Cover them once, not so good... cover them twice, better!

Oreo, oreo, oreo... so many options for the oreo... You might be asking why I chose to do another Oreo recipe... well, I found this one in my Better Homes and Garden magazine... I had a busy week, so I wanted something that was easy.  Sometimes even the Queen needs a break... and with only three ingredients.. what's so hard about an oreo truffle?  The queen soon finds out the answer... everything...

Recipe first...

1 pkg. (1 lb. 2 oz.) OREO Cookies, finely crushed, divided

1 pkg.  (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened

2 pkg. (8 squares each) BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, melted

MIX 3 cups of the cookie crumbs and the cream cheese until well blended. Shape into 42 (1-inch) balls.

DIP balls in melted chocolate; place on waxed paper-covered baking sheet. (Any leftover melted chocolate can be stored in tightly covered container at room temperature and saved for another use.) Sprinkle with remaining cookie crumbs.

REFRIGERATE 1 hour or until firm. Store any leftover truffles in tightly covered container in refrigerator.

Here are the truffles after they were mixed with the cream cheese... so far so good...

First thing I wish I knew before making this recipe:

* How to dip the truffles... the recipe just simply says, "Dip truffles in melted chocolate."  Easy enough right... wrong!  Here is where all my problems started... the white chocolate was very hard to work with... the oreo crumbs would break off into the white chocolate, causing it to not be so white and pretty... the oreo's also gave the white chocolate a rough texture... they did not turn out like smooth white ball shapes.

Second: To try and smooth them out, I decided to refrigerate the truffles before dipping them in chocolate... to try and harden them up a little more... still didn't work.  Then I tried to cover them in milk chocolate instead... to try and hide the flaws... that worked a little better...

Third: This was a very MESSY recipe... messy, like chocolate messy.  My hands were gooey, they were covered in chocolate... it was sticky... it might sound like an easy recipe to do with kids... but I don't think so!

That is why the queen says, "Always wear your best apron."

Fourth: Due to the trial and tribulations of this recipe... it was not simple... and it took a lot of time.  Luckily, it was one of those recipes that I just kept sticking in the fridge, and coming back to later.

Fifth: What finally worked... what finally made these truffles good enough to eat.... are you ready?  Double Dipping.  Yup... I had to double dip these suckers.  I dipped them once, you saw the picture (not so good)... in a frustrating move, I stuck them in the fridge over night and came to my senses this morning.  I took the truffles out and shaped them... I had to shave off some of the chocolate coating... it was work... then I double dipped... I could see that they were going to be A LOT better... they looked more white... and more round.  Success at last!  I double dipped, stuck them back in the fridge for an hour and "ta-dah!!!!!"  They finally are fit for the queen!

Prep Time for this recipe... after all of that perfecting... for me: 36 hours. For you: 3 Hours

Clean Up Time: 15 minutes

Well... here is one recipe that still needs perfecting... but whether they look good enough to eat or not... I think the Queen likes them!  And here's the thing... they pass the taste test... these are tasty little treats!  Now that I know how to do them correctly, I will definitely make them again!  Martha always says... "practice makes perfect." (I think)

Shortcake

... with strawberries on the inside.

I was trying to decide what dessert could be made for the 4th of July... there were the typical American Flag Cakes, jello, cupcakes, etc... but nothing that was quite fit for the queen.  What about Strawberry Shortcake, my husband (the king) asks?  Do Queen's eat shortcake?  This queen loves cookies... how can one make shortcake cookies?  

Martha knows, and now so do I...

Things I wish I knew before making this dessert:

* It takes more time to make than the typical cookie... there is a lot of preparing, especially cutting the strawberries into 1/4 inch slices.

* I understand why they want you to use parchment paper... because some of the cookies can really make a mess after they are cooked... but I found it annoying.  I had to peel some of the paper off of the bottom of the cookies... and some of the paper was stuck to the cookies!  These will make a mess of your cookie pans, but they can be cleaned.  I won't be using parchment paper next time.

Ingredients

Makes about 3 dozen

• 12 ounces strawberries, hulled and cut into 1/4-inch dice (2 cups)

• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

• 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

• 3 ounces (6 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

• 2/3 cup heavy cream

• Sanding sugar, for sprinkling

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine strawberries, lemon juice, and 2 tablespoons granulated sugar. Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and remaining 7 tablespoons granulated sugar in a large bowl. Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter, or rub in with your fingers, until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in cream until dough starts to come together, then stir in strawberry mixture.

2. Using a 1 1/2-inch ice cream scoop or a tablespoon, drop dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment, spacing evenly apart. Sprinkle with sanding sugar, and bake until golden brown, 24 to 25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, and let cool. Cookies are best served immediately, but can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 day.

All in all, this was a pretty yummy treat to make.  I for one love strawberries, and any dessert that has strawberries baked right inside has to be fabulous.  The hard thing is that they need to be eaten right away!  Which may not be a problem since they are so good.  I did read that you can freeze them, and they still taste pretty good after that.  I think tonight I will try heating mine up and eating it with a little vanilla bean ice cream!

Since I have to deliver these treats on such short notice, Taylor's work will be the receivers of these treats.  Yum, yum!

I think Queen's would eat with their hands... if they had a dessert this good to try!

Look forward to tomorrow as I will add a chocolatey twist to these treats!

It's Like Licking the Center First...

I'll take one oreo, covered in cream cheese... fit only for a queen.

My sister gave me a new cookbook for my birthday... The Martha Stewart Cupcake Book. As I was flipping through the pages, I immediately knew which project would be my first. The Cookies and Cream Cupcake... I figured anything with Oreo's has got to be good. And there were minor ingredients and instructions so I figured it wouldn't be too hard.

Preparation time was about 10-15 minutes... here is what the project looked like before I put them in the oven... already looking good enough to eat!

The result... they did look just like their pictures!  As far as taste goes... very, VERY good!  The taste is very strong.  You will want to make sure that you are a cheesecake fan because they taste like mini cheesecakes.  The oreo on the bottom serves as a perfect crust... and a nice surprise!  I used double stuff oreos because I love the cream center.

These are best served when chilled... and I imagine they would be even better with a little whip cream on top!  A great dessert with a classic cookie!
Now remember, dear followers of this blog... Each week to avoid gaining calories, as well as high blood sugar, I will be delivering these tasty treats to my friends, family, neighbors, and followers of the blog.  I will be revealing cute and fun ways to wrap these delectable treats up.  This week, my dear friend Marlene will be the first recipient of the "dessert queen's" treats.  She made me a cake a while back and I have yet to return the plate.  I always like to return plates with something yummy on top!

You’ll need:

• 30 whole sandwich cookies
• 12 coursely chopped sandwich cookies
• 2 pounds of cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 teaspoons large eggs, room temp, lightly beaten
• 1 cup sour cream
• pinch salt

Then you:
Preheat oven to 275 degrees, line pan with paper liners. Place one whole cookie in the bottom of each lined cup.
With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat cream cheese until smooth, scraping down the sides as needed. Gradually add sugar, beat until combined. Beat in vanilla.
Drizzle in eggs, a bit at a time, beating to combine and scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in sour cream and salt. Stir in cookies by hand.
Divide batter evenly among cookie-filled cups, filling each almost to the top. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until filling is set, about 22 minutes. Transfer pan to wire rack to cook completely. Refrigerate, in pan, at least 4 hours (or up to overnight.) Remove from pan just before serving.

Things I learned from this recipe...

* Buy two packages of Oreo's (or chocolate cream cookie of your choice).  I learned that when it says in the recipe you will have enough for 30 cupcakes, it wasn't lying.  And unfortunately for me, one package of Oreo's is not enough.

*Plan ahead... this is not a dessert that can be eaten right away.  After it bakes it needs to go in the fridge for at least 4 hours... or even over night (which is what I did).  These are not the "whip it up in a hurry kind of dessert).

* Make sure you have enough room in your fridge as the cupcakes need to go in your fridge, still in the cupcake tins.

All in all, this was a pretty simple dessert to make.  Preparation time was about 10-15 minutes, with mild clean up.

Martha, I think I am catching up with you...