Years ago, I learned a fun and easy recipe for cake ball truffles.  She would bring them to every shower and they were always my favorite, so she eventually told us how to make our own.  Had I known they were so easy, I would have started making them a loooong time ago.  So it’s probably a good thing I didn’t learn until a few years ago…

I started making them more recently due to an unfortunate cake snafu back in September or October.  I was making a cake and trying a new technique and the cake stuck to the pan.  There was no salvaging it!  I remembered the recipe for cake balls and wrapped up the mangled cake to save to make cake balls for the bake sale at the annual fall carnival at the church.  They were such a hit that I’ve had many requests since.

Fortunately, when I was recently helping throw a shower for a friend who was getting married, I was able to not only give away some leftover cupcakes I’d made, but also turn some into cake balls to give away.  Word spread far and wide and I was asked to make some for my mom’s colleagues for Christmas.  I made my usual funfetti variety, but this time I’m trying a brownie version!

I even shook things up a bit by swapping the water called for in the recipe for a FORTO Coffee Shot made with Hershey’s Chocolate!  It’s pretty well established that adding a little splash of coffee to a chocolate cake or brownie recipe doesn’t impart a huge coffee flavor, it merely enhances the cocoa flavor.  Since it’s only a quarter cup spread out over 35 servings, no one is going to get a zip out of these!  Thankfully the brownie mix also held together just as well as the cake mix — almost better!

Instructions: Mix a package of pre-baked brownies with a small container of chocolate frosting. Form little balls the size of a quarter and freeze for 30min. Over a double boiler set to med-low, melt white chocolate. Don’t use baking bars or chips here. It’s too think and liable to seize. You want to actually buy candy melts for this. (I prefer Ghiradelli melting wafers for this type of thing. They taste great and I have never had them seize on me.) Dip brownie bites one at a time in the chocolate and set aside (I like to put them in mini cupcake liners). If you’re decorating them with sprinkles, do so immediately because once they’re set, the sprinkles won’t adhere!

After 12+ hours, I finally finished with enough time to hand them off and take a breath. I even had some “ugly” ones leftover to perform “quality control” and be a further blessing!

Have you ever done a cookie swap? What was your favorite treat?