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Truffle Evolution: 4th Generation

truffle smore goldApparently, I have a signature dish…or, rather, dessert. I’ve made a recipe (Oreo Truffles) four times, while either entertaining in my own home, as a guest contribution for parties hosted by others, and most recently, for a Truffles and Wine party at one of my favorite local wine bar spots, House Wine.  Each time, these homemade sweet treats were more than a hit, and were mistaken for bakery-bought!  Looks like I’ll be making these for future celebratory occasions, because, let’s face it, I want to keep my guests happy.

What may be most fascinating about these truffles is their evolution itself since they entered my kitchen repertoire. It seems that a winner recipe can be hard to find, hard to make, and somehow never comes out looking like the model picture. These Oreo Truffles, however, have gone beyond the taste-testing, trial-and-error phase and in fact, provided an opportunity to modify the base recipe to create new flavor combinations for these sweet-tooth-satisfying delicacies.

Take a look at the history:

  • January 2009: I discover Bakerella, and assist in the making of Oreo Truffles when I visit my cousin Dana in Denver for a Super Bowl party.
  • February 2009:  I make my first batch of Oreo Truffles for a potluck dinner and receive an unexpected, overwhelming positive response.
  • March 2009: TheRebeccammendations is born, and I write about Oreo Truffles for the first time. Flavor: simple black and white oreo
  • May 2009: I begin playing with flavor combinations and make Chocolate Mint and Rum Spice Vanilla Truffles for another potluck dinner.
  • July 2009: I receive a special request to make the truffles for Jen’s birthday party. This is when I turn the corner and perfect my technique. This was the best batch yet! Flavors: simple black and white oreo, and chocolate mint.
  • October 2009: I make four different kinds of cookie truffles for a Truffles and Wine party at House Wine. This was a huge success, and the truffles were the star of the party!  See below for flavors and recipe modifications:
  1. S’mores– The base batter is made with finely ground graham crackers, a little softened cream cheese, and about 1.5 cups of melted marshmellows. The marshmellows were necessary to help bind the batter because graham crackers do not already come with filling (like oreos do), which allows the batter to stick together. We tried to roll the truffle balls with batter surrounding a mini marshmellow, so that guests would bit into them and discover a surprise. It worked, but we only did this on half of this batch, since it took more time. We dipped the graham and marshmellow balls in chocolate to complete the perfect s’mores trifecta.
  2. Chocolate Mint– Followed the same instructions as before, and used the same recipe for basic oreo truffles, but used mint oreos instead. I think the Oreos brand has discontinued this flavor, but your trusty neighborhood HEB carries their own brand. Mint Oreo batter was dipped in chocolate.
  3. Pumpkin Spice Vanilla– This is the same recipe as the Rum Spice Vanilla truffles, but I substituted pumpkin spice (you can purchase this already combined in a spice shaker at the store) for the rum flavoring and cinnamon. The spice is added to the vanilla oreo and cream cheese batter before rolling up the truffles, freezing for 10 minutes, and dipping in white chocolate coating.
  4. Chocolate Cherry Divinity– I call this Divinity because as soon as I took a bite, the word that came to my mind was “divine”. These were made with the basic oreo truffle base (finely ground oreo cookies with cream cheese worked into it to make the base batter). We then patted marashino cherries with paper towels to remove excess juice to avoid soggy truffles. We added 2 teaspoons of the marashino juice from the jar to the base batter. This made it a little stickier and harder to roll into balls, but the end result was moist and perfect! We carefully rolled out 1 tablespoon of batter into a flat circle, then wrapped it around a marashino so that it was hidden inside. So. Good.

 Take a look at the result!

Crumb-ing

Crumbing
Finely grind the cookies you are using to make your truffles. The consistency should be like sand so that when you mix in the softened cream cheese, the batter will be more smooth than grainy. This makes for a creamier truffle. Thanks to Halley Claire for being my co-chef!

Rolling

truffles rolling
Molding the truffle batter around a cherry or mini marshmellow can be challenging, but you can do it! And, the result is fun and delicious!

Dipping

Truffle Dipping
Dipping the truffles involves using two spoons to handle it while coating it in white or milk chocolate, letting the excess fall back into the bowl, and letting it roll onto wax paper-covered cookie sheets.

Endulging!

truffles endulging
Super glue a clear plastic plate to the base of a plastic margarita or wine glass for a creative way to serve your truffle treats! (Thanks, Mom for the idea!)

Rebeccammended looks-fancy-but-is-not dessert recipe aimed at and sure to please your guests: Cookie truffles!





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8 thoughts on “Truffle Evolution: 4th Generation”

  • Dana November 3, 2009 at 11:29 am

    yummmm! they all look amazing! i can’t wait to try the s’mores!!

  • TheRebecca November 3, 2009 at 11:30 am

    Yay! Thanks to YOU, I’m on a truffle roll. The s’mores are tricky because the melted marshmellow can be sticky, but we pulled through and they were delish!

  • cakeaustin November 3, 2009 at 1:03 pm

    ah-ma-zing looking truffles. brava! my kitchen is sure to become a factory for these by dec. 1.

  • TheRebecca November 3, 2009 at 1:17 pm

    Thank you so much for your comments! I’m so happy to have inspired you! I also agree that these would make excellent holiday gifts or party finger foods, and the flavors can easily be changed up.

    Let me know if you have any trouble!

    Thanks for reading, and happy entertaining!

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