Week of Sweets: Day 1, Oreo Truffles

Well, it was bound to happen.

The baking frenzy occurring in my kitchen has been taken to a new level. I'm like Animal from the Muppets, but my tool of choice is a KitchenAid stand mixer instead of a drum set.

I'm not complaining though. Also similar to Animal the Muppet, I love the holiday season and the baking that comes with it. During the month of December, there are worse things than choosing butter and sugar as your drugs of choice.

(Side note: While we're on the topic of Muppets, does anyone remember the original Muppets' Christmas movie from the 1980s? With a guest appearance by Jim Henson at the end? Classic.)

With all this holiday baking love going on, I've proclaimed today the first of my "Week of Sweets" on the Hungry Spoon. What better way to start the week than with Oreo Truffles?

I first tasted Oreo Truffles a few months ago when my co-worker brought them in for an office "Bake Off." They won the contest unanimously. With three ingredients, a bite-size form, and a silky white chocolate coating, I knew these had to make my holiday baking list. This batch is going with us to a Christmas party tonight. I hope there are lots left over :)

Oreo Truffles

(recipe from my sweet co-worker, Sherry)

This recipe seriously turns up the volume on the classic Oreo. If you prefer, you could coat them in semi-sweet or milk chocolate. But the white chocolate just makes them look that much closer to heaven...

Ingredients:

• 1 entire package of Oreos
• 1 (8 oz.) block of cream cheese, softened (1/3 reduced fat version works fine)
• White melting chocolate/candy coating

Directions:

1) In a food processor, process Oreos until they reach a fine crumb. Beat Oreo crumbs with cream cheese in a stand mixer. Roll into balls and freeze (I let my freeze overnight, although this isn't necessary).

2) Melt the melting chocolate in a double boiler. Dip Oreo balls in white chocolate and refrigerate until set.

Cranberry White Chocolate Cookies

This weekend has been filled with plenty of delicious Foodie adventures...although very few have actually taken place in my kitchen.

The Hungry Spoon kitchen was abandoned yesterday in favor of a day trip to Pittsburgh. That's right friends: we headed north for a day in "the big city."

We enjoyed a trip to the Market, explored the Strip District, spent a good deal of time at a used book store, and settled for the afternoon at the Beehive Coffeehouse. Inevitably, the day concluded at my favorite spot for vegetarian cuisine--The Quiet Storm (I ordered the ultimate and highly addictive Apple Panini. I urge you to re-create this in your own kitchen. You won't regret it).

Enough about my travels, though. Let's get to the good stuff: White Chocolate-Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies. I initially feasted my eyes on these sweet treats at the Simply Life blog, and reading the recipe title alone convinced me that I had to try them.

Magnificent! I baked a batch late last night after we returned from PA, and I have no doubt they'll be gone quite soon. This cookie is chewy and rich, and the tart cranberries balance out the sweetness of the white chocolate quite nicely.

Happy Baking to you!

Do you ever do late-night baking?

Cranberry & White Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

(recipe courtesy of Simply Life blog; makes about 2 dozen cookies)

This cookie exemplified the perfect oatmeal cookie for me--chewy and sweet. Cranberries and white chocolate make a great addition.

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup butter
• 2/3 brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1- 1/2 cups quick oats
• 1 - 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 6 oz. dried cranberries
• 2/3 cup white chocolate chips

Directions:

1) Preheat 375 degrees. Prepare baking sheets with cooking spray.

2) In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar with an electric mixer. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until well-combined.

3) Combine the dry ingredients (through the salt) in a separate bowl. Add to butter mixture. Stir in cranberries and white chocolate chips with a spoon.

4) Place rounded spoon-fuls of dough on cookie sheet and bake 8 - 10 minutes, or until lightly browned at the edges (mine were done in 8 minutes exactly).

4) Enjoy! These are definitely good cookies to eat with a glass of milk :)

Rocky Road Takes Over My Cookie Jar

Imagine taking all the goodness of your pint of rocky road ice cream, and baking it into a gooey, chunky, irresistible cookie form.

Now stop imagining. Let's make it reality.

Remember that cookbook I've been lusting after at the book store: Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar? Lust no more! Thanks to my dear friend Katie, I received a copy of this awesome cookie-filled text in the mail yesterday (Three cheers for Katie!) . Loaded with over 100 tempting cookie recipes, I can hardly wait to bake my way through this cookbook over the next several months. I'm sure the bookstore staff will miss watching me copy cookie recipes onto my napkins in the coffee shop (Embarrassing, I know).

When questioning which recipe to begin with, I decided to start with the cookbook's cover model--a chocolate cookie loaded chocolate chips, white chocolate, and toasted almonds. Let's face it: you don't put a cookie on the cover just because it looks good. These cookies rock...and will need a large glass of (non-dairy?) milk for dunking.

Quick notes:

• This dough is less firm than one might expect from a cookie dough--it resembles a thick brownie batter. Trust the recipe! Give them a little room to spread on the cookie sheet (about 2 inches), and you'll be just fine.
• No worries if you don't have non-dairy supplies on hand for vegan cookie recipes. Just substitute in milk, regular chocolate chips, etc. where the non-dairy versions are used.

Friends, we still have one tiny problem: I'm going to subject you to more cookie recipes over the next few months, as I bake may through this delectable cookbook. I apologize in advance. Well, not really. Everyone needs more vegan cookies in their life, right?

Thanks again to Katie for her infinite thoughtfulness from across the miles :)

Rocky Road Cookies

(from Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero's Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar)

These chunky chocolate yum-yums are over-the-top good. I didn't have any vegan chocolate chips on hand though, so I just used the dairy version. Came out fantastic just the same!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup milk (dairy or non-dairy)
• 2 TBSP ground flaxseed
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1- 1/4 cups sugar
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 tsp. almond extract
• 1- 1/2 cups plus 2 TBSP all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips or chunks
• 1/2 cup white chocolate chips (vegan or not)
• 1/2 cup roasted almonds, chopped

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat 2 large baking sheets with cooking spray (or line with parchment paper).

2) In a large mixing bowl, combine milk, flaxseeds, oil, sugar, vanilla, and almond extract. Mix until well blended and smooth. Sift in flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Stir well to form a thick, wet dough (similar to a thick brownie batter). Mix in chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, and almonds. (Optional: you can chill the dough for 30 minutes to firm up more, but the authors indicate this step is not necessary. Since it wasn't necessary, I skipped it!)

3) For each cookie, drop 2 TBSP of dough onto a baking sheet, about 2 inches apart (cookies will spread a little).

4) Bake cookies for 8 - 10 minutes until they crack just slightly on top (check at 8 minutes!). Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.