With Super Bowl XLV coming up on Sunday, it’s time to bust out the Game Day snacks. While the classic combo of Buffalo wings, beefy nachos and guacamole represent the usual MVPs of Super Bowl snacks, most students have about as much money as they do free time, which isn’t saying much. So, how can a college student or anyone on a budget turn cheap and basic snacks into game-winning treats? Here's one recipe to kick-off the big game:

Super Bowl XLV Truffles (Flickr)

Super Bowl XLV Truffles

This recipe may be simple, but it is insanely addictive; my cousin made these last year and I ate about 10 of them before halftime. These little bites of chocolatey heaven are not only super easy to make, but they are made from ingredients that are affordable and readily available. These festive treats are great for a Super Bowl party since they are bite size finger foods, making them easy to pop into your mouth. Plus, the word “truffle” adds a touch of elegance. And let’s be honest, who doesn’t love Oreos?

Ingredients:

1 (16 oz) package of Oreos, finely crushed

1 (8 oz) package of cream cheese, softened

1 (12 oz) package of semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 (12 oz) package of white chocolate chips (to make laces on the footballs)

Directions:

1. Seal the Oreos in a large Ziploc bag and finely crush them. You can use the bottom of a mug or heavy cup.

2. In a large bowl, combine the softened cream cheese with the crushed Oreos. Make sure the cream cheese is softened; otherwise it won’t combine with the Oreos.

3. Once the Oreos and cream cheese are thoroughly combined, form the mixture into one-inch football shapes (see photo) and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment or waxed paper. Chill them in the refrigerator for 45 minutes.

4. Just before the truffles are ready to come out of the refrigerator, melt the chocolate chips in the microwave. Be gentle--chocolate burns easily. Glass bowls work the best (ceramic bowls tend to get too hot, which can burn the chocolate). Microwave at the lowest power (50 percent works well) at 45 second intervals, stirring between each time.

5. Remove the truffles from the refrigerator and dip them in the melted chocolate until they are completely coated. Using two forks, gently remove the truffles, letting the excess chocolate drip back into the bowl. Place the truffles back on the cookie sheet and chill for another hour in the fridge.

6.  Just before the truffles are ready to come out of the fridge, melt the white chocolate chips in the microwave. Use the same method as before.

7.  Carefully spoon the melted white chocolate into a clean Ziploc bag, as close to one of the bottom corners as possible. Avoid touching the inside of the bag as much as possible--you want the chocolate to collect at a bottom corner so you can squeeze it out. Seal the bag, and use scissors to snip off a small corner of the bag where the chocolate collected.

8.  Squeeze the white chocolate (like icing) onto each truffle to look like laces (see photo). This step can be a little tricky, so work slowly and carefully! You may want to practice piping the melted chocolate on the cookie sheet before you start decorating your footballs. If you prefer, you can dip the back of a spoon into the white chocolate and use that to drizzle on the laces, instead of piping it with the Ziploc--it gets messy, though!.

9.  Enjoy your Game Day treats! Or place them in food storage containers, separating each layer with a piece of parchment or waxed paper, and keep them in the freezer--they stay good for weeks. 

**Makes approximately 3-4 dozen truffles, depending on the size.**

While these truffles are football-themed in the spirit of the Super Bowl, they can be made in all sorts of shapes, sizes, flavors, and textures. Not feeling up to decorating? Skip piping on white chocolate laces with the Ziploc and just drizzle the chocolate on with the back of a spoon. Or just skip the drizzle altogether, to make them super quick and easy.

Want to make SC-themed, UCLA-themed or team-themed Truffles? Prepare the crushed cookie and cream cheese mixture and spread it evenly in a baking pan and chill in the refrigerator until it firms up. Try cutting out the letters U-S-C- (or other team name) with a knife, dipping them in the melted chocolate, and chilling them. Maybe add some Cardinal and Gold sprinkles over the chocolate? Once you harden the cookie and cream cheese mixture, you can cut it into any shapes you want--the sky's the limit:

• Try using Nutter Butters or different flavored Oreos instead of plain ones.

• Add crushed up candy like ButterFinger to the Nutter Butter version.

• Dip/drizzle them in other types of chocolate--or mix & match different ones.

• Melted Hershey’s chocolate bars will also work if you don’t have chocolate chips readily available.

Now that you have a jump start to create your All-Star snack lineup for Sunday’s matchup, you can get through this week stress-free knowing that you will not only be eating delicious food that you made yourself, but you will still have money left in your pocket to bet on the winning team. Whether you will be sporting a Cheesehead or waving a Terrible Towel, you will have a victorious treat to devour and show off to your friends while you cheer your head off.

Send your food questions/suggestions (recipe ideas, restaurant recommendations, food questions, cooking tips, anything food related) to Veronica .  Your questions and comments might be featured in next week’s column!