Ingredients

• 1/2 block (4 oz) cream cheese, room temperature
• 4 1/2 c Powdered Sugar
• 1/2 tsp mint extract
• several drops of green gel food coloring
• 1/4 c heavy whipping cream
• 3 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

Make these confection bites using the following directions. Swap out the mint flavoring for raspberry, orange, or another flavored extract of your choice. Use a different hue of food coloring if you do not want light green-tinted treats. Make the dough. Combine the cream cheese and 1 cup of powdered sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer or using a handheld electric mixer until thoroughly mixed. Add the flavored extract and food coloring and mix until combined. Gradually add the rest of the powdered sugar, one cup of powdered sugar at a time to avoid a powdered sugar cloud all over your kitchen. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Form the balls. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Scooping out a rounded teaspoon of dough, using your hands, roll balls just smaller than 1-inch in diameter and place them on the lined baking sheet, gently pressing to just flatten the tops a bit. Using the rounded end of a wooden spoon or butter knife, create a small indentation in each flattened ball. The dough does begin to dry out quickly, so make the indentations as you roll out the balls to limit dough cracking on the sides if it dries out too much. Chill 1 hour while making the chocolate filling. Make the ganache. Place the chocolatee chips in a bowl or heat-proof measuring cup. Bring the heavy whipping cream to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Pour over the chocolate chips. Stir one or twice then let the mixture sit 2-3 minutes to melt the chocolate. Continue whisking or stirring until the chocolate is fully melted and incorporated into the warm cream. Transfer chocolate ganache to a ziptop bag and let cool slightly and thicken up just a little bit, approximately 15 minutes or so. Fill and chill. Snip the corner off the ziptop bag and pipe the chocolate ganache unto the center of each mint. Chill for about an hour or until the chocolate filling has set up. Store in refrigerator in an airtight container. Makes up to 3 dozen mint bites. Adapted from Mom on Timeout blog