Valentine's Truffles

I began experimenting with this at Christmas time.  You can find those results (and recipe) here.  These are some of the yummiest and easiest treats you can make.  And with Valentine's Day only 2 days away, you don't need a ton of time to put these together.

Well actually, that's not entirely true.  The Red Velvet Cream Cheese Truffles required baking in order to make the Red Velvet Cream Cheese-iced treats. 

RED VELVET CREAM CHEESE TRUFFLES

The recipe for the Red Velvet Cream Cheese Swirl Bars can be found here.  You'll need these in order to make the Red Velvet Cream Cheese Truffles.

DIRECTIONS:

Melt down whatever chocolate you want to use to create the shell for these truffles (ie; milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white, etc...).  Be sure to use baking chocolate as it will melt and coat the truffles best.  I use Callebaut morsels.  They're on the pricey side but so worth it.

Mix red velvet cream cheese swirl bars together in a large bowl. But do NOT overmix.  You still want to be able to see the cream cheese bits.  Using a tablespoon-sized scooper, scoop out some of the mix into the melted chocolate.

Use a fork to remove the truffle from the chocolate and place it on wax paper to harden.  Once the batch is done you can allow them to chill in the fridge.  If you want afterward, melt some additional chocolate and drizzle on top of the truffles to make some fun designs.


VALENTINE'S COOKIE TRUFFLES

These are so easy to make you don't even have to bake!  They just require a little bit of love and patience (so they come out all pretty :)

Again, recipe and directions for the Oreo Cookie Truffles are here. 

Red Velvet Cream Cheese Swirl Bars

A great Valentine's treat right here.  What a great excuse to bake more goodies.  This is a new recipe for me; never made anything "red velvet".  Can you believe it?

Of course there are more I want to get to (cookies, truffles, cheesecake...nom, nom, nom), but frankly I don't know that I have the time before Tuesday comes around.

Regardless... here are the red velvet cream cheese swirl bars.  Recipe is courtesy of Big Fat Baker.  When I saw those pictures I caved immediately.  Weak in the knees.  Mixing two of my favorite things: cream cheese and brownies.  OY!

RED VELVET CREAM CHEESE SWIRL BARS

INDREDIENTS:

Bar layer:
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
1 cup sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/8 tsp salt
1 tbl red food coloring
1 tsp white distilled vinegar
2 large eggs
3/4 cup all-purpose flour

Cream cheese layer:
8 oz. cream cheese
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract


DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line 8"x8" baking dish with parchment paper or foil and spray with cooking spray.

In medium bowl, combine melted butter with sugar and mix well.  Add vanilla, cocoa powder, salt, food coloring, and vinegar in that order, mixing between additions.

Whisk in the eggs one at a time, mixing well between each.  Fold in the flour.  Pour all batter excet 1/4 cup into prepared baking pan.

To make the cream cheese layer, blend together the cream cheese, sugar, egg and vanilla.  Spread the cream cheese on top of the brownie batter.  Drop dollops of remaining brownie batter over cream cheese layer.  Using a knife, swirl through the cream cheese mixture to create a swirl pattern.

Bake for 30 minutes in preheated oven and cool completely before cutting into squares.

PERSONAL NOTES:

While these dessert bars taste wonderful, they didn't turn out like your typical fudgy brownie.  These ended up more cake-like.  So just know when you get started that this is what to expect.  They're still super moist and chewy, just not as dense as a brownie.

Up next... I use some of these red velvet cream cheese swirl bars to make cake truffles!  NOM NOM NOM!