Have a Ball (plus new & improved Cheesecake Balls)

Remember ball week?  How could you possibly forget when I tested eight kinds of balls.  I certainly haven't forgotten or, frankly, recovered from ball week.  However, all that testing came to good use last weekend at my sweet friend's wedding.  I made 400, yes 400, balls.

This is only 200 balls... imagine what 400 would have looked like.  I don't have a panoramic camera so I couldn't take a photo of all of them.  (BTW, please excuse the photo quality in this post... I took all these with my iPhone which has been through the ringer/washer).  I've never had 400 balls in my house at the same time before.  I think you have to go to Chuck E Cheese for that (where did you think I'd suggest you go?).

In case you're wondering, 400 balls is too many for a wedding of 100 people.  Apparently, not everyone is like me and takes two one of each.  Go figure.

(If you're looking for recipes - I've linked up the original posts below... with the exception of the cheesecake balls because I made some stellar improvements to those for the big day)

The white balls are Lemon-Lime Sugar Cookie balls... definitely a favorite of mine!  Since this time around was the real deal, the balls got some decorations which made them not only delicious, but pretty.  Pretty counts at weddings, obviously.  The lemon-limers got green sprinkles which not only matched the wedding accent color but the colors of limes.

The peanut butter balls are a classic and I think were a big hit.  These were decorated with a squiggle of melted peanut butter chips.  I really love how they turned out.   I just melted the chips and put them in a squeeze bottle to make the decorations.

Next up were the Nutella Rice Krispie balls.  I'm always amazed by how much people like Rice Krispie treats.  They're so easy to make and people go crazy for them.  For these, I crushed up some extra cereal and sprinkled it on top for a simple garnish.

The last ball was the Cheesecake ball... if you remember from the original post the test version of these were delicious but caused me significant anxiety when trying to roll them.  The cheesecake was too soft and I couldn't get them roll uniformly but I corrected that issue with a new cheesecake recipe that worked perfectly!  Yeah for me.  Here's the new version - I highly recommend using this one... still delicious without any balling frustrations.

Cheesecake Balls
Cheesecake recipe adapted from Better Homes & Gardens
Yield:  approximately 40 balls

Ingredients
3  8 oz. packages Cream Cheese, at room temperature
1 cup Sugar
2 T All Purpose Flour
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1/4 cup Milk
3 Eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup Graham Cracker Crumbs
1 package Chocolate Candy Melts or Chocolate Chips

Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In the bowl of a stand mixer combine cream cheese, sugar, flour and vanilla.  Beat on medium speed until fluffy and well combined, 2-3 minutes.  Scrape the bowl and add the milk.  Mix on low speed until combined.  Scrape the bowl and add the eggs.  Mix on low speed until combined.  Scrape the bowl again and mix to incorporate anything left on the bottom of the bowl.

Pour the batter into a cake pan (an 8"-9" circle or square will work).  Bake for 40-50 minutes until set.  Cool completely and chill in the refrigerator overnight.

Scoop the cheesecake using a small cookie scoop (about 1" in diameter) and use your hands to roll into balls.  Roll each ball in graham cracker crumbs.  Freeze the balls until firm, at least 1 hour.

Line a baking sheet with wax paper or a silpat.  Melt chocolate (I usually do this in the microwave in 30 second intervals stirring in between until melted).  Take a few balls out of the freezer at a time, leaving the rest of the balls in the freezer so they don't get soft.  Dip each ball in the chocolate (I do this by dunking the ball in the chocolate, making sure it's coated, then lifting it out with a fork.  Tap the fork on the edge of the bowl to shake off the excess chocolate).  Place the dipped ball on the prepared baking sheet.  Before the chocolate sets, sprinkle it with extra graham cracker crumbs.  Refrigerate the balls until ready to eat (these can also be frozen... we kept the extras for over a week and they were still perfectly delicious.  They actually taste pretty yummy frozen).

Let me tell you that making 400 balls is a feat of strength.  The whole process took 12 hours over the course of 4 days (now you know why I had to take a blog break).  Regardless, it was TOTALLY worth all the hard work.  Seeing my desserts on display and watching people enjoy them made my month.  Seriously.  I may have also been stalking the professional photographer as he was taking photos of them, I can't wait to see them!  Plus, I love doing things like this for my friends.  If I love you I feed you.  People I don't like can starve... kidding!

Julie