LK, this is the recipe you keep hounding me about so I'm posting up here for everyone to see and enjoy.
A coworker brought homemade truffles to a work meeting in November. They were a HUGE hit at the staff meeting, and she was kind enough to share the recipe with me. They are a cinch to make, and not too sweet either.
Chocolate TrufflesIngredients:1 (8oz) pkg cream cheese
36 Oreo cookies (approx. 1 pkg--double stuffed Oreos are really good)
Chocolate for melting and dipping: Candy melts...chocolate chips w/ shortening...
Directions:Crush the oreos. Using a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese until softened and fluffy'ish' (you don't want it too "warmed" or it will be difficult to work with later). Cream the crushed oreos and cream cheese together until thoroughly blended. (It will look like a blackish goop/dough.) Roll or scoop the "dough" into bite-sized balls, place on a cookie sheet and freeze for about 1/2 hour. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler (or according to pkg directions in the case of candy melts). Using a tooth pick, shish-kabob skewer, or small fork, dip the frozen balls into the melted chocolate and place on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper to cool/harden.
Optional: You can drizzle any leftover chocolate over the cooled/cooling truffles to create designs. Also if you want a less rich alternative, chop up some nuts and add them to the mix. The saltiness of the nuts balances out the sweet of the cookies.
Note: I haven't had the best of luck using chocolate chips and shortening for the dipping chocolate, so I use Wilton's Candy Melts. Plus, if you use the candy melts, you won't have to refrigerate the truffles for them to harden.
These truffles are simple enough for young kids to help out with. I did this as an activity with some kids I babysat in early December. The 9 year old and 5 year old crushed the cookies, and then the 9 year old helped me roll them into balls once I'd mixed it all together. When it came time for the chocolate dipping, we all participated--though my primary roll was to guard against licking and re-dipping (we went through the entire drawer of forks, and then some!).
Next I want to try a variation with white/yellow sandwich cookies (e.g Nutter Butters) and white chocolate.
Yumminess!!