Chocolate Cream Cheese Balls

[joanne42]

Okay Easter is soon be upon us and tempation is gonna be there. For a quick guilt free treat why not try some of these.. I've made them time and time again and I'm sure you will get hooked like I did. ENJOY

1 square unsweetened baking chocolate
1 tbsp heavy cream
1 tsp butter
1 small pkg splenda artificial sweetener

1 8 oz pkg cream cheese (not light)
1 lrg. box of sugar free jello

Mix the cream cheese and jello together. Form into 1/2 inch balls. Chill for about 10 minutes.

I've tried the cherry flavoured and it's like eating chocolate covered cherries.

Melt the chocolate, margarine, heavy cream and artificial sweetener together. Dip cream cheese balls in chocolate and rechill for 1/2 hour. mmmmmm delicious for those chocolate cravings.

.33 grams of carbs per ball.
24 chocolates

[numberonewendy]

Oh my, gotta try those...LOL

Thanks, Wendy

[IslandGirl]

Great idea for the filling; I've been thinking up all kinds of complicated stuff that probably wouldn't work very well for the simple chocolate filling. This is *great*.

I have a different [secret until now !8-] recipe that works great for a firmer chocolate coating and makes a spectactular crackling glaze on frozen homemade ice cream, too.

1 ounce pure cocoa butter, food grade (from the Health Food Store)
1 ounce dark cocoa powder, unsweetened Dutch Process (Fry's is excellent)
1/8 tsp white stevia powder

Ensure all bowls, spoons and whisks are completely dry. Melt the cocoa butter in a heat proof bowl at low power 40-50% in the microwave; may take a few minutes. Sift the cocoa powder and stevia in another small bowl.

Carefully remove the cocoa butter from the microwave and set on a potholder or teatowel (bowl and cocoa butter will be quite hot). Slowly whisk the cocoapower mixture into the cocoa butter until smooth.

Dip whatever you want in the liquid chocolate and put aside to set (I use a sheet of baking parchment or a teflon pan liner). Can put in the freezer for a few minutes if desired. OR spoon/drizzle 2-3 tbsp over some LC ice cream.

PS: I use this to coat my 'homemade' protein bars.

[sherrybee]

hey thanks joanne!!!!!......i'm a candy maker and this sounds like GREAT one!!!!!!.........gonna give it a whirl!!!!!!!!!

[jessjoy]

these sound wonderful! just one quick question, do you mix the cream cheese with the DRY jello mix or do you prepare the jello according to directions on the box? I cant wait to make these!

[joanne42]

Mix with the dry jello mix

[sherrybee]

i have all of my ingredients......but how much is "one small package of splenda......a tsp??????........a tbsp?????

[Sharon]

I buy my Splenda in a box...it says 1 tsp. sweetens like 1 teaspoon of sugar. I would probably use 1-2 tsp... (Sorry when I started answering this, I thought I knew the correct answer, but I think it's too early in the morning!! and I'm not feeling sure now!)

Someone who buys the small pkgs... will have a definitely answer.

[doreen T]

The standard sweetness for the little individual paper packets of sweetener is -- one packet equals the sweetness of 2 tsp of sugar. This is true for all, beause I've checked ..;) .. so Equal, Splenda, SugarTwin, NoName ... doesn't matter what is the actual measure of powder within the packet. Just remember, the whole packet gives equivalent sweetness to 2 tsp.

For the granular sweeteners which come bulk in a box or jar, these have been fluffed up with fillers (usually maltodextrin) to measure exactly spoon-for-spoon as sugar.

Note also, for Splenda, the carb count is the same whether you use the bulk granular stuff, or the little packets. For example ...

If your recipe calls for sweetener to equal 1 cup of sugar, you would use 1 cup of the bulk granular Splenda. According to the box, one tsp (5 ml) of the bulk product has 0.5 carbs. There are 48 tsp per cup (yes, I double-checked this) so 48 x 0.5 = 24 carbs for the 1 cup measure.

With the little paper packets, each packet = 2 tsp of sweetness. So, to get equivalent to 1 cup, you would use 24 packets (24 x 2 tsp = 48) Right? According to the box, each packet has 1 carb gram. Therefore, 24 packets = 24 carbs.

Don't worry about the actual tsp. measure of the little packets. They are much more concentrated, so only a tiny amount of powder to give the same sweet taste. Just count the # of packets, and you'll be fine.

To calculate the reverse, ie, your recipe calls for 6 packets of Splenda, and you have the bulk granular stuff ----- remember that 6 packets = 12 tsp. sweetness. So, you'd use 12 tsp (or 4 Tbsp) of the granular.

hope this helps .. :)

Doreen

[joanne42]

SHEESH I'm late in seeing this.. I only use one teaspoon of splenda.. I only buy in the boxes as well.

[sherrybee]

how did everyone coat their centers??....i had a difficult time doing it with the amount of chocolate the recipe called for...also...i had to double up on the splenda....still too bitter with 1!!

[Sharon]

Me too, I didn't have enough chocolate and it was hard to cover up the centres....I only made these once....BUT they are GOOD. Next time I try I'm going to make them in a small pan...then the chocolate can be spread. A delightful treat for a special occasion.

[sherrybee]

oh sharon---i have to agree with you...i gobbled mine up!!!! they are delicious!!!!!!!

[joanne42]

I stuck a toothpick in mine and then tilted the pot a bit and just dipped the centers in quickly...

[sherrybee]

did the tilt thing too...that's common sense....to meager of a level to coat completely

[DebDaCajun]

I made the recipe today but with some adjustments. I forgot the directions said large box of sf jello and I had bought the small one (strawberry) so I used that and 4 oz of cream cheese. I also decided since everyone said they had trouble with the amount of chocolate, I used "double" (which in this case meant I used the whole amount). I ended up putting 4 splenda packets in it and it was still bitter, but my roommate (who is a much more experienced cook than I am) said I probably scorched the chocolate when I heated it :eek: . And I also found that the centers were a bit too tangy [not that I didn't eat them anyway;)]. So I think when I make them the next time I'll use the small jello packet for 8oz of cream cheese.

Oh, I DID figure out a good way to coat them -- I just used my cake frosting spatula and frosted them! I also think next time I'll try raspberry and orange (not together :rolleyes: ).

[DebDaCajun]

Well, I made them again today, with the following adjustments made to the original recipe, and they are TO DIE FOR! My roomie suggested putting the balls into the chocolate and then taking them out with a pair of forks (cradled around the ball rather than stuck into it) -- this works wonderfully and is not very messy at all!


Low-Carb Choco Cream Cheese Treats
Makes 12-24 chocolates
12 chocolates - 3.6g CHO 2.4g (0.4 oz) PRO per ball
18 chocolates - 2.4g CHO 1.6g (0.25 oz) PRO per ball
24 chocolates - 1.8g CHO 1.2g (0.2 oz) PRO per ball

Equipment
Water bath:
Very large bowl (at least 3 qt, or you could use a pot that large too)
Glass measuring cup or small bowl (must fit in large bowl with room for water in between)
hot tap water for water bath

Ingredients
1 8 oz pkg. cream cheese (not light) 16g CHO 16g PRO
1 sm. box of sugar free jello 2g CHO 4g PRO
1 pkg Splenda 1 g CHO

2 oz unsweetened baking chocolate 16g CHO (8g fiber) 8g PRO
3 tbsp heavy cream 3g CHO 1g PRO
2 tsp butter 0g CHO 0g PRO
6 or more packets of Splenda to taste (1g CHO each packet)
TOTAL 44g CHO 29g (4.8 oz) PRO

Directions
Mix the cream cheese, jello, and sweetener together, and place in freezer 10 minutes to chill. Form into 1/2 - 1 inch balls and place in a pan lined with wax paper/plastic wrap/aluminum foil. Chill again at least 20 minutes in the freezer.

Place butter and cream in glass measuring cup and microwave for 30 seconds on high. Place cup/bowl in large bowl and fill with enough hot tap water to reach the top level of the butter and cream. (Make sure the water is as hot as possible, and replace when water becomes cool enough to leave your finger in.) Pour chopped chocolate into the measuring cup and stir until chocolate is melted. (You may need to change the water once or twice.) Add the sweetener to the chocolate mixture -- add as many as you like to get the taste you like, just remember to add the additional gCHO to your calculations.

Take cream cheese balls out of the freezer and frost them with the chocolate (very messy!), then place them back in the freezer until the chocolate is set. I store mine in the freezer.

[tina3869]

Do they make a sugar free pudding and can you use that instead of sugar free jello?

[Karen]

Hi Tina,

Don't go there! ;)

1/2 cup of prepared Jell-o Fat/Sugar free chocolate pudding is 14 grams of carbohydrates.

I admire people who can have just one. for me, it's either none or one-thousand! LOL!

Karen

[tina3869]

It just doesn't seem worth it for that many carbs, huh? I was only asking bc my husband doesn't realy like fruit and I was thinking that 'chocolate covered chocolate' idea might be more appealing that 'chocolate covered fruit'....know what I mean? But the strawberry jello doesn't sound to bad.

I just packed up 23 boxes of jello....too bad not one box was sugar free!!

Thanks for the advice!

Tina

[itsjoyful]

i was thinking of maybe making gelatine using the directions on the box (but use splenda) and maybe add some unsweetened cocoa?
brenda