Cookies-n-Creme Heaven.....

OMG....I could've also called this blog, White Chocolate Heaven, Truffle Heaven or just plain Delectable Heaven!
I came across a recipe about two weeks ago and something just told me these candies would be really special.
So...when snow forced me to go home early from work one day this week, I figured it to be the perfect time to try these beautiful little treats. And....seeing as how the Hershey's Cookies-n-Creme candy bar is my daughter's favorite, I knew they'd probably be a winner.
They are simple to make and so worth it as everyone who's tried them so far (family & I took a few to work with me), have loved them - save for my bosss who doesn't like chocolate. But the way I see it, Oreos (which are one of the ingredients) aren't chocolate...they're just Oreos! But she doesn't eat Oreos or chocolate of any kind, so there ya go.
Anyhoo....give these a try, you will not be sorry. For the holidays you might even sprinkle them with red and green jimmies if you want. Personally, I like them elegantly plain :-) So - without further adieu.......

Cookies-n-Creme Truffles

1 package Oreo sandwich cookies
1 8 oz. brick cream cheese
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 packages white chocolate chips

Put oreos - all of them, but in stages if you like - in a food processor and blend until they are very fine crumbs. If you have chunks that did not break down, pour out the crumbs and repulse the chunks till they are fine as well. Put all crumbs back in processor and add the brick of cream cheese. You may want to cut the brick into four or five pieces and distribute them around the mixer-bowl for more even blending. Add the vanilla and blend until mixutre is very thoroughly incorporated. You do not want to see any white cream cheese....only a smooth, very dark mass.

Once blended, the mixture needs to be rolled into balls and placed on wax paper on a sheet pan. I used a very small cookie scoop to measure mine out so they'd all be the same size. You could also use a melon-baller or just your own eyeballs to size them up them yourself! The diameter of mine were probably close to that of a quarter. You can make yours smaller or larger if you want but it could affect the amount of white chocolate you use to cover them, so there's fair warning for ya. Once all of the chocolate mixture has been formed into balls, place the sheet pan in the freezer so the balls can firm-up - at least an hour, but two if you have the luxury of time on your side.

After about two hours in the freezer, begin to melt your white chocolate chips. Do this over a double boiler and make sure the water in the bottom is only simmering, not boiling. Matter of fact, every once in a while, once the chips start to lose shape and begin to melt, remove the bowl from the double boiler and stir them vigorously. I get paranoid of getting the chips too hot as chocolate can cease so easily. When the chips are melted velvety smooth, remove the sheet pan of frozen chocolate balls from the freezer and get ready to dip! The easiest way to do this is to stick a toothpick in the top of one of the balls, place it into the white chocolate and use a spoon to mound the chocolate up and over it's sides. Don't worry about getting chocolate all around the toothpick area, we'll take care of that in a minute. Let most of the excess white chocolate drip off the ball, then place it back on the wax paper. To remove the toothpick that's stuck in, give it a gentle twist, or use another toothpick as leverage to hold down the truffle and pop the 'stuck' toothpick right out. Dip a few truffles this way, then, using the spoon, get a little white chocolate on the tip of the spoon, and gently 'mound' it on the very top of the truffle where the toothpick hole was. Give the it a little 'DQ swirl' so-to-speak, if you will, for fun. :-) You may want to put the sheet pan back in the freezer about half way through if your house is warm and the ball begin to soften too much. But - once all of the balls have been coated, place the sheet back in the freezer for about 30 minutes, then you can transfer them to the fridge.

Once ready to eat/serve, place your lovely truffles on a pretty serving plate or candy dish. You may want to give them a few minutes - say, 10 or so - to lower their temp just a bit.

Then - serve these beautiful candies to your guests and watch their eyes pop! You, and they, will love them!

Enjoy!!!

Our Halls Are Decked...

Our house smells like pine! Mmmmm.....nothing smells as good as a Christmas tree! Real pine, with sticky sap to dot your hands and the occasional dropped needle is the best - reminds you that the stuff in the Pine-Sol bottle is not pine you really want to smell!

Although we got our tree from a 'U-Cut' farm again this year, we did get it from a different farm than we have in the past several years. There was hot chocolate and Santa was there and they passed out candy canes...it was fun. But to me, the best part was that they had one of those machines to shake the crap - literally - out of the tree! Stray, brown needles went flying and, more importantly, any and all tiny, buggy critters as well! Then, our tree was wrapped in twine and loaded in our truck - that was a first for us, but boy did it make it easier to deal with once we got it home. Windy Hill Tree Farm in Ridgefield, WA has made me a customer for life!

Sunday evening was all about decorating at our house. Although December is my husband's fave month (after the 3 summer months, that is), he's never really been interested in the actual decorating aspect of Christmas, so my daughter and I dug right in, as usual. I have to admit, putting the lights on the tree is one of those chores like balancing your checkbook...the thought of doing it is waaaay worse than actually doing it. And, once it's done, you realize it wasn't all that bad afterall! But always, the best part is getting out all of the wonderful ornaments. We have so many special ornaments, that the plain, colored balls from some 25-odd years ago have fallen into the background and get used as 'filler' deep inside the tree - for extra sparkle - if they get hung at all. Not only do I buy my daughter an ornament every year, but my mom does as well (she buys me one too!). So each year, our collection grows by at least three, specially chosen ornaments. Stupidly, we've never thought to date each one on the bottom or wherever - so now that my daughter is 14, it can be hard to remember the exact year each ornament was recieved :-( But it does give us something to chat about every year as each sparkling gem is unwrapped and hung on a limb to shine for yet another season. Best of all, those new ornaments get to hang among all the special, dare I say 'vintage' (my childhood ornaments are vintage?!?!) decorations and ornaments. Just as shown above in the photo...that's my daughter's newest chosen glass-blown ornament, right next to my childhood elf, now 44 years old. What an awesome feeling it was to see them right next to each other on our tree.....

What is it about a Christmas tree that makes a home seem so warm....is it the glow of the colorful lights? Is it the sparkle and twinkle of the glass-blown ornaments? Maybe it's the mere idea and tradition that the tree brings. All I know is that our home feels different once the tree and decorations go up - and it's such a good feeling - One of childlike antipation. Christmas does bring out the child in all of us!

Yes, there is nothing like the Christmas tree to bring it all together. The Christmas tree is such an important part of our celebration that it so pains me to hear it called a 'Holiday tree'. It's not a holiday tree...it IS a Christmas tree! A decorated pine tree with tinsel and lights and ornaments IS a Christmas tree! Why would calling a Christmas tree, a Christmas tree be offensive to anyone? Are we gonna start calling a Jewish Menorah or a Kinara used for Kwanzaa a holiday candelabra? I'm not thinkin' so...! We gonna call a Dreidel a holiday top? Can you imagine the uproar if we did! Let's just call things what they are.....let us all have our traditions as they are....as they were meant to be.

Here's hoping your home is aglow in all the warm and loving tradtions of your own family, be they spiritually based, or not. One way or another, just dive in to the jingly season and enjoy it for all it's worth!