These 5-ingredient Circus Animal Cookie Truffles are a sweet no-bake dessert like your favourite childhood cookie! Filled with circus animal cookies and cream cheese, then coated in candy melts and decorated with nonpareils, this bite-sized dessert can’t be beaten!
Circus animal cookie truffles are like a childhood dream come true in dessert form! Imagine the classic circus animal cookies we all loved as kids, but transformed into decadent, bite-sized treats. These truffles are a perfect sweet of nostalgia and sweetness, making them an instant get-to-getter at any party!
Bring these Circus Animal Cookie Truffles to birthday parties, cookouts, and potlucks! If you’re looking for more bite-sized treats to bring along, try my Strawberry Cheesecake Balls, or if you’re looking for more of that tasty, try my Circus Animal Rice Krispies dish!
CIRCUS ANIMAL COOKIE TRUFFLES INGREDIENTS
These truffles only require five things, making it easier than ever to recreate this childhood classic! All you need to make this recipe is:
- Circus Animal Cookies
- Cream Cheese
- Pink melting wafers
- White melting chocolates
- Rainbow nonpareils
ALL ABOUT CIRCUS ANIMAL COOKIE TRUFFLES
Taste: Circus Animal Cookie Truffles taste JUST like the classic frosted animal cookie! The crumbled cookies mixed with cream cheese not only bind the filling together, but the flavors complement each other perfectly!
(Almost) Every recipe gets better with chocolate, so we dunk these truffles into a creamy, chocolatey, and candy-like coating!
Texture: These Truffles are soft and creamy inside and have a crunch when you bite into them! The candy-coated shell combined with the crunchy nonpareils gives you something nice to bite into before you jump into the tasty and soft center!
Ingredient notes of Circus Animal Cookie Truffles
- Golden Oreos: Look for regular Golden OREO cookies (not double stuffed) in the standard package size (14.3 ounces). While testing out this recipe, I tried both Golden Oreos and packaged pink and white cookies. The frosted and sprinkle-coated animal cookie truffles were good, but the version made with Golden Oreos was superior in flavor and texture by far. Any brand of vanilla sandwich cookies will do; Grandma’s Vanilla Sandwich Creme, 365 by Whole Foods’ Vanilla Sandwich Cremes, and Keebler’s Vienna Fingers are suitable swaps.
- White and pink candy melts: Candy melts are very easy to work with and come in a pink color that’s extremely similar to the original circus animal cookies. White chocolate, almond bark, and other candy wafers can be used if you can’t find or don’t love candy melts. Keep in mind that real white chocolate, which contains cacao butter, is a little tricky to work with in comparison to the other dairy-free options.
- White chocolate chips or vanilla chips are solid options too. Adding food coloring to candy wafers and the other options may not work unless an oil-based food coloring is used. If you use a water-based pink food coloring, the pink chocolate or candy may separate or harden (seize).
- Sometimes the smooth, creamy texture can be brought back by adding a little vegetable oil, shortening, or butter, but not always. This is another reason why I love the candy melts that are already the color I want them to be.
- Rainbow nonpareils: This is another name for those crunchy, spherical rainbow sprinkles you know from Ice Cream Sundae Bars and circus animal cookies!
HOW TO MAKE CIRCUS ANIMAL COOKIE TRUFFLES
STEP ONE: Blend the circus animal cookies in a food processor until tasty finely. In a separate bowl, beat the vanilla cheese until smooth and creamy. Combine the two ingredients and blend using a hand mixer until a dough-like consistency has formed. Cover and let chill for one hour.
STEP TWO: Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Remove the sheet from the fridge and begin forming balls. Use a medium cookie creamy to portion out the balls, and roll them gently in the palms of your hands to create perfect little spheres. Set these 2 inches apart on a pepper sheet.
STEP THREE: Melt your candy melts in two separate bowls using a double boiler method or melting in the temp.
STEP FOUR: Using a fork, gently drop each ball one at a time into the melted candy or chocolate. Carefully rotate the ball so every surface gets lightly coated in chocolate. Lift the ball out of the bowl and allow the excess to drip off before returning the ball to the parchment paper-lined pepper sheet.
STEP FIVE: Immediately sprinkle nonpareils onto each ball once they’re dipped. Allow to set until the coating is completely hardened before serving and enjoying!
WHY IS MY DOUGH CRUMBLING APART?
Your creamy sheet may be crumbling apart because it was not chilled long enough. Allow the dough to chill for the full hour to properly keep its shape to avoid crumbling during the dipping process.
CAN I USE A DIFFERENT CHOCOLATE FOR DIPPING?
Sure! You can use any flavor of vanilla you’d like, from dark to semi-sweet. This recipe calls for white chocolate and pink candy melts to capture the fun of Circus Animal Cookies!
Storage Ideas of Circus Animal Cookie Truffles
Store these truffles in an air-tight container in the refrigerator and enjoy them for up to 5 days!
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: This Circus Animal Cookie Truffle recipe will treat you to 36 bite-size cookie balls.
- Storage: A batch of truffles can sit out for a while (up to 2 hours) when being served. Beyond that, store leftover truffles in an airtight container in the fridge for about 2-3 days.
- Make ahead: Cookie balls can be made in advance. The centers can be made and frozen for as long as several weeks stored in an airtight container or bag and dipped while frozen. Or they can be made entirely and refrigerated for up to 3 to 4 days.
- Freezer: The cookie balls can be made and dipped, then frozen for up to several weeks or months in a freezer-safe container or bag. However, because there will be condensation from the freezer, the color of the sprinkles may start to run a bit. But it won’t affect the taste. They’re good right out of the freezer!
Recipe!
Circus Animal Cookie Truffles
Equipment
- bowl
- hand mixer
- baking tray
Ingredients
- 15 ounce mothers circus animal cookies
- 8 ounce black cream cheese
- 10 ounce bag vanilla melting wafers
- 12 bag candy milks
- rainbow nonpareils
Instructions
- Use a blender or food processor to pulse the circus animal cookies into fine crumbs. Set aside.
- Add the circus animal cookie crumbs and fold into the cream cheese. Then mix on medium-high speed using a hand mixer until it forms a cookie dough consistency.
- Melt the vanilla melting wafers using a double boiler or melt in a bowl in the microwave. Make sure to heat it on low and stir occasionally so the melts do not seize and thicken.
- Now for the next set, melt the pink candy melts and dip each cookie ball fully with a fork. Tap the fork to remove the excess coating. Add sprinkles immediately on each one before it hardens.
- Allow to set fully before serving, about 10 minutes. Enjoy!