Pumpkin Cheesecake Truffles

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I'm a huge fan of Oreo Truffles but, unfortunately, they're not the healthiest dessert (hello, Oreos!). That said, ever since the first batch of Oreo Truffles, my friends and family have asked begged for more. After my 12 Days of Pumpkin project, with my pumpkin obsession still lingering, I finally obliged them -- sort of -- by making Pumpkin Cheesecake Truffles. 

These treats are rich, creamy, and moist, but are surprisingly low calorie (YES, can we get a round of applause for the low-cal element?!). The base, a pumpkin cake, uses no eggs, no oil, and no butter -- just vanilla cake mix (you can use sugar free if you would like to make it even lower in calories) and either canned pumpkin or pumpkin puree. By mixing in low fat cream cheese, we end up with a flavor akin to pumpkin cheesecake, without the fat-saturated ingredients. A delicious but very thin outer layer of vanilla candy coating tops off these delicious Pumpkin Cheesecake Truffles. I brought them into work and they were gone within minutes! :) Enjoy!

Bake time: 25 minutes 
Total time: 1 hour (this number will vary, depending on how long you let your cake cool for)

Calories per serving: 80-100 Calories (depends on which cream cheese is used, which cake mix is used, and whether pumpkin puree or canned pumpkin is used as the butter/oil substitute)

Ingredients:

• 1 box Yellow Cake Mix
• 1 can Canned Pumpkin (or 8 oz Pumpkin Puree)
• 8 oz Low Fat Cream Cheese
• 1 package Almond Bark (Vanilla)
• 1 tablespoon Vegetable Oil

Directions:

1. Peaheat oven to 350.
2. Combine cake mix and pumpkin and beat on medium until well mixed.
3. Pour into greased glass dish and bake for 20-24 minutes (if cake box says otherwise, follow those instructions), or until a toothpick comes out clean.
4. Set the cake aside to cool (I covered mine and set it out overnight so that it was cooled the following day).
5. "Mash" the cake. Using clean hands or a fork, break the cake into crumbly pieces and add the cream cheese, mixing well with clean hands.
6. Once the cake and cream cheese are mixed well enough that no white cream cheese is visible, roll into small balls with your hands (about 1 inch in diameter). Set aside.
7. Melt almond bark in a deep bowl (this will make it easier to coat the truffles). Begin by heating for 90 seconds, then stir. Heat at 15 second intervals, stirring in between, until melted.
   (If you would like to drizzle an additional colorful layer of coating at the end, set aside 1/8 of the candy coating).*
8. Add 1 tablespoon Vegetable Oil and mix well.
9. Using two large spoons, carefully drop each truffle into the melted coating and toss around. Remove and place on parchment paper to dry. Continue this process with the rest of the truffle balls.
   *If you set aside candy coating for drizzling, melt the leftover coating after the initial coat has dried. Once it has melted, add a few drops of Vegetable Oil and stir in a few drops of coloring. I used Wilton's icing coloring, so I swirled 3 toothpicks in the coloring and then the icing. Once this is well stirred, either drizzle using a fork or use a piping bag (or plastic bag) with a very thin opening.