Happy Halloween!  Ready to sink your teeth into some Rat cheesecake?  I thought so…

I can’t tell you guys how proud I am of this ridiculously delish Rodent dessert!  I saw the idea of a rat cheesecake in Redbook magazine and decided to incorporate my own recipes into the design.  This is a Grand Marnier Orange Zested cheesecake with Oreo Truffle rats….It’s as scrumptious as it is adorable. The cheesecake stands on it’s own, but it’s so super cute if you incorporate the rat truffles!  I brought this cheesecake, Halloween Pumpkin pops and my Ultimate Dude Dip to a Halloween party last weekend and they were all huge hits!

So here’s the recipe….

Oreo Truffle Rats

1 package Double Stuff Oreos

1 8oz package full fat cream cheese

Dark chocolate melting wafers

Red hots (for eyes)

Sliced almonds (for ears)

Slivered almonds (for teeth)

Twizzlers cut in half (for tails) *if you can find string red licorice, even better!

I used the same recipe for Halloween cat truffles using 1 package of Double stuff Oreos and 1 8oz package of full fat cream cheese.  Just whip together in the food processor and put the truffle batter in the freezer for about 2-3 hours till it gets hard enough to shape into rat bodies.

I used sliced almonds for the rat ears.

Then, melt dark chocolate wafers in a double boiler (you can see that process in my Halloween Cat video) and dip rat bodies with the ears into the chocolate.  The chocolate dries quickly, so put your red hot eyes on and then the slivered almond teeth.  Last, pop on the licorice tail.  I couldn’t find the string licorice so I just cut a red twizzler in half.

Grand Marnier Orange Zested Cheesecake

3 packages (8oz each) of full fat cream cheese

1 pint full fat sour cream

3 eggs

1 Tb vanilla

1 cup sugar

2 Tb Grand Marnier

Juice from one orange

Zest from 1/2 orange

1 tsp of yellow food coloring (omit if you’re just making the cheesecake without the rat truffles…the yellow food coloring gives the cheesecake a lovely cheddar hue!)

Crust

2 cups of graham cracker crumbs

1 stick of butter

1 Tb brown sugar

Sour Cream Topping

1 cup full fat sour cream

3 Tb sugar

1 tsp vanilla

12-15 drops of yellow food coloring

Crust: Melt the stick of butter and mix with the brown sugar and graham cracker crumbs.  Press into the bottom of a springform pan.

Cheesecake filling: Preheat oven to 350.  Mix together ingredients until smooth and pour into crust.  I don’t bother mixing dry first then wet– I just put it all in my mixer and let it go on medium for a couple minutes.  Super low maintenance.  Bake for 1 hour.

Sour Cream Topping: Mix sour cream with sugar and yellow food coloring drops.  Spread over top after cheesecake has cooled.

So, the best line of the night was when I was slicing the cheesecake for the party guests– everyone wanted a piece of rat with their cheescake, naturally.  I handed out plates to my friends and then served the below plate to JP last…

I said, “Honey, don’t ever say I don’t give a rat’s ass about you.

I’m GIVING a rat’s ass TO YOU.”