Oreo Truffles

When I was a kid, the holidays were all about “receiving” — gifts from my parents, gifts from my relatives, gifts from Santa…Nothing made me happier than seeing the stack of presents under our Christmas tree get bigger with each wave of guests that came by. Ah, childhood…Luckily, as I’ve gotten older and started having money of my own to buy stuff, I’ve discovered the joys of giving.

Because I love shopping, I’m usually a big fan of store-bought gifts. But lately I’ve started to warm up to the idea of homemade presents. They’re a great cost-saving measure for anyone who’s in a tight spot financially, they’re thoughtful and personal, and they’re usually at least partially re-usable and eco-friendly. I’m not craftsy enough to hand-stitch or craft anything worth giving, but food products I can handle. Baked goods, homemade candy, bottled syrups…the possibilities are endless and delicious!

Chocolate truffles are an especially delicious and popular gift for the holidays — they’re beautiful, they’re versatile, and they’re chocolate.  Different truffles recipes have been popping up all over the blog-o-sphere recently, but Oreo truffles seem to be the most popular. Not surprising, since they are fantastically delicious. What’s not to love about crushed cookies, cream cheese, and melted chocolate? Plus, they’re gorgeous and look like something that took a lot of effort to make (even though they’re not), so your friends and family are sure to be impressed. So, for the 7th day of Christmas, I present to you…Oreo Truffles.

Oreo Truffles

Ingredients:
– 8 oz cream cheese, softened
– 3 sleeves of Oreo cookies, crushed (You can use a food processor, or just toss the cookies into a gallon ziplock bag and go at it with a rolling pin)
– 2 cups chocolate chips
– 1 cup  heavy cream
– White chocolate ganache, for drizzling

Steps:
(1)  In a large bowl, combine cream cheese and crushed Oreos. Mix well — there should be little to no whiteness left in your dough when you’re done.
** You can use a food processor to pulse the ingredients together, or just use your hands like I did. It’s more fun with your hands, and then you’ll have an excuse to lick your fingers afterwards.
(2) Using your hands, roll dough into 1 inch balls. Place balls on a wax paper-covered baking sheet. Refrigerate for 30 min to an hour.
(3) While your dough is chilling, melt chocolate + heavy cream in a double boiler on medium-low heat. Stir until mixture is smooth and liquid.
** If the chocolate is too thick, drip in a little more cream (or corn syrup, if you have it) and stir until you get the desired consistency. Make sure your stove isn’t turned on too high, or your chocolate will get clumpy and burn.
(4) Pull dough out of the fridge, and drop them one by one into the chocolate mixture. Roll balls around to coat, then lift them out with a fork, allowing excess chocolate to drip through the tines. Gently replace truffles onto the cookie sheet. Repeat until all truffles are coated.
** I got about 36 truffles total.
(5) Drizzle each truffle with lines of white chocolate ganache, and sprinkle with more crushed Oreos if desired.
(6) Refrigerate for another hour or overnight, then enjoy!

For other great chocolate ideas, click here.