O is for Oreo, and my Open mouth

It was a rainy Emancipation Day on the island. It was meant to be... stir-fried noodles, chocolate dipped everything, cream cheese and nachos in an amazing townhouse.

Have I set the scene yet? ^_^

Good. Now imagine... in a fit of controlled crushing, we turned a package of regular Oreos into fine pieces of chocolate crumbles. But it's not the end. The pièce de résistance was the addition of a block of softened cream cheese to tie the entire recipe together. It was no surprise that the first batch of Oreo truffles disappeared in the span of a day (maybe two...) and prompted the purchase of another bag.Why, you ask? Because they're good. Is there any other reason for buying chocolate cookies sandwiching sweet cream in between them?

So, a few days later, in another neurotic compulsion to do something with my hands, I filled a gallon sized ziploc with a 16 oz package of Oreos, half a dozen Ferrero Rocher chocolates and half a dozen Ferrero Rondnoir and proceeded to smash them into bits. I must say, it was quite a satisfying procedure. ^_^ But for those who require a bit more instruction, here's the recipe.

Oreo Truffles
1 - 16.6 oz package of Oreos (regular, mint, fudgies, chocolate, whichever you like)
1 - 8 oz block of cream cheese
a dash of vanilla, mint, almond extract - whatever flavor you like
(If you were feeling a little overwhelmed with the amount of chocolate you have stashed away, like yours truly, a handful of Ferrero Rochers crush up wonderfully)
1 - 12 oz bag of chocolate chips (milk, semi-sweet, dark, white, or any combination)

So taking the entire bag of Oreos, empty the cookies into a gallon sized Ziploc bag and close it. This is your opportunity to work out a bit of that stress you feel. If you're adding in chocolate candies, this is the time to add them in (the hazelnuts in the centers crush up just as easily). If you have more technology at your fingertips, feel free to pulse them into oblivion using your handy-dandy food processor.

Transfer the cookie crumbles into a large bowl and add the block of softened cream cheese. Now taking a fork, your bare hands, (a potato masher works amazingly!) combine everything together. Don't forget to sneak a taste. ^_^ When everything is incorporated, add the extract of your choice if you have it on hand and mix.To form the truffles, take a small ice cream scoop or a tablespoon measure and make a mounding ball, dropping the finished truffle onto a parchment or foil lined sheet pan. Repeat until all of the mixture is used up. Place in the fridge to cool and harden while you melt the chocolate in the microwave or double boiler. The freezer is a quickie way to get the truffles cool and hard enough to dip without falling apart into the melted chocolate. Granted, it just means more for the baker. ;)

Taking the truffles, dip them one by one into the chocolate, coating them completely before returning them to the sheet pan. When all of them have been coated, return to the fridge or freezer until the chocolate has set up again. Then... munch!The hard chocolate coating compliments the soft, melt in your mouth texture of the truffle. Now, I'm a purist and have made chocolate truffles from scratch but there's a time and place for everything and these Oreo truffles balls are perfect for rainy days, mocha colored puppies and good times with friends on a tropical island.

Monkeying Around

Pictures of gram negative bacilli oddly bring to mind rich, buttery, cinnamon sugar covered balls of dough. Granted, the first thing to pop into my head when I first started taking notes on Fusobacterium necrophorum was necrophiliacs... however, what with medical pathophysiology being compared to food, I only thought it would be a good idea to post up something sweet, like ketone breath, and buttery, like the pools of liquid adipose (perhaps I shan't go one), and yeasty.

At the end of last semester as one of my first forays into the world of yeast and breads, I came across Smitten Kitchen's monkey bread recipe. It looked gorgeous, covered in melted butter and sugar and cinnamon, like a giant cinnamon roll without the effort and I couldn't resist. It was gone in less than an hour, took much longer, but the time to make the bread was worth every second, every minute and every harrowing hour of rising.

Monkey Bread with Cream Cheese Frosting

Dough
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick or 2 ounces) unsalted butter, divided (2 tablespoons softened for the pan, 2 tablespoons melted for the dough)
1 cup milk, warm (around 110 degrees)
1/3 cup water, warm (also around 110 degrees)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 package or 2 1/4 teaspoons rapid rise, instant or bread machine yeast
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for work surface
2 teaspoons table salt

Brown Sugar Coating
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick or 4 ounces), melted

Cream Cheese Glaze
8 ounces cream cheese, softened (1 brick of cream cheese)
2 cups powdered sugar, plus extra if needed
1/4 cup milk, plus extra if needed
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Make dough: In a large measuring cup, mix together warm water, 1 tbsp sugar, and yeast. Let it sit for about 10 minutes to make sure the yeast is alive and producing gas.

Mix flour, rest of the 1/4 cup of sugar, and salt in large bowl. Make a well in the flour, then add yeast mixture, milk and melted butter to well. Using wooden spoon, stir until dough begins to come together. Turn out onto lightly floured work surface and knead until dough is smooth and satiny, about 10 minutes. Shape into taut ball and proceed as directed.

Coat large bowl with a tablespoon of oil (like canola). Place dough in bowl and roll around in oil to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and place in warm oven until dough doubles in size (about an hour)

To prepare the bundt pan - coat in the 2 tbsp of softened butter.

Make brown sugar coating: Place melted butter in one bowl. Mix brown sugar and cinnamon in a second one.

Form the bread: Flip dough out onto floured surface and gently pat into an 8-inch square. Cut dough into 64 pieces.

Roll each piece of dough into ball. Working one at a time with a fork, dip balls in melted butter, allowing excess butter to drip back into bowl. Roll in brown sugar mixture, then layer balls in Bundt pan, staggering seams as you build layers.

Place pan in warm oven until dough balls are puffy and have risen 1 to 2 inches from top of pan, 50 to 70 minutes.

Bake bread: Take pan out of oven. Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake until top is deep brown and caramel might begin to bubble around edges, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool in pan for 5 minutes then turn out on platter.

Make glaze: Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add milk and a cup of powdered sugar. Mix until smooth, adding more powdered sugar to taste and until desired consistency is reached. Add vanilla at the end and incorporate.

Drizzle the glaze over warm monkey bread, letting it run over top and sides of bread. Serve warm.