My Favorite Chocolaty Desserts

Below are a few of my favorite chocolaty desserts any of which would be perfect for Valentine's Day! They go from most difficult to easiest, and all can be made ahead of time. Hope you enjoy!

Double Chocolate Cheesecake
Makes 8 to 10 servings
Ingredients

* 1 1/2 cups cream-filled chocolate sandwich cookie crumbs (about 18 cookies)
* 1 (12-ounce) package semisweet chocolate morsels
* 3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
* 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
* 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 4 large eggs
* Ganache Topping

Preparation

Press cookie crumbs into bottom and halfway up sides of a 9-inch springform pan; set aside.

Microwave chocolate morsels in a microwave-safe bowl at HIGH 1 1/2 minutes or until melted, stirring at 30-second intervals.

Beat cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer 2 minutes or until smooth. Add sweetened condensed milk and vanilla, beating at low speed just until combined. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating at low speed just until combined after each addition. Add melted chocolate, beating just until combined. Pour cheesecake batter into prepared crust.

Bake at 300° for 1 hour and 5 minutes or just until center is set. Turn oven off. Let cheesecake stand in oven 30 minutes with oven door closed. Remove cheesecake from oven; run a knife along outer edge of cheesecake, and cool in pan on a wire rack until room temperature. Cover and chill 8 hours.

Remove sides of springform pan, and place cake on a serving plate. Slowly pour and spread warm Ganache Topping over top of cheesecake, letting it run down sides of cheesecake. Chill 1 hour before serving.

Ganache Topping

Yield

Makes 1 1/2 cups
Ingredients

* 3/4 cup whipping cream
* 1 (6-ounce) package semisweet chocolate morsels (1 cup)
* 1 (6-ounce) package milk chocolate morsels (1 cup)

Preparation

Bring cream to a boil in a saucepan over medium heat; quickly remove from heat, and stir in semisweet and milk chocolate morsels until melted and smooth. Let mixture cool (about 30 minutes) until slightly warm before pouring and spreading over cheesecake.

Oreo Truffles

Ingredients: 1 pkg. regular oreos (not double-stuffed), 8 oz. cream cheese softened, a couple of bars of white chocolate melted, one bar of milk or dark chocolate melted)
1. Put 10 oreos at a time in a food processor and crumble, add more depending on size of food processor.
2. Once all of them are processed (moving them into a large mixing bowl after each set of 10 are done), add softened cream cheese to bowl and mix with spatula until incorporated.
3. Once mixed well, make one inch balls and set on wax paper on a baking sheet.
4. Place in fridge for 10-20 mins. to set.
5. Once set, dip in melted white chocolate and set back onto wax paper.
6. Once all are dipped and covered well (sometimes I double dip them to fully cover), drizzle milk or dark melted chocolate over each one and allow to dry (I put melted chocolate in a small ziploc and snip the corner to drizzle).
7. Refrigerate in a covered container until ready to serve.

Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

Ingredients

* 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
* 3 tablespoons heavy cream
* 12 long-stemmed strawberries

Directions

Melt the chocolate and cream together in a bowl set over simmering water until just melted. Stir and remove from the heat. Dip each strawberry in the chocolate and set aside on waxed or parchment paper to dry.