ve used all the mixture, place your tray of truffles in the freezer for at least half an hour, or longer if you have time.
  5. Before you take the truffles out again, slowly melt the dark and white chocolate in two separate bowls over a bain marie (or in the microwave if you’re feeling cheaty – careful not to let it catch and burn).
  6. Take the truffles out of the freezer and one by one coat them in either the dark or white chocolate by dropping them into the melted chocolate and rolling around with a spoon until completely coated. Then fish them out and place them carefully back on the paper-lined tray – the chilly temperature of the truffles and tray will help the chocolate set quickly. You’ll get a little smooth foot on the bottom of each, but that is apparently part of their charm.
  7. When you’ve coated half the truffles in white and half in dark chocolate, use the remaining melted chocolate to decorate them by taking a small amount on a spoon and flicking it over the alternate coloured truffles. This bit will be messy, but just keep flicking in different directions until they look swish.
  8. When you’re finished, place them in the fridge or freezer until needed, and allow them half an hour or so to thaw out a little before serving.

Lauren writes an excellent blog of musings over at http://laurenbravo.blogspot.co.uk/ – highly recommended reading. You can also follow her on Twitter.

Food and lifestyle writer for Channel 4, experimental cook with an incurable sweet tooth.

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