Oreo Chocolate Truffle

There a is a student I tutor that sometimes needs some extra motivation to stay focused. As a result, I have gone to my old bag of tutoring tricks and resorted to bribery... uhh... I mean... uhh... positive reinforcement with dessert incentives for a job well-done. Yeah, that's what I'll call it.

I asked this student what her favorite dessert was and she said Oreos. She's on the younger side so I don't know why I was expecting something with a little more pazazz. I was not going to bring a pack of Oreos as a cop out and I really had no interest in trying to replicate a real Oreo by scratch, so I told her that if she worked hard and stayed on task, I would bring something with Oreos in the next time we had a tutoring session.

I could have made a cheesecake but I was concerned her family would bogart the dessert and they were meant to be for the student. I racked my brain and came up with these little Oreo Chocolate Truffles. A few quick Google searches showed that there was nothing original about this recipe and gave me some ideas on how to go about making the darn things. You could also substitute other types of cookies or candy bars in this. I'll give it a go sometime and update you with the result.

Little did I know how easy they would be. And tasty. Don't forget that.


Ingredients

1 bag of Oreo cookies
1 package (8 oz) of cream cheese, not room temperature but softened
8 oz chocolate, chef's choice on this one, I used dark chocolate


Directions

1. Prep a baking sheet with wax paper. You could also use Al foil and spray it with a cooking spray.
2. Pull out a half dozen Oreos from the bag and set aside. Do not eat, these are for garnish and decoration. Crush the rest in a food processor or blender to a fine powder.
3. If you don't have a food processor, stir together the blended Oreos and cream cheese by hand until well-mixed. If you have a food processor, add the cream cheese and pulse until the cookie/cream cheese mixture is completely combined.
4. Place into the fridge for an hour or the freeze for 15 minutes to firm up enough to handle without falling apart.
5. Using a melon baller, spoon, ice-cream scoop or your fingers, form small balls (about 1 inch across) by rolling the Oreo mixture in your hands. Place on the wax paper.
6. Place back into the fridge while your prepare the chocolate dipping sauce.
7. Using melt chocolate (or use your own chocolate preference and prepare your own melt chocolate) heat up in a microwave. Use 60 second intervals and stir each time until melted to avoid burning the chocolate. Alternatively, you can melt it stove top on the lightest heat possible until just melted. Then remove completely from the heat.
8. Coarsely chop up the 6 Oreos you set aside.
9. Dip the Oreo truffles in the melted chocolate and place on the wax sheet, letting the excess chocolate drip off. I've used two ways to complete the dipping: 1) piercing the balls with a toothpick and dipping, letting the excess drip off or 2) using two forks, drop the truffles in the chocolate and pick up with the forks. Prior to moving to the baking sheet, transfer the truffle back and forth between the forks. I've found the second method was easier and more efficient for excess chocolate removal.
10. Before the chocolate hardens, top the truffle with a piece of chopped Oreo. You could also chop the Oreos a little more finely and coat the truffle with Oreo.
11. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving. These will keep for up to two weeks or can be frozen for longer. Keep them refrigerated until ready to serve as they are perishable.

Doesn't this make you want to pull an Augustus Gloop?