Insert excerptRecipe: Toaster Pastry Cake Balls

I've been using Too Good To Go for a little while now. Besides the obvious of helping local establishments and the environment, getting a Surprise Bag of food, baked goods or a meal is so fun! I always wonder what will be in it as it’s always different, but always delicious. I thought it would be fun to play ‘Chopped’ and create a recipe using what was in my Surprise Bag from a health foods store. 

In my surprise bag, I got a box of veggie pasta, a cauliflower rice bowl, a protein meal packet, chocolate chip granola bars, and raspberry toaster pastries.

I know I can just eat the toaster pastries on their own or even with a slather of peanut butter, but I wanted to show that you can turn even just one item in your Surprise Bag into a treat that goes far beyond the three toaster pastries. 

I made white chocolate-coated raspberry cake balls! These are so incredibly easy and only require three ingredients: raspberry toaster pastries, cream cheese, and white chocolate. I also added crushed freeze-dried strawberries on top because I had them and what do you know, they were getting stale so it was the perfect excuse to use them up and not waste them!

Ingredients & Tools:

• 3 Raspberry Toaster Pastries
• 4 ounces of cream cheese at room temperature
• 1 cup white chocolate chips
• Freeze-dried strawberries or sprinkles (optional) 
  
  
• Food processor
• Stand Mixer
• Cookie Scoop
• Cookie Sheet
• Parchment Paper
• Microwave-safe Bowl
• Non-Stick Spray

Directions: 

The first thing you want to do is gather all of your ingredients. You will only need a few, but make sure everything is measured out. Line your cookie sheet with parchment paper and set it aside.

Then, process the toaster pastries in the food processor until only small bits remain.

Add the crumbled toaster pastry to a stand mixer along with your cream cheese. Mix until fully combined so that when you pinch a bit in between your fingers, it is sticky.

Spray a cookie scoop with non-stick spray and use it to evenly measure out the balls. Once all of the mixture is used, use your hands to roll and form them into balls. Place the cookie sheet into the freezer while you make the melted chocolate.

In a microwave-safe bowl, microwave 1 cup of white chocolate chips in 1-minute increments, stirring in between, until fully melted and smooth.

Remove the cake balls after 20 minutes in the freezer. Using 2 forks, dip each cake ball into the chocolate, rolling them around until fully coated. Tap off any excess chocolate and place them back on the parchment-lined cookie sheet. Repeat until all cake balls are coated. If you are sprinkling anything on top, do so now.

Place in the refrigerator or freezer until set, about 20 minutes. 

Enjoy!

How to store: 

Store them in the refrigerator in an air-tight container for up to 7 days, or in the freezer for longer!

Substitutions:

You can use any flavor toaster pastry! If it is something along the line of chocolate or s’mores, feel free to use regular chocolate chips if that will pair better with the flavor! In that case, you will want to add 1 teaspoon of coconut oil to them before microwaving.

Let me know if you make these Raspberry Toaster Pastry Cake Balls, and tag @eatingwith_em and @TooGoodToGo.USA on Instagram!