Cookie Truffles

As the end of the semester draws to a close, I realize that I have way too many Dining Dollars. It's part of the meal plan here. So, because I want to get my money's worth of food, I needed to spend about $300 in two weeks. I bought lots of cookies and chips. But to be honest, I don't really want to eat most of it. My dorm floor has this table in the hall where people sometimes put treats to share--brownies from home, a bag of candies, whatever. So I thought... why not contribute to this table? Better yet, why not convert boring snacks into exciting treats? Since it's finals week, I have nothing to do except study. Which means I have plenty of time to make food!

After browsing Pinterest for a long time, I tried some of the ideas I saw, to great appreciation from my floor-mates. The next few posts will be about food I've made with a microwave and a fridge. And ingredients from the Quick Zone. These aren't necessarily quick... I'm just trying to use up ingredients :)

First up... truffles! Not the mushrooms, not the traditional chocolate kind (though there's plenty of chocolate in these), but the cookie kind! I've made three variations so far, and I have three more packages of cream cheese ready in the fridge. I'm planning on making lots more once I'm home to spread holiday cheer to friends!

Milk chocolate-covered Nutella truffles

The concept is pretty easy... Grab some cookies, crush 'em into crumbs, combine with cream cheese, form balls, and smother in chocolate. Since I have the pictures for my Nutella truffles, I'll go into detail with them.

NUTELLA TRUFFLES
Adapted from these Quickie Nutella Truffles

Ingredients:

8 oz, cream cheese (1 package)

13 oz. Nutella (1 of the small jars)

14.4 oz. graham crackers (a box of Honey Maid's, 27 crackers, about 4 cups when crushed finely)

About 8 oz. chocolate, any way you can get it* (see Step 6 below for more details)

Directions:

Graham cracker crumbs

1. Crush graham crackers into crumbs. 

I don't have a food processor, so I put the crackers in a gallon Ziploc bag, squeezed the air out, and used my hands. To go true college-style, use the spine of your least favorite textbook. It was quite a good way to de-stress before finals ;)

Truffle dough

2. Add cream cheese and Nutella; mix until well combined. 

I tried to use a bowl, then realized my cereal bowl wasn't going to cut it size-wise. So I poured everything back into the Ziploc bag and mushed it around. I've never tried using a bowl, so I can't say if using the baggie was easier, but it definitely wasn't hard--pretty simple, actually. 

3. Place dough in refrigerator to harden. 

Or the freezer, if you're impatient :)

Truffle balls

4. Using a spoon, form compact balls of dough. (I ended up with about 45)

If you have some sort of round ice-cream scoop, that's fantastic. For the ones shown here, I used a spoon to compact the dough into the bottom of a tiny plastic cup. In my later truffles, I just used my hands to shape the dough into quasi-spherical shapes with the Ziploc bag, which was much less time-consuming, and the results were just as good.

5. Return to refrigerator (or freezer) to harden while you melt the chocolate.

6. Melt the chocolate! 

Unwrap your chocolates and place them in a bowl, breaking the bars into smaller pieces. Set your microwave on half-power and microwave for short intervals, stirring in between. (I started off with 30, then decreased to 15 and 10-second intervals.) The idea is to go slowly because chocolate can burn easily if you're not careful. Also, make sure to keep water away from your chocolate so it doesn't form lumps. (If this happens, add a little vegetable oil and stir.) 

*Because I didn't have enough of any one kind of chocolate, I separated the different kinds I had (though I didn't wash my bowl in between). I used Hershey's bars (milk and dark), Hershey's Kisses, Reese's peanut butter cups, M&M's, and York peppermint patties. Some reflections... I do not recommend York peppermint patties. Something about the mint (the sugar, maybe?) makes the chocolate gummy when it's melted and tough to chew when it re-hardens. For the M&M's, I crushed the candy shells with my spoon as I stirred the melted chocolate. The resulting coating still has the crunch, which I enjoyed. The Reese's cups coating was softer (even when cooled) than the chocolates because of the peanut butter, but I loved it just the same. The regular milk and dark chocolate turned out the way you'd expect.

7. Remove the truffle balls from the fridge and start dipping!

I dropped them in one at a time (my cereal bowl couldn't take much more anyway). Then, using a spoon and a fork, I rolled it around in the chocolate, then let it sit on the fork to let the excess chocolate drip off. Note: The coating is actually pretty thick. Depending on your preferences, you may want to add a tiny bit of vegetable oil to the chocolate while you melt it for a thinner coat. This makes it easier for the truffle's flavor to come through the chocolate (especially if you use peanut butter cups).

8. Place chocolate-dipped balls on waxed paper (or other nonstick surface), then into the fridge to set.

9. When the chocolate has cooled and hardened, enjoy!

After a bite...mmm!

Dark chocolate coating on the left; Reese's coating on the right

Dark chocolate- and M&M-coated truffles  

There are tons of variations on this--just check out Pinterest! I've also done the following:

11.5 oz. Keebler Fudge Stripes Cookies (1 small package) with 4 oz. cream cheese

11.75 oz. Chunky Chips Ahoy! cookies (1 package) with 4 oz. cream cheese

(Warning (or encouragement, if you needed more): These are very chocolatey!)

And am excited to try the following:

8 oz. ginger wafers with 4 oz. cream cheese

1 package Nilla wafers with 8 oz. cream cheese and 1/3 cup of mashed banana

Update 1/12/15: All the above variations are great! Also, try
16 oz. Nutter Butters with 8 oz. cream cheese
11 oz. Lorna Doone cookies in place of Nilla Wafers in the banana version above
Add candy chunks (KitKats, Crunch bars, Reese's) to the "dough" or form balls around candies like Whoppers or M&Ms
For a healthier option, substitute pudding for the cream cheese! I used 2 snack cups, or 7 ounces, but the dough was hard to shape. (However, I was impatient and only left the dough in the freezer for an hour or so.) I ended up spooning the dough directly into the chocolate, which worked. This results in a softer center that is delicious in its own right! I also want to try using Greek yogurt.

What are your guys' favorite combinations?

Brioche Infinity Scarf

Last night, I posted a picture of my brioche infinity scarf on Facebook, and it got a lot of positive feedback, so I thought I'd share the exact pattern. If you are familiar with brioche stitch, this is a quick and easy knit. If not, brioche is pretty repetitive and easy to pick up, so there's no better time to learn!

BRIOCHE INFINITY SCARF

*Note: You can seam or graft the ends together. I haven't found a good way to graft brioche, so either way, the join will be visible. If you wear the scarf with the join in the back, it's completely unnoticeable, so neither grafting or seaming is better than the other. (If you know of a way to graft brioche, let me know!)

Yarn: Red Heart Super Saver Solids, Cherry Red (1 skein)
Needles: US Size #11
Gauge: 15 sts x 7.5 rows = 4" x 4" in pattern (In brioche stitch, one "V" counts as one row and is formed by working back and forth, so one counted row is actually two rows worked back and forth.)

Finished dimensions: about 9" x 5'

Brioche Pattern:
Row 1 (WS): sl1wyib, k2tog, *sl1wyif, yo, k2tog. Rep from * to last st. k1.
Row 2: sl1wyib, *sl1wyif, yo, k2tog. Rep from * to last 2 sts. sl1wyif, yo, k1.

Scarf:
Cast on 29 sts loosely. Use a provisional cast-on if you plan to graft the two ends of the scarf together. (You can also seam the ends together.)
Row 1 (RS): sl1wyib. *sl1wyif, yo, k1. Rep from * to end of row.
Now work in Brioche Pattern until there is just enough yarn to graft or bind off and seam the two edges together. I ended up with about 5 feet of scarf.
Graft to the provisional cast on. Alternatively, bind off and seam to the cast-on edge.
Weave in ends.

This pattern is for personal use only. The finished item may not be sold for profit. Please acknowledge the author. Thank you!

Cooking in the Dorm

My first semester at college is nearly over. I can't believe it. Overall, I think I've adjusted well, but I miss home-cooked food. Oddly, I've developed a bit of an obsession for cooking now. Since I'm only allowed a refrigerator and a 600-watt microwave, I can't do much, but it forces me to become inventive. My family actually did not have a microwave for most of my childhood, so I'm still not completely comfortable with the do's and don't's of microwaving. However, endless Google searches and Pinterest-browing sessions have given me ideas with the limited ingredients I can buy with my meal plan, and I have yet to cause a mess. Yay!

(Side note: I just discovered Pinterest a couple of weeks ago. It is addicting.)

Anyway, I thought I'd share some things I've done with the microwave.

Fruits--Chop an apple or banana into a bowl, or just throw some berries in there and microwave. Add raisins if you can find them. Goes great with plain yogurt (though some may prefer added sweetness). If you microwave them for a bit longer, berries become jam-like when they cool. Careful: blueberries pop and splatter, so cover your bowl (I use damp paper towels).

Eggs--Scramble 'em up and pop them in on medium-high heat for about 2 minutes. Add some milk for added fluff. You can add any combination of vegetables (I get mine from the salad bar)--mushrooms, peppers, tomatoes, spinach, onions, etc. and make an omelette!

Salad--I like my vegetables cooked. Microwave a salad with a little water. Make sure to prick vegetables such as cherry tomatoes with a fork.

1 egg + 1 mashed banana--It's good. Just try it. Make sure to mash the banana very well. Microwave on medium-high heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Add some oats (about 1/4 cup) if desired. Or other fruits. Or some chocolate chips. Whatever you want!

This brownie made from hot chocolate mix. She has so many variations, if you have hot cocoa packets, you're bound to have the other ingredients on hand!

French toast--Scramble an egg, add some milk (optional), and add a couple slices of bread torn into chunks. Stir it around and make sure the bread soaks up the egg. Microwave on medium-high heat for about two minutes. Before tearing up the bread, you can make a sandwich (jelly, Nutella, peanut butter, etc.) to add some sweetness and flavor. You can also add fruits to the bowl before you microwave. I've also tried soaking a PB&J sandwich in milk, then microwaving it on the plate, which works, too! (But the plate's a pain to clean... grease liberally with vegetable oil.)

Here are some more time-consuming treats. That doesn't mean difficult, though--they're made with only a few ingredients--and they're well worth the wait!
Cookie truffles: cream cheese, cookie crumbs, chocolate candies (optional)
Marshmallow treats: marshmallows, vegetable oil, crunchy pieces
Slutty Brownie: Betty Crocker Warm Delights Hot Fudge Brownie, Chips Ahoy!, Oreos
Banana pudding sandwiches: banana, vanilla pudding, Nilla wafers (or Lorna Doone cookies)
Graham cracker cakes: graham crackers, pudding/cream cheese/Cool Whip/jelly/etc.

Brioche Scarves

I discovered brioche stitch last year when I knit my dad a scarf for Christmas. I love its squishiness and warmth and drape! It's also a very neutral pattern that works for men and women--I feel like I can knit it in any color and style and it'll look great.

 

Here's the scarf I knit for my dad last year. I knit it with Red Heart Super Saver on size 11 knitting needles. I love the extra squish the large needles give. If you use different colors for the edges, as I did in black here, note that one edge will have one more stitch than the other (because brioche needs to be worked over an odd number of stitches). Happily for me, it's not very noticeable.

About a year ago, I also bought a skein of Red Heart Super Saver in cherry red to use on myself. I wasn't sure what to make, though. Eventually, I decided I wanted to use up the whole skein on one project, and after some trial and error, my brioche infinity scarf was made. It is so warm, and the loose tension makes the knitting stretchy, which makes the scarf even more versatile. Just knit away until you're out of yarn, then seam or graft the two ends together. I actually used a provisional cast on so I could graft, but after spending a lot of time trying to figure out how to graft brioche, I ended up using the stockinette version of the Kitchener stitch, which is by no means invisible, but I wear the scarf with the graft in the back, anyway, so in the end, it doesn't matter too much.

This is my first infinity scarf (Brioche Infinity Scarf), and I'm finding lots of new and fun ways to wear one. I'm discovering why these scarves as so popular!

Update 1/12/15: Also, two-color brioche is beautiful. I learned it here. This Christmas, I converted my boyfriend into a scarf-wearer with this. He wears it all the time! 

And my mom, after seeing that, wanted one, too, so I was working on this the past couple of days. (The matching shirt was completely unintentional.) She gets it when she comes visit me for my birthday in a few weeks :)

Check out Summer Shenanigans for more!

Caring for Plants

I recently moved into my home for the next eight months, my college dorm room! Before I left, my friend considerately gifted me two plants: an African violet and a fairy castle cactus. He also linked me to care websites for both, and the detail of those websites pretty much convinced me that I was going to kill both the plants. Happily, though, both the violet and cactus are in great condition. (Or at least the cactus hasn't changed for the worse.)

Here's how I care for the African violet.

• Rotate a quarter-turn every two days
• Water from the bottom every four days (I basically let the pot sit in water for thirty minutes)
• Water from the top, carefully avoiding the leaves, every month or so
• When I'm not watering the plant, I fill the dish with water and set the pot on some rocks to increase the humidity around the plant. I used rocks that I had; gravel would probably work better.

I also plucked off a leaf, cut its stem at a 45-degree angle (leaving about an inch of stem), and placed it in water. After a few weeks, roots started to grow. I moved the leaf into a pot of soil. It's been over a month, and I'm still waiting for something to sprout.

And the cactus:

• Rotate a quarter-turn every two days.
• Water until the water drains from the bottom of the pot every twelve days.

I've never really been much of a plant person, but I love how these add color to the room!

Graduation Tassel Ornament

While browsing the web after graduation, I came across this great idea for making ornaments from your graduation tassel. After preserving my bouquet and rose, I just had to do this, too. I picked up the plastic ornament for $0.59 at Michaels during their Black Friday sale. I think I could have done with a smaller size, but no matter--I still love how this looks!

To make your own ornament from a tassel...
1. Buy a clear ornament with a cap.
2. There should be two holes in the cap where the wire goes through; cut a slit between these holes.
3. Feed the tassel through the hole in the top of the ornament. You'll probably have to turn the year tag sideways to get it in.
4. Pull the loop of the tassel through the slit you cut in the cap and cap the ornament.
5. Knot the loop of the tassel on the wire loop of the ornament.
6. Hang and enjoy!

If you'd like, you can also decorate the ornament with markers or ribbon, or add some confetti inside the ball. Get creative!

Preserving a Rose

I can't believe my first semester of college is over in a couple weeks. It's gone so quickly! I just finished a couple things from graduation because I was waiting for the craft stores to stock one thing: ornaments! The clear kind (glass or plastic) you can open up and fill yourself. Even better, Black Friday weekend meant it was all on sale at Michaels.

A few months ago, I wrote a couple posts about preserving flowers and what I did with my graduation bouquet. I'd dried my rose from graduation, coated it with hairspray, and tucked it away on a shelf until I could get an ornament ball. I picked up a plastic one for $0.29 (make sure to get the ones that have halves that snap together), tucked the rose inside, and threaded a piece of maroon embroidery floss through the hole on top. And voila! My graduation rose is now a beautiful ornament!

This was a super-easy way of preserving the rose and its accompanying memories. This is also a great idea to preserve other special flowers from a bouquet, boutonniere, or your garden!

If you want to add some extra pizzazz, check out Home Depot's dried rose Christmas ornaments. They use spray paint, some moss, and baby's breath to make extra-festive ornaments. I wanted to preserve my rose as a way to remember graduation, though, so I left it like this. Reminds me a bit of the Beast's rose in Beauty and the Beast, actually--just a different container.