And then the light bulb lit ... #cookieballs

Ah, truffles. It all sounded sooooo easy.

And then it went awry. Cattywompus. Sideways.

You see, sometimes I can be very crafty. I've been known to make really pretty cookies, and I've built a few interesting gingerbread houses. But sometimes the results just don't live up to the vision in my head.

It's like scarves. Other people can randomly throw a scarf around their neck or drape it over one shoulder and they look fashionable. No matter what I do, it looks like I tried to hang myself and it didn't work.

So when Oreo contacted me and said they wanted me to make their classic cookie balls and decorate or change them, I thought it would be simple. Truffles are round things. They lend themselves to all sorts of interesting designs.

I had ideas and ideas and ideas and ideas.

But first, the recipe, as given to me by the nice folks at Oreo:

Original OREO Cookie Ball Recipe

1 pkg. (8 oz.) brick cream cheese, softened
36  OREO Cookies, finely crushed (about 3 cups)
4 pkg.  (4 oz. each) semi-sweet baking chocolate, melted

• MIX cream cheese and cookie crumbs until blended.
• SHAPE into 48 (1-inch) balls. Freeze 10 min. Dip balls in melted chocolate; place in single layer in shallow waxed paper-lined pan.
• CUSTOMIZE it with your own ingredient additions or decorative skills.
• REFRIGERATE 1 hour or until firm.

So I made that. They were really good. Addictive, even. I mean, it's Oreos and cream cheese and chocolate. How can it not be good?

So I nibbled and thought and nibbled and thought. How could I decorate them? How? And I thought and thought. And maybe nibbled some more.

I had this idea about making them look like presents, but my round balls weren't all that smooth.

Then I thought about sticking colored chocolate chips all over them and making them look like ornaments. That sounded doable, yet messy.

And since I couldn't figure out a way to hang a truffle "ornament" of course I put it on a stick. Because everything on a stick is better, right?

Um, no. It looked like a mace.

No, not mace, the spice. It looked like one of those pointy clubs. Yup, nothing says "holidays" like an ancient weapon of war.

So, back to thinking. And then the light bulb lit. Literally.

I was shopping and I saw this adorable silicone pan for making things in the shape of those big Christmas tree lights. Aha. It looked like the truffles would fit perfectly in there.

So, now we come to one of my mom's infamous sayings. Do as I say, not as I do.

Because while what I did worked, it wasn't the easiest or most efficient way of doing things.

You see, since I already had my truffles made, I made the lightbulbs sort of backwards - putting colored sugar in the bottom, white chocolate chips on top, heating that in the microwave to soften the chips, then gently warming the already-made truffles and shoving them into the pan.

It worked well enough, but a better thing to do would have been to melt the chocolate in the light bulb pan, then build the truffle right there in the pan. Then add a layer on top to cover the soft truffle filling. Yeah, that would have worked so much better. Maybe next time. I've already eaten a few too many of these things and the rest of the Oreos I have stashed are for another use.

Because Oreos.

As far as the sprinkles, maybe next time I might brush the finished truffles with a little melted chocolate and sprinkle the colored sugar on top. Or maybe just use colored chocolate. Or ... hey, I've got plenty of time to perfect this before Christmas, right?

Have you made these? How would YOU change them?

This post was sponsored by Oreo, but all words (except their recipe) are mine. But I probably would have attempted this anyway. Because I'm crazy like that.

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Chocolate Covered Cookies for Your Valentine

The Secret Baker (which apparently isn't very ninja-like, since you can find them on Facebook) describes the company as "A manufacturer of premium baking kits that include everything needed for ordinary people to make professional-quality cake pops and cookies."

I'm an ordinary people.

The company offered me an interview with the company president, but I thought it would be more fun to play with the products. Because I'm all about the play.

And getting messy, when possible.

First impression was that the box and packaging would make this a good gift item. It's got that "oooh pretty!" look to it. Since I didn't know what they were sending, it was fun to unpack.

I received a kit for making chocolate-covered Oreos, plus a sanding sugar kit and a cute little box for presentation. Um, I wasn't supposed to just eat them? Uh oh.

I very carefully read scanned glanced at the instructions and figured it couldn't be all that hard. Everything - abso-tively-lutely EVERYTHING you need is in the kit. Well, except a microwave oven and opposible thumbs, but that would be sort of hard to pack.

A spatula (not included) is useful for making the cookie bottoms nice and flat, but unless you're living in a forest with strange woodland creatures, you probably have something that would work. A pancake turner. A flat knife. A bench scraper. A ruler.

So what was included in the kit I got? A cookie mold, Oreo Cookies (double-stuffed), chocolate melting wafers in two colors, microwave-safe melting tubs, squeeze bottles, plastic spoons, toothpicks, gloves, some melty-flaky stuff to add to the chocolate, and instructions.

There's nothing magical in the kit, but it's nice that it's all in one package. You don't need to run back to the store because you forgot something. You just open the box, pause a moment to look a the instructions, and have fun.

A little practice wouldn't hurt, but if you're using one of these kits, you're not making these professionally. It's for fun. Or to let the kids have fun.

But wait! Is my kit defective? Why on earth did they send me a kit that spells VOLE!? Isn't that some sort of rodent???

Oh. Never mind. Just someone re-arranging my letters.

The kit would also be useful for someone named Leo V. Just kidding. Sort of. I was having a little too much fun playing word games with the cookies. LOL.

With practice (and not that much practice) I'm sure I'd get a whole lot better at making these. If you look closely at the letter E, you can see that the Oreo can be seen peeking through the white. That's because I pushed it down a little too firmly. Now I know better.

These kits obviously aren't going to appeal to the super-experienced baker or cookie decorator. But that's not who these kits are designed for. So it's all good.

The company also sells refills for the kits as well as individual products. Besides the Oreo cookie kits, there are cake pop kits. I'm not a huge fan of cake pops in general, but I have to say that some of their designs are adorable.

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Oreo Cookie Butter

I'm going to say three words that are going to blow your mind.

Oreo. Cookie. Butter.

You've might have heard about that fancy cookie butter than so many foodies are cooing about. Yeah, me too. And then I thought, "why not do the same thing with other cookies?"

Specifically, Oreos.

Yes, I made Oreo cookie butter. Like peanut butter that tastes like Oreos and has no peanuts. Spreadable Oreo chocolate fudgy goodness.

If you've ever had an Oreo cookie (and who hasn't?) you know that flavor. It's the perfect cookie to transform into something else, and have people say HUH? and wonder how you did it.

It's so easy, it's embarrassing. It's almost not a recipe. It's magic.

What can you do with this magic cookie butter goodness?

Well, to start with, I spread it on graham crackers. You could spread it between other cookies to make sandwich cookies (try it with peanut butter cookies).You could eat it with a spoon. You could mix it into ice cream. So many options, so easy to make ...

Oreo Cookie Butter

12 Oreo cookies*
2 tablespoons water

Put the cookies in your food processor and process until you have a very very fine powder.

Scrape down the sides and make sure you don't have any chunky pieces left. Keep processing until it's all a fine powder.

Add the water a teaspoon at a time until you have a thick, shiny, fudgy spread.

And that's it. Pure magic.

*Note: I haven't tried this with the double-stuffed. I suspect it would take less water - maybe none.

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Coming Soon: I'm Playing with Kitchen PLAY

No, that's not my creation. Photo courtesy of OREO.

Just a quick heads-up!

This Friday, November 16, I'm going to have a fun opportunity for you to win some awesome prizes from OREO and Kitchen PLAY. I think you'll like it.

And hey, there's nothing wrong with having an excuse to pick up a package of OREOs, right?

There will be two OREO Thanksgiving prize packs filled with goodies like a Crate & Barrel serving platter and pie server, an exclusive OREO cookbook and other fabulous treats, valued at $70. Woah! That's pretty good, right?

And WAIT until you see the recipe I've come up with! You'll either think I'm a genius or I'm crazy. But that's pretty usual.

To enter, all you have to do is recreate any OREO dessert from this week's Kitchen PLAY event or come up with your own. (But I think you'll want to make MINE!!!) Post about it on your site and provide a link to that post in the comments on this Kitchen PLAY page. NOT here on my blog - you've got to go to Kitchen PLAY to win.

Multiple entries are allowed, as long as a separate OREO dessert post is created for each entry. Deadline is midnight PT on November 28. This sweepstakes will also take place again at the holidays, so the earlier you enter, the more chances to win! Full sweepstakes guidelines are at Kitchen PLAY.

Don't forget. Friday. Crazy OREO recipe. You could win stuff.

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