Circus Animal Cookie Truffles

The circus is coming to town! I made these truffles on Valentine's Day and passed them out to friends and family. This was my favorite truffle making experience by far because I made not one but TWO batches of truffles for this post.
I bought Mother's Cookies brand circus animal cookies and Keebler brand frosted animal cookies in case you want to make these treats and could not find one or the other.

Circus Animal Cookie Truffles

The first thing I did was try the cookies by themselves so I could see what the difference between the two was. There was minimal difference but here are the results: The Mother's brand cookies {12oz bag, on the right} were a little crunchier and maybe a tiny bit sweeter. The Keebler brand cookies {13oz bag, on the left} were a little more like a shortbread cookie. 

I will say though, had I not tried them in the same setting, I probably would not have been able to tell them apart. So the good news is they will both work great when you try this recipe! :)

The other thing I did was try two different "fillings" for the truffles. I tried regular cream cheese for one batch and cream cheese frosting for the other batch. I've made several truffle recipes and I've used both methods {regular cream cheese for Oreo truffles, Nutter Butter truffles and Thin Mint truffles, and cream cheese frosting for my red velvet truffles}. The reason I tried both is because when I was younger, I almost got sick from eating too many of these sugary, frosted covered cookies! And because I was going to be covering the truffles in candy coating also, I thought the frosting might be a bit too much. Nope! Both versions were wonderful, but again, when eaten in one setting, I prefer these truffles with the cream cheese frosting. Yum! 

Circus Animal Cookie Truffles

      Makes 20-24 truffles depending on the size

1 bag circus animal cookies {12 or 13 oz}
8 oz cream cheese frosting OR 6 oz plain cream cheese, slightly softened
White and pink* candy melts or almond bark
Pink and white nonpareils or rainbow sprinkles 

*Pink candy melts can be found at Hobby Lobby, Michael's craft store and some grocery stores or bakeries. If you can't find pink candy melts, simply add a few drops of pink food coloring to melted white candy/almond bark.

Place half of the animal cookies in a food processor and whirl around until finely ground. Pour cookie crumbs in a large bowl and repeat with remaining cookies. Add the frosting or cream cheese in the bowl with the cookie crumbs and mix well. Use your hands if desired because this will make mixture more consistent. Form cookie mixture into approximately 1 inch truffles and place them on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Place the baking sheet in the refrigerator to harden back up a bit and make for easier rolling.
When you are ready to decorate, prepare candy melts according to package directions, one color at a time, being careful not to over heat. Dip half of truffles in the melted candy/chocolate and return them to the parchment paper lined baking sheet, pouring on sprinkles after each candy dip. Don't wait too long to add sprinkles or the candy will harden and the sprinkles will not stick. Repeat with other candy. 

You can also decorate the truffles with the second color of candy melts to create a design on them. 

These would be a fun thing to make with older kids. They could help roll the truffles or decorate with sprinkles. They would also be a fun thing to make for a baby shower or little girl's birthday party. Dip them in other colors of candy melts and use them for other theme parties. And of course, these are perfect of Valentine's Day or a circus party! 

Oh who am I kidding? Who needs an excuse to make them? You have my permission to make they ANY time, just because they are yummy. 

For other party ideas, check out my party ideas page. And for other Valentine's Day or holiday ideas, head over to my holiday ideas page.