Cookie Truffles

I know that this has not ever been a cooking blog, nor will it ever be a cooking blog, but this weekend is my family's annual Cookie Bake. I come from a rather large family (my mother was one of ten children) and most of us all live near each other. So, the holidays are always very busy around here. One of my favorite traditions that we have is our Cookie Bake. All the girls, and some of the boys, get together at my aunt's house for one long day of crazy baking. We start around 9 in the morning, end sometime around dinner, and make hundreds upon hundreds of cookies. All of us have our own specialties that we bake and everyone chips in to make others. At the end of the day we each make huge trays for our own families and the rest of our uncles, coworkers, friends, really anyone who would eat a cookie. It's exhausting, but fun. Some of my fondest memories are of me sitting with my cousins decorating sugar cookies, or rolling out candy cane twists, or making these truffles.
So, in honor of Cookie Bake tomorrow, I'll share one of my favorite recipes. I love this recipe not just because it's delicious, which it is, but because it's super easy and people always think you spent far more time making them than you really did. Seriously, even when I tell people who are eating them how easy they are they don't believe me. :)

Cookie Truffles (I'm not sure this is the real name, so call them what you want)

Ingredients
1 package Oreo cookies (or generic Oreos. Don't use the Double Stuff, but Mint and Peanut Butter are delicious in this recipe too. I use the Gluten Free cookies so I can eat them also)
1 block cream cheese (non fat, part fat or full fat, doesn't matter)
1 package chocolate Candy Quik (or other microwavable candy coating)
Optional:
Decorations- sprinkles (bigger ones work better), nuts, cake frosting, white candy quik
Mini cupcake cups

Directions
1. Crush the entire bag of Oreos (cookie parts and cream parts). I usually just toss them in my food processor and let it go to town, but you can put them in a baggie and smash with a rolling pin too. Just make sure they are crushed fine and evenly.
2. Mix the block of cream cheese with the crushed Oreo. It helps to soften the cream cheese first, but you don't want it to be too melty.
3. Roll the mixture into small balls. About 1 ounce in size. It doesn't really matter, but something relatively bite sized. Place them on wax paper or parchment paper.
4. Microwave the Candy Quik according to package directions. Dip each ball in the candy to cover completely, then return to the wax paper to harden.
5. Decorate! If you're using sprinkles or nuts, make sure you put the decorations on before the chocolate coating dries. I usually melt a little white candy quick and drizzle it over the balls, or make holly with cake icing and Red Hots candies.
6. Put them in the mini cupcake wrappers and enjoy!

Super easy, super delicious and they look really pretty! I hope you all enjoy your weekend! Let me know if you try out my truffles, or if you have any delicious cookie recipes to share!

Wee Bit of Me Wednesdays

Well, I'm back. I survived texturing the closet... albeit barely. Now I've moved on to full-fledged panic mode. We've got TONS!!! FRIGGIN' TONS! of cleaning/repairing/etc to finish before our new dining room table comes in a week, and before we have a party at our house in a week and a half. Yep.... had a full on panic attack last night. It was special. But, blogging is a nice distraction from all the stuff that I really need to be doing, so here we go! It's Wee Bit of Me again. :) As always, thanks to Leigh and Jumblemash for getting me blogging weekly.



{one} if you were granted three wishes, what would they be?
I'm going to assume that I can't wish for infinite wishes.... which would be awesome. I think I would wish for peace, happiness and tolerance throughout the world. Then, I would wish for an unlimited supply of money. I know that money isn't everything, but I think I could do a lot of good with a lot of money. And buy some killer shoes. And third, I would wish for a completely clean bill of health, including but not limited to: no risk for cancer, no thyroid problems, and being able to eat whatever I want while maintaining a healthy weight.


{two} who is your favorite author?

I refuse to pick just one favorite author... it's just so limiting. So, here are my top 3 or 5ish authors whom I love: Paulo Coelho- The Alchemist is one of my favorite books of all time. I love him and how kind and giving he is. His web presence is fantastic too. Isabel Allende- Yes, I have a thing for South American authors. Her works of mystical realism are breath-taking. I know that saying an author's writing is lyrical is quite cliche, but her work is the definition of lyrical. John Steinbeck- another beautiful writer whose work can only be described as sweeping. East of Eden is still one of my all time favorites. J.K. Rowling- I'm actually not a huge fan of her writing; she uses passive voice entirely too often, but she is an amazing storyteller. I hope that my own YA Fantasy novel can have the brilliant themes, characters and fantastic plot arcs that her work does.

{three} what crowd were you involved in during high school?
Oh... you're all still with me after that last marathon answer. Well then. I was sort of a crowd defy-er in high school. I was popular, a jock, hung with the punk kids, was in band and choir, and did a ton of volunteer work, and just regular work in general. I don't know that I could really be defined in high school. :)

{four} what is your favorite thing to do when you have time to yourself?
I love to read, watch bad television, knit and sleep.

{five} do you have any hidden talents?
Hmmm... I can knit, sing, play clarinet, draw and paint decently. My most hidden and random talent though is probably my awesome butchering skills. I can take apart a piece of meat like a pro.
{six} can you fake any accents?
Not really on purpose, though I've been told that I sound Southern sometimes and like I'm from Minnesota sometimes.

{seven} have you ever been mentioned in the newspaper?
Oh yeah, loads of times. One of the benefits of growing up in a small town I guess. I was always in the newspaper for sports and music and whatnot. As an adult I've been in the paper a few times for stuff in college and teaching.

{eight} have you ever been arrested?
No.. not yet at least. ;)

{nine} what is your favorite job you’ve had?
Um.... I really liked teaching skiing. It was all the fun of teaching without the stress. I Like my job now pretty well too, most days at least.

{ten} do you have any scars?
Tons! I scar really easily. I have scars on my forehead from a dog bite as a kid and chicken pox, scar on my back from having a cyst removed, scars on my knee from surgery, and a wide variety of scars from things like the cat, my razor, ski edges... I'll never win any perfect skin prizes.

Whew! That was a long one. If you made it all the way to the end I commend you for listening to me blather on for so long! As a reward, I'll be back on Friday with an amazing holiday cookie recipe! It's so easy! And Fast! And Delicious! :)
 

Wee Bit of Me Wednesdays.... or Thursday

Well then... I missed a couple of weeks of Wee Bit due to illness and it being Thanksgiving here in the states, and the ever important Black Friday. The hubs and I started shopping at 10pm and didn't stop until about 9 the following morning. It was insanity, but I'm a huge sucker for a good bargain. :)

At any rate... I'm trying to get back to regular blogging. I've finished a bunch of books that I need to review, so maybe I'll get to those this weekend. Though the weekend is currently slated for re-texturing the walls of our pantry if we can find an air compressor.... should be riveting. But, without further ado... here is this week's Wee Bit of Me, just a little late




{one} if you were going to a remote place and could only bring one CD, what would it be?

I totally suck at picking favorites... I would probably take a Now CD, or Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation.

{two} are you generally more of an optimist, pessimist, or realist?

I think I'm a mix of all three. I know... that's a cop out, but I am. Realist at home, pessimist and optimist at work, optimist in the rest of my life.
{three} have you ever picked up a hitchhiker? if not, would you?

No way... and never would. Though I've considered hitch-hiking myself.

{four} what spice or seasoning is your favorite?

Salt. Kosher Salt preferably.


{five} what’s your birthstone? do you like it?

Peridot. It's okay. Some peridots are really pretty, but I'm generally more of a blue person. 

{six} do you know what your name means?

From Denmark. It's not a particularly exciting meaning, though my parents were doing to name me Dana regardless of my gender.


{seven} what is your favorite breakfast cereal?

I'm not much of a cereal eater. Before being gluten-free, probably Great Harvest, Grape Nuts or any Kashi cereal. Now, my options are pretty limited, so just Rice or Corn Chex.


{eight} if there was an extra hour in each day, what would you spend it doing?

Realistically? Sleeping. Idealistically? Writing.

{nine} if you could turn any book into a movie, which would it be?

my own! Ha... actually the book I'm currently working on would make a great movie... someday. :)

{ten} if you could go back and play out one day of your life to watch (like scrooge), what day would it be?

That is a really tough question. I'm not sure that I would go back. If I was forced to choose a day though... probably my wedding day. It went by really fast, but was so beautiful and fun!


Well... there you are. More to come soon, unless I'm buried in texture in the closet. Wish me luck!