Strawberry creams

In the midst of Christmas baking, there are tons of recipes I try each year. Some come out fabulous and others...eh...not so much. But every so often I stumble on a mistake that turns into a really yummy treat. These cream candies are a result of one of those mistakes.

I was actually going for a mint cream candy when I changed mid recipe into this. The original recipe called for two pounds of powdered sugar- TWO POUNDS!! While I know we will already consume far more sugar than we should this time of year, two pounds for one batch was a bit over the top for me. And that was where the magic came in.

The basic ingredients are cream cheese, butter and powdered sugar. And really, how could that combo not be amazing? I added strawberry extract and a candy coating and the end result has friends mmmmmming with each bite. 

One caution about this one though. If you make and freeze your candy head of time like I do, you will want to plan to use this one quickly. Oh it freezes well and will keep nicely in there for a long time, but if you are like me you will find an excuse far too frequently to head back into the kitchen to pop another one in your mouth. Really, they are that good. But now you have been warned!

1   8 ounce block regular cream cheese

1 stick butter

3 cups powdered sugar

2 teaspoons strawberry extract (or whatever flavor you like)

1 package vanilla candy coating

Pink food coloring

These are what the discs should look like

Melt the cream cheese, butter and sugar in a heavy saucepan until it is completely blended. Add extract and food coloring. Drop by teaspoonful onto greased cookie sheet or wax paper. One batch is usually about three trays for me. Freeze until slightly firm, about 30 minutes. They will look like little pink discs.
After they are almost firm, melt the vanilla coating.

Drop a little food coloring in here too, especially if you are making multiple flavors. Roll the pink discs into balls and drop and roll into the vanilla. Just a note here. Yes, the balls will be sticky. That is part of what makes these candies so yummy. They won't be sticky once the candy coating is hardened, and the texture inside is really fabulous when you bite into the candy.  So stay with me on the sticky part. Just roll quickly and know that the end result will be totally worth it. 

After the candy is rolled in the coating, return trays to freezer for about 30 minutes. 

Other flavors I love include banana with yellow coloring and mint with green coloring. Later this week I am going for orange creamsicle or maybe some root beer. The sky is the limit when it comes to extract flavors!

Now comes the hard part. Resist the urge to pop the entire tray in your mouth. Mmmmm....heading to the freezer now to grab a handful!