The 'scoop' on Oreo bon-bons

So there is this delicious confectionary item out there called an Oreo bon-bon. It involves, well, Oreos, cream cheese, and melting chocolate. And chocolate drizzle. Yum. I've made far too many of them this year, so I thought I'd give you the details of what has worked and what hasn't. I'm hoping that those of you who also create these delightful things will add your tricks of the trade!

First off, the recipe:

1 entire package Oreos, crushed

1 - 8 oz block cream cheese, softened

Combine these two ingredients in a large bowl. Then, roll them into small balls. I usually chill them at this point, and I know some folks even freeze them. It might make them easier to dip... Next, melt down some chocolate candy wafers and dip the balls into them. Place them on trays lined with waxed paper. Drizzle with a second color/flavor of candy wafer and bring them to all of your holiday parties. You will be loved.

OK, so my insider secrets:

1. Wegmans' brand Oreos work perfectly well. Wal-Mart's do not. It's weird, they're drier or something. I ended up with too much crushed Oreo for the amount of cream cheese. I tried Wal-Mart's version of Oreos again, but in the double stuff variety, thinking the extra cream would help... they are kind of extra sticky. I think that's mostly annoying and not really a big deal.

2. Any store brand of cream cheese is fine.

3. I like to crush the Oreos in the food processor. It's MUCH faster, and the crumbs are so fine.

4. It is WELL WORTH setting the cream cheese out to soften, usually even longer in advance than you may think is necessary.

5. For mixing, I finally broke down (after about the 4th batch) and mixed with my hands. It was SO much easier. I wish I'd been doing it this way all season! I have heard you can use an electric mixer, but I find it too dough-y and the beaters get packed with it. Annoying.

6. For dipping, it is by far best to dip the actual balls in some variety of (brown) chocolate. Either dark or milk is fine, but dipping them in a color looks weird. I ran out of dark chocolate the other night, so I made them half dark chocolate with red drizzle, and half red with dark chocolate drizzle. Together they looked OK, but the red ones alone? Creepy-looking. Plus when you dip them in a dark color, it's more forgiving of the areas of the 'ball' that you didn't quite cover, because it blends in. White chocolate is not recommended under any circumstance. It does not melt smoothly and it's a pain in the bum.

7. Please use the correct terminology when discussing this delightful treat. Your options are "Oreo bon-bons" and "Oreo truffles." "Oreo balls" will not be tolerated. One recalls cheese balls and tennis balls and other sweaty, salty things, and that is nothing like an Oreo bon-bon. I'm just saying.

8. I have yet to try peanut butter Oreos or mint Oreos, but I hear they are delightful. You could even coordinate the flavor with the color of the drizzle.

9. For dipping, two spoons is the best-case scenario for me. I used to use toothpicks, but then there is this great burden to pack the balls really tightly, and then the toothpick gets stuck, and then you are destroying all that goodness to get it off the toothpick. I find that what works best for me is to put the ball of crushed Oreo in the melting candy, cover it with goodness, and then scoop it out with one spoon, and then transfer it to the second spoon, and then scrape the first spoon and transfer it again.... and then let it sloooooowly slide off the spoon onto the tray. It sounds complicated, but it's the fastest way I've figured out so far.

10. Lastly, the drizzle. I put melted candy wafers into a sandwich bag, snip the corner, and drizzle slowly. Too fast and the drizzle spirals all over.... which is OK if that's what you were after, but for me it's not! Yum.