Dirt Balls Food

DIRT BALLS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and oil until smooth. Stir in the feta cheese, onions, garlic, dill, oregano and pepper. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour., Shape cheese mixture into three balls and roll in sesame seeds. Wrap in plastic; refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Serve with bagel chips.

BUNNY OREO BALLS

Steps:

• Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Pulse the cookies in a food processor to fine crumbs. Add the cream cheese and pulse together until the mixture begins to ball up. Transfer to a large bowl and knead together a few times until completely combined.
• Roll about 1/3 of the mixture into 18 truffles (about 1 level tablespoon each) and place on one of the prepared baking sheets. Roll the remaining mixture into 18 larger truffles, (about 1 heaping tablespoon each), and place on the second prepared baking sheet. Refrigerate until firm and chilled through, about 1 hour.
• While the truffles chill, prepare the decorations.
• For the royal icing, combine the confectioner's sugar and meringue powder in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat on low speed just to combine. Add 2 1/2 teaspoons water and increase the speed to medium. Beat the mixture until the icing is stiff enough to hold a peak but soft enough to pipe, about 2 minutes. If the icing gets too stiff, add up to 1/2 teaspoon more water.
• Divide the icing evenly between 2 bowls. Tint one bowl of icing bright pink using the pink food coloring. Tint the remaining bowl of icing with the black food coloring. Transfer the pink and black icings to separate piping bags (with no cut openings) or to resealable plastic bags and set aside.
• For the white coating, combine the candy melting wafers and coconut oil in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Microwave the mixture in 20-second intervals, stirring between each, until the wafers are melted and the mixture is smooth, about 1 minute 20 seconds. Set aside.
• Put some white sanding sugar and pink sanding sugar in separate bowls.
• For the bunny tails: Cut 9 of the marshmallows crosswise to create 18 halves. Carefully dip one flat side of each marshmallow piece in the white candy coating, let the excess drip off and then dip in the white sanding sugar. Place each marshmallow piece sugar-side up on a plate to set. These will be the bunny tails.
• For the bunny ears: Cut 18 of the marshmallows in half on the diagonal to create 18 pairs of bunny ears. Dip the cut side of each marshmallow piece in the pink sanding sugar. Place sugar-side up on the plate with the tails to set.
• For the bunny feet: Cut the remaining 18 marshmallows in half lengthwise to create 18 pairs of feet. Set aside on the plate with the tails and ears.
• Put a truffle in the white coating and use 2 forks to evenly coat. Lift out the truffle, letting any excess drip off, then return to the baking sheet. Continue with the remaining truffles (both sizes) until all are all coated. If the coating cools to room temperature during the dipping process, microwave it in 20-second intervals to reheat. Reserve the leftover white coating to use as glue for the tails, ears and feet.
• For the heads: Dip the bottoms of 2 bunny ears in the leftover white coating, place on top of a small truffle and hold in place until the coating sets, about 15 seconds. Snip a very small tip off the corner of each bag of icing. Pipe a small pink heart for a nose on the front (face) of the truffle. Pipe a pair of eyes and mouth using the black royal icing. Repeat with the remaining small truffles.
• For the bottoms: Dip the cut side of a marshmallow tail in the leftover white coating. Place the tail on top of one of the large truffles and hold in place until the coating sets, about 15 seconds. Dip the cut sides of two marshmallow feet in the leftover white coating. Position them on the truffle below the tail and hold until set in place. Use the pink royal icing to pipe a large oval on the top each foot and 3 small circles underneath for toes. Repeat with the remaining large truffles.
• Return all the truffles to the refrigerator to set, about 10 minutes. Serve chilled.

EVERYTHING BAGEL BOMBS

Steps:

• For the dough: Sprinkle the yeast over 1 1/2 cups warm water (not over 110 degrees F) and allow it to bloom. When it has bloomed, the mixture will bubble a bit.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the flour and salt. With the mixer running on low, drizzle in the olive oil and mix until combined. Pour in the yeast mixture and mix until a dough forms.
• Drizzle roughly 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a medium bowl and coat the sides of the bowl with it. This will prevent the dough from sticking. Tip the dough into the oiled bowl, form a ball with it and gently coat it lightly with the residual olive oil on the sides. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise in a warm place until roughly double in size, at least 1 hour.
• For the filling: Combine the cream cheese, Cheddar and ham in a large mixing bowl. Stir until well combined. Set aside.
• For the everything bagel seasoning: Mix together the sesame seeds, poppy seeds, sea salt, onion flakes, garlic flakes and pepper in a small bowl. Set aside.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Add the honey and 10 cups water to a large pot and bring to a boil.
• Once the dough has risen, divide it into 16 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball. Lightly flour a work surface and use a rolling pin to roll each ball into a 4-inch circle roughly 1/4 inch thick. Top each circle with 3 tablespoons of the filling. Pull the dough up and around the filling, pinching the seam at the top. Make sure you fully encase the filling. Place the finished bombs seam-side down on a greased baking sheet.
• Add the bagel bombs to the boiling water in batches of 4; boil for 1 minute, flipping halfway through. Remove to a separate baking sheet and top each with a generous pinch of the everything bagel seasoning blend.
• Once all of the balls of dough have been boiled, transfer them to another greased baking sheet and bake until golden brown, about 25 minutes. Enjoy!
• Freezer Directions: Follow the steps above and allow the bagel bombs to cool completely after baking, roughly 45 minutes to 1 hour. Place in the freezer, uncovered, for 20 minutes. Remove and individually wrap each bomb in foil. Return them to the freezer to fully freeze.
• When ready to eat, remove a bagel bomb (or more) from the freezer. Remove the foil and wrap the bomb in a paper towel. Microwave for 90 seconds or until cooked through. Allow it to sit for 1 minute before taking out of the microwave. Unwrap and enjoy!

OREO® BALLS

Steps:

• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Mix cookie crumbs and cream cheese together in a bowl; roll into balls and arrange on the prepared baking sheet. Freeze cookie balls until solid, about 1 hour.
• Melt almond bark in the top of a double boiler over simmering water, stirring frequently and scraping down the sides with a rubber spatula to avoid scorching.
• Dip cookie balls in the melted almond bark, removing balls using 2 forks to allow excess bark drip back into double boiler. Arrange coated cookie balls on the baking sheet; refrigerate until coating is firm, about 10 minutes.

CHOCOLATE COOKIE BALLS

Steps:

• Mix cream cheese and 3 cups cookie crumbs until blended.
• Shape into 48 (1-inch) balls. Freeze 10 min. Dip balls in melted chocolate; place in single layer in shallow waxed paper-lined pan. Sprinkle with remaining cookie crumbs.
• Refrigerate 1 hour or until firm.

PEANUT BUTTER BALLS

Steps:

• Stir together powdered sugar, peanut butter and butter until well mixed.
• Shape peanut butter mixture into 1 inch balls, placing them on a baking sheet covered with waxed paper.
• Let balls stand for 20 minutes until dry.
• Melt the dipping chocolate or confectioners' coating.
• Drop balls one at a time in melted chocolate.
• Using a fork, remove from the chocolate, letting excess chocolate drip off.
• Place back on the waxed paper.
• Let stand until dry.
• Store tightly covered in a cool dry place.

DIRT BOMB MUFFINS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F Place the rack in the center position. Generously grease a 12-cup standard muffin pan.
• Sift the flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and cardamon into a mixing bowl.
• In another bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Scrape the bowl down half way through. Mix in the eggs.
• Add the dry ingredients alternately with the milk in two additions, mixing gently by hand to incorporate all the flour. The batter will be on the stiff side, but airy. Don't over mix or beat the batter as this will make the muffins tough.
• Spoon the batter into the prepared pan, without smoothing the tops.
• Bake for about 25 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. As soon as the muffins are cool enough to handle, turn them out onto a wire rack.
• Add the melted butter to a bowl. In another bowl, mix the sugar and cinnamon.
• Dip the muffins (top, sides and bottom) in the butter, using a pastry brush -if necessary- to cover areas not buttered by dipping. Immediately roll the muffins in the cinnamon sugar mixture. Serve warm or at room temperature.

OREO COOKIE BALLS

Steps:

• Mix cream cheese and cookie crumbs until well blended.
• Shape into 48 (1-inch) balls. Freeze 10 min. Dip balls in melted chocolate; place in single layer in shallow waxed paper-lined pan.
• Refrigerate 1 hour or until firm.