Cheesecake Truffle 'Pops'

Ok so I love cheesecake.  And I love truffles.  There's just something about picking through a pretty little box of chocolates that just feels so... fabulous.  But I digress... cheesecake, right.  So as I promised, I am here to share the super easy way to impress your friends with these delicious, 'one-bite' cheesecake truffle 'pops'.  These aren't on sticks; I call them 'pops' because, well, the idea is that you just pop them into your mouth and you're good to go.  The truffle pops I made weren't exactly a true one-bite wonder... not unless you're ambitious and commit to having a very big bite (which I love by the way!).

Anyhow... I should start with clarifying that these are not cake pops.  In fact, I kind of loathe cake pops.  I just don't see the appeal of baking a cake, mashing it up with a whack of buttercream, squishing it into little balls, and then coating it in waxy chocolate.  Yes, this is my view on cake pops.  You can disagree.  But try the cheesecake truffle pop version and you'll come over to my side.

What you need:

500g (or 2 packages) of cream cheese, softened
1 can condensed mild
1/2 cup plain yogurt or sour cream (I used greek yogurt)
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup all purpose flour
chocolate for coating (I used organic milk chocolate, but you could use candy melts too I suppose)

What you need to do:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a 9"x13" baking pan with parchment paper, overlapping the two longer sides for easy removal from the pan.

Beat cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk until smooth and creamy.  Beat in yogurt.  Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Add vanilla and flour.  Pour into prepared pan.

Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes or until top is golden and firm to the touch.  Cool to room temperature.

Turn baked cheesecake back into mixer and break up (takes maybe 10 seconds).  Roll cheesecake into balls (size is entirely up to you, I used a small cookie scoop and these ended up being a little on the large side).  Place on a piece of parchment paper.

Now here's where you can get creative.  Coat the cheesecake 'balls' in your choice of chocolate or candy melts.  I did not temper the chocolate, but I wish I had; out of the fridge, these truffles were awesome... but after they'd been on display at the baby shower for a few hours, the chocolate started to warm up and was softer than I had intended.  So, if you want your truffle pops to maintain that wicked crack as you bite into them, temper your chocolate.  If you don't care so much, melt your chocolate over a pot of simmering water and dip away.  Place them on the parchment to cool completely.  And enjoy!

These truffle pops freeze very well.  You can freeze them without any coating and then roll them in your desired coating before serving.

They're really that easy.  They are definitely a dessert that will likely end up being in our family rotation... you know, that dessert that's hidden in the freezer and can be whipped out to impress family and friends lickety-split?  Yup, that one.

I'm not sure what happened to my photos, but this one certainly gives you a good idea of what they should look like; photo courtesy of Eagle Brand