Oreo Balls

Let's be honest here for a second. There are few things in this world that are better than Oreos, cream cheese & chocolate. It's only natural to marry the three. I don't like to toot my own horn (toot toot!)... but these are one of my most requested & most beloved treats that I make.

They are incredibly rich, decadent & sinful.

I will warn you in advance- these are time consuming. They are difficult to make- but it does take some time. I spent literally over 12 hours straight making a huge batch the other day. & Another 5 hours today.

CLEAR YOUR SCHEDULE, FOLKS.

It's time to get ballsy.

Oreo Balls

What you need:

1 package of Oreos (any kind- I use regular Oreos, peanut butter, mint & a new kind called berry blast. Don't get double stuff!)
1 package of cream cheese (8oz)
Almond bark (I use both vanilla & chocolate)
Sprinkles


What you do:

Using a food processor or blender, crush the Oreos into fine crumbs (I do not suggest doing this by hand- which is what I have to do since I have neither of the aforementioned appliances. But if you do have to crush them by hand, put them in a gallon size Ziplock bag & use a rolling pin to roll, beat & smash them to as fine of a consistency as humanly possible). Transfer to a large bowl & add in cream cheese. Mix by hand (don't be afraid to get messy! This is the best way to mix evenly). 

Form into 1in balls & place on a baking sheet lined with wax or parchment paper & place in the freezer for up to one hour.

Melt almond bark (I do one variation at a time, dipping half the balls in chocolate almond bark first, then melting the vanilla & dipping the other half) & use toothpicks to submerge the balls. Hold over the bowl, gently shaking off all the excess almond bark. Replace onto baking sheet & remove toothpick (dab a little bit of almond bark over the hole made by the toothpick).

Once the almond bark is hardened (it doesn't take long) you can decorate them. I use sprinkles & corresponding colored almond bark to decorate mine (just cut a tiny corner off of a Ziplock bag & pour in a little bit of almond bark & drizzle over the balls).

Store in the refrigerator (& don't let your kids see you sneaking them.. They'll be upset with you).

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Oh, what a day, what a day.

My little Lydia is beyond fussy, tonight. She has got to be getting teeth. If she's not, then she's turning into a demon. I'm really hoping for the former. I already have one (arguably two) demon children. Just PLEASE let this one turn out well-behaved! .. Yeah right. Ha!

I wasn't going to bake, today. I really wasn't. I told myself when I got up this morning.

But, boredom got the best of me & then my son begged me for a banana.
(Read out of context, that sentence is hilarious, by the way)

When I realized that the bananas we had were horribly brown & squishy, I told him I could do better than give him a banana. I could give him a banana muffin. Not just a banana muffin, but a banana chocolate chip muffin.. With streusel topping!

They were easy to make & my kids thought it was absolutely hilarious that I mashing up bananas. They just couldn't understand the concept & they thought I was insane. Although, I probably did seem just a little bit unbalanced as I was mashing up bananas with a fork & singing, "Asanta sana, squash banana!"
 

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

with a crunchy streusel topping

What you need:

-1 1/2 cups of flour
-2/3 cup of sugar
-1/2 of a packet of instant vanilla pudding mix
-1 1/2tsp baking powder
-1/2tsp baking soda
-1/4tsp salt
-1 cup of mashed bananas (I used 3 smaller sized ones)
-1 egg
-1/2 cup (1 stick) of butter or margarine; melted
-1/2 cup of milk
-1/4tsp of vanilla extract
-1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips

What you do:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, pudding mix, baking powder, baking soda & salt together. In a smaller bowl, whisk together egg, melted butter, milk, mashed bananas & vanilla extract. Add to you dry ingredients & mix by hand with a wooden spoon or whisk. You don't want to over beat the batter. Stir in chocolate chips.

Pour batter into muffin tin of your choice (I did a dozen normal sized muffins & a dozen mini muffins) 3/4 full. Top with streusel topping (see recipe below).

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

My mini-muffins were done in 10 minutes. My regular size muffins were done in about 22 minutes.

Crunchy Streusel Topping

What you need:

-1/2 cup of oatmeal
-2/3 cup of flour
-2/3 cup of brown sugar
-1/2tsp of cinnamon
-1/3 cup of walnuts of pecans; finely chopped (I used pecans)
-1/2 cup of melted butter or margarine

What you do:

Mix your dry ingredients & then pour melted butter over top & stir until the consistency resembles coarse crumbs.

The perfect breakfast muffin! They are so good- my 4yr old & 2yr old ate all but 3 of the mini muffins after I made them.

Enjoy!