Cookie Balls Made With Chocolate Cake & Chocolate Icing

Making cake balls isn't much harder than making a regular cake.

Cake balls -- also known cake pops and even "cakesicles" -- and cookie balls may be trendy, but they're popular for good reason. These just-right bites of frosting, cookies and cake covered in smooth chocolate coating make yummy treats for birthdays, parties and celebrations. Even better, they're surprisingly easy to make. If you can bake a cake, you can whip up a batch of cookie-cake balls. Just be sure to plan ahead since they'll come together best if you refrigerate the batter overnight before making your cookie-cake balls.

Things You'll Need

• 1 batch chocolate cake recipe
• Large bowl
• Food processor (optional)
• 1/2 pound chocolate sandwich cookies (about half a package)
• Rolling pin (optional)
• Plastic bag (optional)
• Chocolate frosting
• Warm milk (optional)
• Cream cheese
• Plastic wrap
• Cookie sheet or jelly roll pan
• Melon baller or ice cream scoop (optional)
• 1 20-ounce package almond bark
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil

Instructions

1. Follow your recipe directions to prepare and bake one batch of your favorite chocolate cake recipe. A boxed cake mix works just fine for cake balls. Let the cake cool enough to handle it without burning yourself but not so much that it is completely cool.

2. Use your hands to crumble the cake in a large bowl. If the texture is still rough, use a hand mixer to further crumble the cake chunks -- the mixture should resemble fine bread crumbs.

3. Use a food processor to crumble the sandwich cookies into fine crumbs. Alternatively, you can put the cookies in a sealed plastic bag and crush them with a rolling pin. Add the cookie crumbs to the cake crumbs.

4. Use your hands or a hand mixer to incorporate the frosting and cream cheese into the crumbled cake and cookie mixture, mixing thoroughly until you have a thick, chocolate paste that's easy to roll into a ball. If your mixture is too thick, add a little warm milk, but put in just a tablespoon or two at a time because you don't want to end up with runny batter. If your mixture is too thin, add more frosting or cream cheese to thicken it up.

5. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and chill the mixture in the refrigerator for at least two hours, but no more than 48 hours.

6. Line a cookie sheet or jelly roll pan with waxed paper. Use your hands, a melon baller or an ice cream scoop to scoop up the chilled batter and form it into balls about 1 1/2 inches in size. Most recipes yield about 45 cookie-cake balls. Place the shaped balls on the waxed paper.

7. Chill the cookie-cake balls in the refrigerator for six hours.

8. Make almond bark coating by melting almond bark in the microwave for 45 seconds. Remove bark to stir, and return to microwave for another 15 seconds, stirring it again. Continue to heat and stir at 15-second intervals until the mixture is completely melted. Stir in 1 teaspoon vegetable oil.

9. Use toothpicks, skewers or a fork to dip the chilled cookie-cake balls in the almond bark coating, turning the balls so that they are completely coated.

Tips & Warnings

• If you want to dress up your cake balls, roll them in colored sugar, nuts or candies, or drizzle them with melted chocolate.

• Dip your cake balls in plain melted chocolate instead of making almond bark coating. However, chocolate coating will be less sturdy and may run or weep if it gets too hot or cold.

• Add oil-based food coloring, one drop at a time after stirring in the vegetable oil, to vary the color of the almond bark. Don't use water-based food coloring, since water will make the coating clump and harden. Oil-based food coloring is available at many supermarkets, but if yours doesn't carry it, look for it at specialty shops or craft stores.

References

• Dallas Morning News: Bite-Size Cake Balls Are Popular New Treat With Home Cooks, Bakeries