Sunday, December 08, 2013

Cookie #5: Peppermint Balls

 Peppermint "Oreo" Balls
modified from this source

1 pkg candy cane "Oreos" (I used President's Choice Middle First cookies)
1 pkg cream cheese at room temperature (I can't plan ahead, so I nuked them for a minute)
16 oz of semi-sweet chocolate baker's squares (I'm guessing here about quantity. I started with 8 oz but it wasn't enough, so I added some more chocolate chips)
3 small candy canes crushed to smithereens in a Ziploc bag using a meat tenderizer

In batches, I put the Oreos into a mini food processor and pureed them to the texture of damp sand. In a bowl, I mixed the softened cream cheese with the cookie crumbs. Then I rolled them into balls and put them on parchment paper on a cookie sheet and put them into the freezer for an hour (the recipe said at least a half hour).

Why do so many cookie recipes have a turds-on-the-cookie-sheet stage?
 
In the meantime, I made a double boiler and melted some chocolate. Then I took the balls out of the freezer and gave them each a dip in the chocolate and then spooned them out onto a new piece of parchment paper. As soon as I'd done two or three, I'd stop and put a few of the crushed candy canes on top before the chocolate hardened. It hardens fast because the balls are so cold coming out of the freezer.
 
Keep them refrigerated.
They were a bit labour-intensive, but that outer hard chocolatey shell with a softer cookie inside is divine and makes you feel like a very accomplished baker.
 

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