Oreo Balls!!!

Well, I owe the credit for this recipe to my college roommate Elizabeth.  She didn't cook much during the year that we lived together, but one weekend, she came back from home with these little babies in tow, and my life has never been the same.  OK, maybe that's an exaggeration, but they are pretty dang good.  The best part is, you need only 3 ingredients!

 

Ingredients:

1 Package Oreo Cookies (or store brand works just as well... since the real thing is twice the price!)

8oz Cream Cheese, softened

Baker's Chocolate (I used white chocolate this time, but have done milk & dark chocolate before, too)

 

Directions:

Crush all cookies using food processor, or throw them in a ziploc and crush manually.  Reserve 5-6 crushed cookies to use to sprinkle on top for decoration at the end.  Mix the crushed cookies with the softened cream cheese until well-blended.  I'm fairly convinced that the best way to do this is get your hands in there and get dirty.  You'll have black fingernails by the time you're done, but you wont spend a lot of time and energy trying to mix it with a fork/spoon. 

 

Once the cookies and cream cheese are mixed very well together, roll into individual balls and place on a pan or cookie sheet covered with wax paper.  What size balls you make depends on how you like them, but I'd say use a teaspoon as your measure and just start with a heaping teaspoon of the cookie mixture for each ball.  Place in refrigerator and allow to cool for 30-40 minutes.

 

Melt baker's chocolate in microwave-safe glass dish or measuring cup.  Drop each cookie ball into the mixture, coat with chocolate, allow excess to drip off, then place back on wax paper to dry.  Sprinkle tops with extra cookie crumbs, or if you're really fancy, drizzle with the opposite color chocolate!  You could make them festive around holidays with colored sprinkles or dye your chocolate with food coloring.... have fun with it!

 

Keep refrigerated until you're ready to serve & enjoy a little taste of yummy goodness.

Oreo & Peanut Butter (or Nutella) Stuffed Brownies

I have a gazillion recipe blogs loaded into my google reader.... plus, I have my sweet friend Leigh who emails me the top 10 recipes she's found throughout the week every Friday.  Seriously, there are so many great cooks out there posting their recipes, it's difficult to decide which ones to make first!  When I first read this recipe on Picky Palate, I immediately emailed it to my co-worker who loves all things peanut butter and chocolate.  Since I have a peanut allergy, I was pretty disheartened because this would add another item to the list of treats that I just couldn't enjoy! 

When I was planning dessert for our tailgate one weekend this fall, I got to thinking, perhaps there's a way for me to have these afterall!  I whipped up a double-batch, making half with peanut butter and half with Nutella.  (Pink cupcake liners for Peanut Butter, so I don't accidentally bite into the wrong one.)

This is one of the EASIEST recipes I've made lately, too. All you need is a box brownie mix, Oreos, and your choice Peanut Butter, Nutella, or both.  Line your muffin tin with cupcake liners, stack two oreos together with a dab of peanut butter in the middle and on top, then pour on the brownie mix!  Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes or until brownies are done, let cool & serve!  We ate these at tailgate, but if I were eating them at home, I'd pour up a LARGE glass of milk to go with them!

Strawberry Shortbread Dessert

Today I saw a sign for the Cottle Strawberry Farm and couldn't resist turning off to get a big box of fresh-picked strawberries.  There are road-side stands all over town (and the state) selling Cottle Strawberries, but low-and-behold, the actual farm is not far from home!

It is so great to live in a place where produce is so easy to bring home straight from a farm.  This is one of the things I love the most about Spring & Summer in South Carolina!  

Since we can't possibly eat a whole box of strawberries before they start to go bad, I washed about half to freeze, and the other half to eat this week.  (I actually got started eating the strawberries on the way home, just couldn't resist!)

Tonight I made up a batch of my favorite short-bread to serve with our fresh berries and icecream!  Here's the recipe for the yummy shortbreads which would go great with pretty much any fresh fruit topping!

Shortbread Ingredients:
1&1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup cold butter
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/2 cup sour cream
2 TBS milk

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400F and lightly grease a baking sheet.  In medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly.  Combine egg, sour cream and milk in a separate bowl.  Add to flour mixture and stir with a fork until moistened.

Drop dough into 8-10 mounds onto baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes until golden brown.

Enjoy topped with strawberries and ice cream or cool whip!