Oreo Candy Cane Balls

Otherwise known as truffles, these Oreo Candy Cane Balls are prepared with golden Oreos, cream cheese, and crushed candy canes. They are dipped in melted milk chocolate and drizzled with melted white chocolate. They’re beautiful, festive, and delicious!

A few Christmases back, I experimented quite a bit with truffles made from items one can find from any local bakery. In fact, I shared an entire truffle series called Lord Byron’s 12 Truffles of Christmas series. These Oreo Candy Cane Balls, however, did not get included in that series only because I had to limit the series to 12. I promised myself that I would get them out to you eventually, so here they are!

I could not stop eating these! As you know, most of the items I bake around Christmastime are packed up and given away. I did pack up two large containers full for our friends Eileen and Shawn, as well as Wilma and Charlie. I could not bare to give them all away, because they were just too good! Even now, as I write this, there are a few stashed away in the freezer, but I buried them down deep, so I’m less inclined to go digging for them.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – making balls (or truffles if that is what you want to call them) is so easy, which is probably why they are so popular. Their popularity only increases around Christmastime, when people start to indulge a little more, have more visitors dropping by, and spend less time baking elaborate confections.

WELCOME TO A LORD BYRON CHRISTMAS!

I’m going to tell you all about this recipe and how you can make it in your home this holiday season, but first, I want to tell you about what you can expect from Lord Byron’s Kitchen this Christmas. I know we’re getting closer to the big day, so it’s time to get to the holiday-themed recipes! Over the past decade, I have built a reputation for sharing series-type recipes. The most popular would be my annual 24 Cookies of Christmas, which was fashioned after an advent calendar. But, I have others that are only 12 days, which were fashioned after the 12 Days of Christmas.

This particular recipe is a part of my third holiday series for this year. So, welcome, Dear Reader, to Lord Byron’s 12 Christmas Candy Cane Recipes Series. Just like every other series that I’ve shared over the years, this one will also see a new recipe shared each day for the next 12 days – even on Saturday and Sunday! You might be asking yourself, how many Christmas recipes could one possibly have or need? Well, I say you can never have too much of a good thing. And, I love having lots of choices. Who wants to prepare the same holiday recipes year after year?

SUBSCRIBE NOW AND NEVER MISS ANOTHER RECIPE!

Traditionally, every year I share a series of recipes that you might already be familiar with. For example, I’ve previously shared 12 Holiday Trifles, 12 Holiday Bars & Squares, and even these 12 Edible Holiday Wreath recipes! Also, some of my favourite recipe collections from previous years are my 75 Homemade Gifts from Your Kitchen, my 50 Make Ahead Freezer Friendly Christmas Recipes, and my 30 No-Bake Christmas Recipes post.

You really don’t want to miss one of these recipes, so if you have not yet subscribed to Lord Byron’s Kitchen, I encourage you to do so. That way, a new recipe will be emailed to you every day. You won’t have to bother to come looking for it! And, just in case you’re curious, you can see previous annual posts for my 24 Cookies of Christmas Series here!

INGREDIENTS NEEDED TO PREPARE THIS RECIPE

The following is a list of the ingredients needed to prepare this recipe. For exact amounts and measurements, refer to the printable recipe card located near the bottom of this post.

• Golden Oreos – You will need two packages.
• Cream Cheese – It is best to use brick style rather than whipped or cream cheese in a tub.  The brick style is firmer and more condensed.
• Crushed Candy Canes
• Milk Chocolate Chips
• White Chocolate Chips
• Vegetable Oil

HOW TO MAKE OREO CANDY CANE BALLS

Place all of the Oreos into a food processor and pulse until the mixture is crumbly and resembles wet sand. Add in the cream cheese and pulse until it is well incorporated into the crushed Oreos. You should see no white cream cheese at all! Transfer the mixture to a bowl and fold in the crushed candy canes. Cover and refrigerate it for 30 minutes. Once chilled, remove the mixture from your fridge and roll it into one-inch balls. Place the balls onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and refrigerate for 60 minutes.

Add the milk chocolate chips to a microwave safe bowl with 1 1/2 teaspoons of vegetable oil. Microwave on medium speed for 30 seconds. Remove the chocolate from the microwave and stir well with a rubber spatula. Microwave again for 30 seconds on half speed and stir well. Repeat this until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Working with chilled balls, insert a toothpick about 1/3rd of an inch into a ball. Dunk the ball into the bowl of melted chocolate and gently move the toothpick in a circular motion so that the entire ball is enrobed. Carefully lift the ball out of the bowl and lightly tap the toothpick on the rim. The excess chocolate fall back into the bowl. Transfer the ball back to the parchment-lined baking sheet. Gently twist the toothpick between your thumb and finger to loosen. Pull the toothpick up and out. Once all of the balls have been coated, return them to the fridge for 30 minutes.

Transfer the balls to a baking sheet that has been lined with parchment paper and a wire cooling rack. Place the white chocolate chips and 1/2 teaspoon of vegetable oil into a microwave safe bowl. Following the same microwave melting technique as before, melt the white chocolate chips until smooth. Transfer the melted chocolate to a resealable sandwich bag. Hover the bag over the balls and drizzle the melted chocolate in a zig-zag pattern. Top with extra crushed candy canes. Place the entire sheet pan in your fridge so the balls can firm up. Leave them for at least 1 hour. Once firm, the balls can be transferred to a food-safe container or packaged. Keep the balls refrigerated.

THE BEST WAY TO COAT BALLS IN CHOCOLATE!

I used to think that perfectly dipped chocolate balls were witchcraft! Of course, I’m kidding, but honestly, I could never master it. Either the chocolate was too thick, or not smooth enough. And, I was always left with a pool of chocolate at the bottom of the truffle that would harden. There’s nothing wrong with extra chocolate, but I so badly wanted to make my Oreo Candy Cane Balls look better.

I tried that fancy little tool for dipping things into chocolate. It’s like a two-tined fork with really long tines. Apparently, the ball is supposed to balance on there, while the thin tines allow the excess chocolate to drip off. Lies! There is no fancy tool needed to get perfect chocolate-dipped balls. All you need is melted chocolate with a good consistency and two toothpicks. Here’s how I do it.

If you use melting chocolate right out of the bag, like candy melts or chocolate chips, for example, you will end up with very thick chocolate. The thicker the chocolate, the longer it will take to harden, which means more time for it to run. Thin your chocolate by adding vegetable oil or vegetable shortening to the bowl before you start to melt it. This will thin it without any risk of your chocolate seizing or compromising the flavour. If you’re using candy melts, you may need a little more oil to get the right consistency.

MAKING YOUR OWN CRUSHED CANDY CANES

If you don’t want to use the red and white crushed candy canes that you can find just about anywhere this time of year, you can crush your own candy canes by placing unwrapped, broken candy canes into a sturdy bag and firmly rolling over them with a wooden rolling pin.

Either way you look at it, the candy canes should not be crushed too finely. Many times, you’ll find they have too much powder, meaning that they have been crushed too much. You want chunky pieces in order to get the red and white speckled pattern.

I’ve tried crushing them myself and have crushed them a little too much. Even the type you buy in the store can sometimes have too much candy cane dust. You can easily fix it by filtering out the dust. Working in small amounts, place a heaping spoonful of the crushed candy canes into a colander. Sift out the dust so that you are left with nice little pieces.

NO-BAKE RECIPES

I used to think that the term no-bake meant that a recipe was more of an assembly-type recipe. Something like a salad, for example. It sounds simple enough, right? Toss the lettuce and any other veggies you want into a bowl. Top it with cheese, croutons, avocado, hard-boiled egg, etc. Add some dressing and you’re all done! But, no-bake actually just means no baking. There still might be some stove-top cooking needed – or even a microwave, for that matter.

Some other no-bake-type holiday recipes you might enjoy are these Rudolph’s Red Nose Cookies. Hairy Moose Droppings are delicious and always quite the conversation starter! Just like these Caramel Peanut Slices were a favourite of my mom’s so were these Marshmallow Coconut Balls and so were these Christmas Crunch Cookies. You can find many more no-bake cookie recipes here at Lord Byron’s Kitchen by using the search field at the top of this page.

STORING AND FREEZING

These cookies will last in the freezer for three months. Be sure you have a good container with a tight seal. Whenever I’m freezing cookies, I always double up on the seal action. Before I place the lid on, I always drape a sheet of plastic wrap on top. Then I push the lid on. I just feel that the lid fits more tightly. Any little thing I can do to keep the frost out, I’m going to do it! I like to use containers like this.

Like I always say, if you freeze any baked goods, remove only the amount you want when you decide to thaw them. Fetch the container from the freezer and remove only what you need. Put the lid back on and get the container back in the freezer.

To properly thaw baked goods, place them on a plate or a wire cooling rack. Don’t pile them. Spread them out and give them some space. Let them sit at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes. They will taste fresh and perfect every single time!

QUESTIONS?

If I have not answered all of your questions in the text above, don’t hesitate to reach out to me! You can contact me by sending me a message in the comments section further down the page. I will try my best to answer as soon as possible! You might reach me even faster by following me on Facebook and sending me a private message. Scroll down below the recipe card to find my Follow Me on Social Media box and never miss another recipe!

Finally, as I stated previously, every day I will be posting a new recipe. If you miss one, don’t fret. You can find my entire collection of Christmas Recipes right here! There are over 200 Christmas recipes and counting. There’s something for everyone! Cheers!