Nutter Butter Balls!

Yummo, yummers, yummerifico.  That is the ONLY way to describe the culinary magnitude of this creation.   (And a little bit ugly...but, they taste awesome so that is the only thing that matters!)

I got this recipe from the amazing world of Pinterest.  It was kind of a no-brainer that I was going to have to make these once I happened upon it.  I made Oreo Balls for a Christmas get-together and for some of my local firemen (our friend works there :)) and they were super easy!  These were just as easy.

I differed from her recipe a bit.  Here is what I used:
one 8 oz. package of neufchâtel cheese (it's in the cream cheese section...it has less fat which is why I used it.)
one package of Nutter Butter cookies (use all but 5...it will get too dry if you use them all)
two packages of Nestlè Tollhouse semi-sweet baking chips (I didn't use it all but darn near close.)
one package of Resee's Peanut Butter baking chips (I didn't use all of this either.)

First, crush all but 5 of your cookies.  I used Handsome Husband's new blender (Kitchenaid).  I just bought it for him and was wicked skeptical of it's food processor capabilities.  I was pleasantly surprised!  It was actually better than the food processor attachment from his old blender!  (Like, waaayyyy better.  Awesome!)  You can also put them in a plastic bag and crush them with a rolling pin.

Next, I put the crushed up madness into my stand mixer along with the block of neufchâtel cheese. (Don't forget!!!  You can use regular cream cheese if your heart desires.)  I needed to wait a few minutes for the cheese to soften up a bit.  I mixed it on low, scraping the side of the bowl a few times using my handy-dandy bowl scraper (a stocking gift from my momma) until the cheese was completely incorporated.

Roll the "dough" into one-inch balls.  I approximated so some are bigger and some are smaller.  No biggie.  The original recipe said that it would make approximately 30 balls...I didn't count but I am assuming that it's true!  I lined a baking sheet with tin foil (wicked easy clean-up) and ended up needing a plate for a few.  (Make sure you line the plate too or else they will stick like the dickens and have to be hammered off in an unsightly fashion.)

Put them in the fridge to harden up for a bit.  I left them in there while I cooked and ate dinner (so about an hour).

When they have cooled, use a sauce pan with about an inch of water in it and a clean glass bowl to create a double boiler and melt the chocolate.  Make sure that NO WATER GETS INTO THE BOWL!!  It will cause the chocolate to seize up (meaning it won't melt and will have a horrendous texture.).

When the chocolate has melted, put a few balls in at a time and roll them around until they have been fully coated.  I use two forks for this part so that the balls don't have a TON of chocolate on them.  Put them back on the lined baking sheet or plate.  (This is where things got a bit, uh, sticky with the plate being unlined...once the chocolate hardened, they were set for life!)

Give them a half hour in the fridge to harden again.  While you're waiting you can do your dishes, call your mom, watch some TV, do some laundry...the possibilities are endless!  I chose to wash my dishes since I needed to use them for this next part.  Once they were washed and TOTALLY dry (since you can't get any water in melting chocolate, you know) I melted the Reese's Peanut Butter chips to make a nice drizzle on the top of my balls (which I think I should have called truffles at this point...but if you're like me, you got a nice giggle out of saying balls so many times. :))  This is where it got ugly.  The peanut butter chips didn't melt very well, so it ended up globbed on top.

Handsome Husband said that they still tasted great.  I think he just felt lucky that I let him have any at all!!!  They will spend the night in the fridge where they will be safe (I hope) until tomorrow where they will be debuted at a party for my new principal.

Until tomorrow!

Mrs. B