Most people who love cooking have their “signature recipes” that they get asked to make all the time. At the holidays my mom always makes a savory cream cheese ball with onion, green pepper, pineapple and walnuts. As good as that is, if you follow this blog you’ll know I’m much more into sweet than savory. What could really be better than sweet cream cheese?

Another thing that prompted me to make this was a bag of Food Should Taste Good chocolate tortillas and wondering what in the world you serve chocolate tortillas with. The crunchy and lightly-sweetened tortillas went perfectly with the smooth cream cheese and powdered sugar. I couldn’t imagine eating this any other way but I’m sure sliced apples or graham crackers would match well, too.

I used honey glazed roasted pecans from Oh Nuts for the coating. If you don’t have pecans you can use any number of things as a coating. Try sliced almonds or crushed green and red M&Ms, or even holiday-themed sprinkles.

Dessert Cream Cheese Ball

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients(Makes about 12 servings):

• 1 8oz block cream cheese
• 1/2 cup + 2 Tablespoons powdered sugar, sifted
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 Tablespoon half & half
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup glazed pecans, crushed

Method:

1. In a large bowl, beat together the cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla, half & half and salt.
2. Scrape the cream cheese mixture onto a sheet of clear plastic wrap. Form the cream cheese mixture into a ball using the wrap to cover your hands and keep it together. Stick the ball in the fridge for 20-30 minutes to set.
3. Unwrap the cream cheese ball and coat it with the pecans, pressing them in lightly to make sure they stay.
4. Transfer the cold cream cheese ball to a serving plate. Serve with chocolate nachos, graham crackers, or sliced fruit.

We can save worrying about eating healthy for after New Years.

I hate to admit it but even after years of cooking long, detailed ingredient lists and steps still scare me away from a recipe. If there’s a way to do something easier, I’ll take it. These truffles are about as easy as they come; they’re JUST chocolate, butter, and Kahlua. How easy is that?(Shoot, now I probably owe Ina Garten royalties)

The hardest part about these is rolling them in cocoa powder, which isn’t hard at all; you just have to pay attention to the chocolate and and keep coating it until it can’t take in any more cocoa. When you’re done you get a nice, rich center and a mess-free surface.

When making anything that involves melting chocolate, it’s better to use a baking chocolate rather than chocolate chips. You can get high-quality baking chocolate near the cheese section in some grocery stores or use Baker’s brand chocolate. Unlike chocolate chips, this will melt easily and smoothly.

Easy Kahlua Truffles

Prep time: 40 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 14 truffles):

• 8oz semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate
• 3 Tablespoons Kahlua liquor
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder

Method:

1. Melt the chocolate and butter in a microwave or over a double boiler.
2. Mix the Kahlua into the chocolate and butter and beat until smooth and silky.
3. Let the chocolate cool in a refrigerator until it’s a semi-soft solid. It shouldn’t be as hard as a rock, but it shouldn’t stick to your hand when you handle it.
4. Pour about 1/2 cup of cocoa powder onto a flat plate.
5. With a melon baller, form small balls of chocolate and drop them onto the plate of cocoa powder, rolling them around. Alternatively, you can take small amounts of chocolate, roll it into a ball in between your hands and drop it into the cocoa powder.
6. Roll the truffle around in the cocoa powder until the outside is entirely coated and place it on a separate, clean plate. Repeat with all of the chocolate.
7. When the truffles have set and hardened, shake off any excess cocoa powder and store them in a sealed container keeping the truffles at room temperature.