Salted Caramel OREO Cookie Balls
Looking for a fun spin on a classic snack? Whip up a batch of these Salted Caramel OREO Cookie Balls!
This post is sponsored by OREO, all opinions are my own.
Whoever first invented the concept of an OREO cookie ball should be given an award. Seriously! OREO cookie balls are amazing, and they often make an appearance around our house during the holidays. (They also make fun neighbor or teacher gifts, too.) Another thing I love about OREO cookie balls? The ability to play with the flavors and create new fun snack ideas. Enter these Salted Caramel OREO Cookie Balls!
I still remember when Golden OREO cookies first arrived on store shelves. I’ve always loved vanilla flavored desserts, so the idea of a vanilla flavored OREO cookie was right up my alley! Robbie has followed in my footsteps here, too. He enjoys a regular OREO cookie, but given the choice he will pick a Golden OREO cookie. Like father, like son!
Salted Caramel OREO Cookie Balls
Salted Caramel OREO Cookie BallsThis past weekend, I decided to make this season’s first batch of OREO cookie balls – but with a twist. I particularly enjoy the combination of salty + sweet, so I settled on the idea of making Salted Caramel OREO Cookie Balls. Best decision ever! Not only do these cookie balls look cool, but they taste amazing, too!
I chose to use Golden OREO cookies for these cookie balls. Regular OREO cookies would probably work here, too, but the vanilla flavor in the OREO cookies really compliments the salted caramel topping. Plus, if you’re looking for a chocolate flavor, then you can dip these cookie balls in melted semisweet chocolate. (I actually dipped half of the batch in white chocolate and the other half in semisweet chocolate. I truly can’t say which version tasted better – they were both quite tasty!)
Part of the inspiration for these Salted Caramel OREO Cookie Balls came from a recent grocery store run to ShopRite. OREO cookies were on sale, so it was the perfect opportunity to grab a couple of packages. Bonus: OREO Cookies are on sale for 2/$5 with $1/2 digital coupon available on Shoprite.com 12/20 – 12/26. If that’s not a great excuse to make a batch of OREO cookie balls, then I don’t know what is!
Back home, I ground up the OREO cookies in a food processor. You should’ve seen the look on Robbie’s face when I put those OREO cookies in the food processor and turned it on. It was a combination of shock and amazement. “Dad, why did you just crush up those OREO Cookies? I could’ve eaten one of them first.” I told him that I had big things planned for those cookie crumbs. That and I gave him a Golden OREO cookie as a snack.
This past year, Robbie has shown a real interest in helping me in the kitchen. For this recipe, he sat on a stool next to me and helped roll the cookie balls. I did the chocolate dipping and caramel drizzling, but he came back around to help with the salt. Of course, when all was said and done, he helped me eat one of these cookie balls to make sure it was good. (He gave it two thumbs up!)
As noted above, I did the caramel drizzling step while Robbie watched from the sidelines. To simplify things, I used an easy caramel sauce for drizzling on top of these cookie balls. You can certainly make your own homemade caramel sauce, but I like the ease of just melting individually wrapped caramels with a bit of evaporated milk. The result is a creamy and delicious caramel – perfect for drizzling on these Salted Caramel OREO Cookie Balls!
The final step for these cookie balls is to sprinkle the tops with flaked sea salt. Flaked sea salt is a super fun way to finish dishes, and I always keep a package in the pantry for recipes like this one. If you’re looking for a fun and tasty snack idea, then put these Salted Caramel OREO Cookie Balls on the list! And make sure to take advantage of that sale coming up at ShopRite!
Looking for additional OREO Cookie Ball ideas? Check out this page for more fun recipes!
Did you make a batch of these Salted Caramel OREO Cookie Balls at home? Leave a comment, or snap a photo and tag me on Instagram (@Spicedblog). I’d love to see your version!
Salted Caramel OREO Cookie Balls
Ingredients
For the OREO Balls
- 1 8-oz. package cream cheese, softened
- 36 Golden OREO cookies finely crushed
- 16 oz. semi-sweet baking chocolate melted
- flaked sea salt
For the Caramel
- 1 14-oz. package individually wrapped caramels, unwrapped
- 1 5-oz. can evaporated milk
Instructions
For the OREO Balls
- Mix cream cheese and OREO crumbs together until well combined.
- Shape mixture into 48 (1-inch) balls. Freeze balls for 10 minutes.
- Dip balls in either melted semi-sweet chocolate or the melted candy melts; place in single-layer on a shallow wax paper-lined pan. (See note.)
- Let caramel cool slightly and then transfer into a piping bag or small sandwich bag with one corner cut off. Drizzle tops of balls with caramel. Sprinkle tops with flaked sea salt.
- Refrigerate for 1 hour, or until firm. Keep refrigerated.
For the Caramel
- Using a medium saucepan, add caramels and evaporated milk. Place over low heat and cook, stirring often, until mixture is smooth.
Notes
I’m such a huge Oreo fan so I know these would be a hit! So perfect for the holidays and way to tempting to have around 😉 I gotta check out these Oreos next time I’m at the grocery! Have a great week, David!
I’m a huge OREO fan, too, Dawn! I’ve always enjoyed the classic OREO cookie balls, but I’ve gotta say that this version with the golden OREOs is giving the classic one a run for its’ money! 🙂
Who doesn’t love Oreos, right? What a fun way to make them elegant and even more delicious!
Tell me about it, Marissa! I had a hard time not eating all of the ingredients while making this recipe…haha! 🙂
I believe I’ve mentioned many times me not being a huge fan of oreo cookies on their own (I know, call me weird!) But they just taste too bland (thanks to lots of added sugar) and way too sweet to my liking. On the other hand, when added into another recipe, that’s a totally different story. Ice cream, milkshake, truffles, cheesecakes, to name a few. I know what you are going to say: sweet dessert + overly sweet oreos together? Truth! But it surprisingly works so well together that I cannot even complain about excessive sweetness. Anyway, I am huge fan of oreo balls / truffles – so delicious with little effort. I personally prefer classic oreos and dark chocolate ganache which balances the sweetness out, and I’ve never tried it with golden ones. Even though they sound to be sweeter, combined with some gooey caramel and a good pinch of salt, they also appear absolutely delicious!
OREOs really are a great ingredient for all sorts of things – I particularly enjoy using them to make a chocolate crust for cheesecakes! While the classic chocolate OREO cookie balls are delicious, I have to say that this sweet + salty combination using the golden OREOs is definitely ranking up there pretty high on my list of favorite treats! Thanks, Ben!
these look absolutely gorgeous david. we use Tim Tams here in australia to make a similar treat. i love the idea of a bit of salt on them to cut the sweetness.
Yes! The sweet + salty makes for such a fun combination in a dessert. I highly recommend these, Sherry! 🙂
Wow, I’ve never seen or tried vanilla Oreos, though we do get the original ones here. I could use those instead as I’ve never heard of Oreo cookie balls.
I always make pepparkaksbollar med dadlar och mandel (gingerbread balls with dates and almond), but this year I’m adding some Oreo cookie balls. Thanks for the inspiration, my friend…
Ah, you absolutely owe it to yourself to make a batch of OREO cookie balls during the holiday season – they are a tradition here in our house. The classic version using the chocolate cookies is good, so even if you can’t find the golden ones, you’ll still be in for a treat!
I like the idea of gingerbread balls…in fact, I like the idea of gingerbread anything! I think the inspiration goes both ways here, my friend!
These are serious mouth watering cookie balls , and of course my kids will finish it in no time. There is something about the Oreo flavor and most of the kids loves it. That caramel drizzle and sea salt makes it even more tempting for me, love that you have used white candies too, I cannot wait to try this out!
Thanks so much, Aarthi! I agree with you about OREO cookies – they bring back such good childhood memories. I think Robbie is developing the same memories now as he really loved helping me make these cookie balls! 🙂
Nothing better than kids helping in the kitchen! And what a fun treat to help with. I love all the rolling with this cookie dough – talk about fun! What a great combination of flavors too!
I totally agree, Kathy! I’ve enjoyed having Robbie help out in the kitchen – it makes things a bit slower at times, but he’s learning so much! 🙂
Wow, David. These cookies belong on a Christmas cookie platter, for sure. I wasn’t aware there such things as golden Oreos. You could probably take them in so many directions, although salted caramel is one of my favorite things.
Golden OREOs are amazing, Jeff! I mean it’s hard the beat the classic chocolate version, but I’ve gotta say the golden ones make for an excellent Salted Caramel OREO Cookie Ball! Cheers, my friend!
I’m not clear on one thing. You have baking chocolate, and candy melts. Did you mix that together and use the result to coat the balls?
Ah! Good question, Jeff. The baking chocolate was used for the semisweet chocolate coated version. The candy melts was used for the white chocolate coated version. That way you end up with 2 different types of treats here – I can see why that was confusing though. I’m editing the instructions now to clarify!
P.S. I didn’t get any photos of the white chocolate version – so I can totally get the confusion. Thanks for catching that one for me!
I would be all over the roof sinking my tooth on that!
Haha! You and me both, Raymund!
Ohhhh these look AMAZING David!!! I have never made Oreo cookie balls, but I absolutely love Oreos. Which means I’ll be making these ASAP, undoubtedly with my daughter. Love the salted caramel spin as well, I’m sure a batched of these Oreo Cookie Balls would not last in our house!
Oh, if you like Oreos, then you HAVE to make a batch of Oreo balls, Shannon! The classic version is good, but I have to say that the Salted Caramel version (using the Golden Oreos) is a new favorite here. Perfect for the holiday cookie season! 🙂
I have made a similar recipe using already made salted caramel ice cream topping but am anxious to make it with the sea salt. Am 84 yrs old & bake almost every day (out of boredom) & bring it to Dr’s offices, nursing homes, etc since I don’t eat alot of sweets. Thank You for sharing.
Hey Joan! I love that you bake almost every day – I bake quite a lot here myself, and I always love the days that I get to bake something. Keep baking, my friend! (P.S. Thanks so much for commenting – I truly appreciate that!)