In my last post I mentioned a certain husband succumbing to giggles after taking a bite of something I made. It was the perfect response to a dang near perfect little treat. While I do love the oohs and ahhs I get every once in a while when I've baked something tasty, giggling is by far the best reaction. It's pure joy. And I find that joy is often elusive in day to day life. Happiness, yes, that is obtainable (how very optimistic of me, I know). But joy? Joy is something different. It's a state of happiness that has no contingencies. I feel like so often when people are asked, "are you happy?" the response is, "yeah, for the most part." I get that, I definitely do. In fact, I think it's often my own response. But I don't think you can be joyful for the most part. You either are or you aren't. It's a brilliant, however fleeting feeling that sets itself apart because it is so transient. Eliciting joy is a special thing.
Now, let's get to the joy-giving goodies. In the past few weeks I've begun trolling baking blogs for ideas. I happened across one terrific blog that I now frequent on a daily basis (go check it out at bakerella.com). There are several recipes I plan to attempt in the coming months, but this was my first. It was a mighty good start. When I first read the words "oreo truffle" I couldn't help but think, "how very American -- a white trash truffle." But then I got to thinking, "Woah Tomye, way to be a snob. Oreos are amazing. Everyone likes Oreos. Admit it, even you do. Just give the darn recipe a chance." So I packed away my cookie elitism, and got to work.
Now, I've decided to show more step-by-step photos of my mad baking skills, in the event that anyone wants to recreate anything here. So, before I got started on the truffles, I arranged all the ingredients:
Then I got started. At which time I realized that I hadn't included the cream cheese in my photo of ingredients. So much for my awesome tutorial. Oh well. Moving on...
Bust out your food processor and grind up the entire package of Oreos until they resemble coffee grounds (reserve about a half cup for later). Like so:
Add an 8 oz package of softened cream cheese and mix well. Your dough will look thick and clumpy, but trust me, it's perfect.
Roll dough into little balls and place them on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. Dough will make about 36 bite-sized balls. Mine made 37. With no place for that last little sucker on my cookie sheet, Jon and I were forced to eat it. Just a warning, you may be required to do this as well. Prepare yourself.
Place cookie sheet in freezer for about half an hour, just long enough to for the dough to harden (and not fall apart when it's time to dip). Put the chocolate wafers in the microwave on 50% power for 30 second intervals until they're all melted. Don't do all the wafers at once, as the dipping process is slow and the chocolate will harden before you're ready to use it all. Small batches are best. Drop a ball in the chocolate, roll it around, spoon chocolate over it, and slide it up the side of your bowl with your spoon, allowing the excess chocolate to drain off before placing it on your waxed paper.
After all the truffles are coated and dried (the drying happens pretty quickly), pick up each truffle and dip its top in the leftover chocolate and then the reserve Oreo crumbs. Purely for aesthetics, but worth it. Otherwise they just look like they're covered in Elmer's glue (and I'm guessing we all ate enough glue when we were kids that the charm has worn off).
Keep these in the fridge until you're ready to serve them. When you are ready, just sit back and get ready for some seriously happy faces. And some giggling. Oh, and maybe a little in-fighting...I'm not kidding, be ready for that. People tend to get very territorial over these guys. The creamy Oreo center is like crack...only much better for you. Or as good for you as Oreos can be.
Regardless, enjoy! Make these, you will not be disappointed. They will become your secret weapon, if ever you need to wield ultimate power over someone. Trust me. The guys at Sci-Fi night were mine to control. Mwwuuaahh aahh aaah!
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