That's right. Chocolate Cheesecake Pops. There are no words.
Wanna know the best part? With my version, you can even eat the stick. Hazardous to the hips, but environment friendly to the landfill.
All the more you should eat them.
Waste over waist.
All the more you should eat them.
Waste over waist.
CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE POPS*
CHEESECAKE BALLS
3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature
½ cup sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla bean paste (extract works fine as well)
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
¼ cup whole milk
1 teaspoon lemon zest
24 Pocky Sticks OR 24 lollipop sticks. Pocky Sticks come in a box of 24, but you'll want extra in case of breakage....and this will happen.
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
* These can be made gluten-free! Omit graham cracker crumbs and use crushed crispy rice cereal.
Preheat oven at 350ºF.
Using a mixer, beat cream cheese, sugar, vanilla bean paste, and flour together until creamy. Add eggs, lemon zest, and milk and mix until combined.
24 Pocky Sticks OR 24 lollipop sticks. Pocky Sticks come in a box of 24, but you'll want extra in case of breakage....and this will happen.
COATING
16 ounces semi-sweet baking chocolate squares1 cup graham cracker crumbs
* These can be made gluten-free! Omit graham cracker crumbs and use crushed crispy rice cereal.
Preheat oven at 350ºF.
Using a mixer, beat cream cheese, sugar, vanilla bean paste, and flour together until creamy. Add eggs, lemon zest, and milk and mix until combined.
Pour into a 10 inch pan with a removable base or a springform pan. Place pan on a cookie sheet and pour hot water into the sheet. This will help to keep the top from cracking.
Bake for 40 minutes. remove from oven and allow cheesecake to cool to room temperature. Place in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours. Overnight is best.
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Using an ice cream scoop with a retractable mechanism, scoop out balls.
You may need to roll them to by hand for a more uniform ball. Don't
worry if they look a bit wonky, they will be coated with chocolate. Place on prepared cookie sheet.
I used Pocky sticks in place of lollipop sticks for an extra treat. These are sold in most grocery or convenient stores, so you shouldn't have a problem finding them. If you do use these, it's VERY important that you use extra caution as they will break very easily if you're a bit heavy handed. I placed mine in the refrigerator to keep the chocolate from melting and some added support.
Place one stick in the center of the cheesecake balls and freeze for several hours, overnight for best results.
Melt chocolate using a double broiler method. Carefully dip balls into melted chocolate. The chocolate will freeze quite quickly, so you need to work a bit fast so the graham cracker crumbs will adhere to the chocolate.
Dip pops into graham cracker crumbs and place on lined cookie sheet.
Keep refrigerated for best results.
Yields: 24 Cheesecake Pops.