Pineapple Pretzel Fluff

I'm not normally a big fan of anything labeled 'fluff'.  I don't like congealed salads or salads with fruit and marshmallows and such.  But I had this recently at a potluck and fell in love.  So much, that I had to make it at home, too.  It's got that whole salty/sweet thing going on in the most excellent way.

For crust:
1 1/2 cups coarsely crushed pretzel sticks
3/4 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup sugar

Mix together crust ingredients and press into 9x13 inch pan, bake at 400* for 7 minutes.

Filling:
8 oz. cream cheese
12 ounces Cool Whip
1/2 cup sugar
20 oz. crushed pineapple, drained

Whip cream cheese and sugar until smooth.  Fold in Cool Whip and pineapple.  Layer on top of (cooled) pretzel crust, and refrigerate.

I used reduced fat cream cheese on this and fat free Cool Whip, and it turned out great.  Enjoy!

Ginger Molasses Cookie Recipe

The other evening Pierce was doing his reading homework.  He is supposed to read for 20 minutes each night.  I had started him on Little House on the Prairie as I worked on dinner.  A few minutes into it, he asked me to clarify a word.  I looked over and said, "molasses", which was what Laura and Mary were eating on their bread.  Pierce said, "What's molasses?"  I was surprised Pierce didn't know what molasses was, since I use it now and then in cooking.  I got out the bottle for him to smell, and then promised to make him some cookies after dinner, so he could taste it. 

I made this recipe from my Baylor cookbook and was so pleased by how soft and spicy these cookies were.  Definitely a cookie recipe I'll need to repeat!

Ingredients:
3/4 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/3 cup molasses
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/3 tsp salt
3/4 tsp ginger
3/4 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Beat shortening, sugar, egg and molasses.  Add in dry ingredients and mix well.  Chill for 1+ hour.  Roll into 1 inch balls, roll in sugar.  Bake at 350* for 10 minutes.

I'm guessing that molasses on bread a la Little House can't compare to these amazing cookies! 

Royal Icing and Basket Weaving - Cake Decorating Level 2

Recently I finished my Level 2 Cake Decorating class.  In this class, we covered royal icing, which I didn't like much.  I missed the creamier (and tastier) buttercream.  We did a bit with fondant and gum paste, and I really didn't like it either!  I guess I'm just a simple person when it comes to cake making.  I was happy with how my final cake turned out though.

I did a two layer strawberry cake with a layer of homemade rhubarb jam in the center.  I used buttercream frosting on the outside and on the basket weaving.  I liked learning how to do the basket weaving - it was kind of repetitious and relaxing.  The lilies are made from royal icing - which, while edible, isn't so tasty.  They are pretty to look at though.  Kind of looks like an Easter cake to me. 

I decided not to take levels 3 and 4 of cake decorating.  They focus exclusively on fondant and gum paste, and that just isn't really my thing.  For the most part, though, I've learned what I wanted to and hope to keep practicing my techniques regularly.  After all, I was able to create these fun Valentines cupcakes for Pierce's school party last week:

If you have the right tips, these are actually super easy to make, and I thought they did turn out quite cute.  I hope the afternoon wasn't too rough on Pierce's teacher - with 20 kids hopped up on all this sugar! 

Mississippi Mud Cake Recipe

My mom used to make this cake all the time when I was little.  It is the most delicate, melt-in-your-mouth chocolate cake ever.  I asked her where the recipe came from, and she has been making it so long she couldn't remember.  She thinks my aunt, Pam, may have given it to her, but she's not sure.  At any rate, this recipe is obviously a keeper, because I make it several times a year myself.  And it never sticks around for long!

Ingredients:
2 cups plain flour
2 cups sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
3 tbsp. cocoa
2 beaten eggs
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup buttermilk (milk w/ vinegar okay substitute)
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. almond extract
2 sticks margarine (butter okay substitute)
1 cup water

Sift flour, sugar, salt (do not skip the sifting step with this cake - it will end up lumpy and gross if you don't do it).  Bring margarine, water, and cocoa to a boil (should be a pretty decent boil).  Pour over flour mixture.  Mix eggs, soda, buttermilk, and extracts.  Pour into other mixture and stir well.  Pour into greased 9x13 inch pan and bake at 350* for 35 minutes.  Frost cake immediately:
1/2 stick margarine (butter okay substitute)
1/2 box powdered sugar
2 tbsp. cocoa
3 tbsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
Mix margarine, cocoa, and milk.  Heat but don't boil until margarine melts and mixture is well blended.  Add sugar and vanilla and pour over cake. 

Peanut Butter Chocolate Bars

These peanut butter bars are from The Cake Mix Doctor cookbook.  They come together quickly (done in under an hour) and are - quite simply - AMAZING!

Ingredients:

1 package plain yellow cake mix

1 cup smooth peanut butter

8 tbsp butter, melted

2 large eggs

1 package (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk

2 tbsp. butter

1 cup frozen unsweetened coconut, thawed (I just used plain sweet coconut)

1 cup chopped pecans

2 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325* and set aside 13x9 inch pan.

Place cake mix, peanut butter, melted butter, and eggs in mixing bowl and beat.  Mixture will be thick.  Reserve 1 1/2 cups for topping.  Transfer the remaining to the pan and use fingertips to press crust evenly over pan until it reaches all sides.

Place chocolate chips, condensed milk, and 2 tbsp. butter in saucepan over low heat (I just did this step in the microwave).  Stir and cook until chocolate is melted and combined.  Remove from heat and mix in coconut, pecans, and vanilla.  Pour over crust and spread to sides of pan.  Crumble reserved crust and scatter over the top.

Bake 20-25 minutes.  Remove and allow to cool 30 minutes before cutting into bars.

Easy to Make - Whoopie Pies

First off, congratulations to lucky link up #7, who was picked by Random.org to win my vintage peanut butter parfait dishes giveaway.  These will go to DogsMom.   She is always looking out for thrifty finds, so I think they'll go to a good home!

I've never made whoopie pies before, partly because they remind me of the Moon Pie Incident of 1982, and partly because they seem complicated.  But Family Circle magazine had a recipe in their April issue that is so easy - and they turned out delicious!

Cake:
1 box devil's food cake mix
3 large eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 tsp baking powder
3 tbsp water

Filling:
1 stick butter, softened
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 tbsp. water
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Heat oven to 350*.  Coat 3 large cookie sheets w/ nonstick cooking spray.
In large bowl combine cake ingredients.  Beat on low 30 seconds, then on medium for 2 minutes.  Drop by heaping tablespoonfuls onto cookie sheets, spacing 2 inches apart.  Bake at 350* for 12 minutes.  Let cookies stand on sheets for 2 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool.

While cakes are cooling, beat butter until smooth.  Add sugar, vanilla, and water.  Beat on low speed until blended, then medium-high until smooth.  Spread a heaping tablespoon of filling onto cake.  Sandwich with second cake.

Is Your Child Angry? Make Cookies!

With most recipes it seems like kids need extra help, but this is one recipe that even fairly young children can make on their own - the only help needed is with the oven.  It's a great recipe because making these cookies burns a lot of energy - in fact, they are called Aggression Cookies.  If your child is having a bad day and needs a distraction, this is a great go-to activity.  The recipe is from The Preschooler's Busy Book (this book is a great resource for Mom's - I love it!).

Aggression Cookies:

3 cups quick-cooking oats

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

1 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 cups butter or margarine (if you use butter, let it soften first)

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1.  Dump all the ingredients into one bowl and let your child really go at it!  Pound, punch, knead the batter - the longer and harder the dough is mixed, the better the cookies will taste!

2.  When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350*.

3.  Roll the dough into small balls and bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 10-12 minutes.

These aren't the prettiest cookies on earth, but they taste quite good, and Pierce was so proud of himself for making cookies all on his own. 

Comment #15 - Josh & Teddie - won the Shaklee giveaway!  Congrats!  Once I get your mailing address information I will get the information to the sponsor.   Thanks so much to all of you who entered!  I loved hearing about all of your favorite green products.

Best Iced Brownies Ever! My Favorite Brownie Recipe.

It's not that I'm a total brownie expert, but I do love them.  I've made many a brownie recipe from scratch, but the following is my absolute favorite.  It comes from my Baylor Homecoming cookbook.

Iced Brownie Bars:
2 cups sugar
1 cup margarine, softened
4 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup cocoa
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
Icing (ingredients to follow)

Cream together sugar and margarine.  Add eggs and beat well.  Add vanilla, then stir in remaining ingredients.  Spread in a greased 9x13 pan.  Bake at 350* for 30 minutes.  Cool.  Spread icing on brownies.

Icing:
1 cup brown or white sugar
3 tbsp cocoa
3 1/2 tbsp margarine
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup milk
1 1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Mix the first 5 ingredients in a medium saucepan until margarine melts and all is combined.  Cool slightly.  Stir in powdered sugar and vanilla.  Frost immediately.

Strawberry Jam Pinwheel Swirl Cookies Recipe

So I'm finding ways to use up the strawberry jam we made and these cookies are - quite simply - amazing!  And don't they just look beautiful?

The recipe is adapted from a church cookbook that my mother-in-law gave me, and the recipe author listed in the book is Sue Bulling (if you're out there somewhere reading, Hi Sue!).

3 3/4 cups flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1 cup margarine (I used butter), softened

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

raspberry jam (I used strawberry)

coconut

chopped nuts (I used pecans)

Stir together flour, baking powder, and salt.  In a separate bowl, beat together softened margarine, sugar, eggs and vanilla.  Add to flour mixture.  Roll out and cover with jam, coconut, and nuts.  Roll up dough in waxed paper and chill.  After chilled, slice about 1/4 inch thick and bake at 350* for 10 minutes (it took mine a few extra minutes, but I sliced them a little thick).

Enjoy!

The Strawberry Chocolate Cake that Almost Wasn't - Recipe Included

Recently I had a bad day.  And a certain someone (I won't name names) was teething so badly that I thought I might have to dope him with tylenol and pull out all my hair give him some extra nap time.  During said nap, I decided to make a strawberry chocolate cake to use up the strawberries we'd picked.  I hadn't made this cake in years.  And I'd forgotten.  Forgotten what an absolute PITA it is to make.  Not to mention the recipe is asinine.  It calls for things like 2/3 cup of butter.  Why couldn't they pick a normal amount?  Furthermore, you have to make a MERINGUE and fold it into this really dense batter.  A whole separate meringue?  Now if that isn't an annoying cake recipe, I don't know what is.

So there I was, pretty annoyed.  To make matters worse, it didn't get done within the prescribed time.  Nope, I had to cook it an extra 10 minutes.  Stupid cake.

And then?

The frosting.

Well, it makes a RIDICULOUS amount of frosting.

Look at all I had left after frosting both layers of cake:

Can you believe this?  There must be 3 cups there!  Not one to let things go to waste, I stuck it in the freezer for use on sugar cookies later, but by this time I was TOTALLY over this cake.  Me and this cake?  We were gonna have it out! 

But then there was this: 

And then I took a bite.  Layers of cake and strawberries and the most fudgey of frostings ever. 

Oh yes. 

That's why I made that silly old cake.

If you would like to torment yourself, here is the recipe -

Really Annoying Chocolate Strawberries Cake with Overdose of Frosting:

(from Taste of Home)

2/3 cup of butter, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar, divided

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup milk

4 egg whites

1 cup sliced fresh strawberries

FROSTING (save yourself the trouble and just half this):

7 1/2 cups confectioners sugar

1 1/2 cups baking cocoa

3/4 cup butter, softened

1 cup milk

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup sliced fresh strawberries

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and 1 1/4 cups sugar.  Beat in vanilla.  Combine flour, baking powder, and salt; add to creamed mixture alternatively with milk.  In a small mixing bowl, beat egg whites on medium speed until soft peaks form.  Gradually beat in remaining sugar, 1 tbsp at a time, on high untill stiff peaks form and sugar is dissolved.  Fold into batter.  Fold in strawberries.

Pour into two greased and floured 9 inch round baking pans.  Bake at 350* for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to cool completely.

For frosting, in large mixing bowl combine sugar and cocoa.  Beat in butter and milk until smooth.  Beat in vanilla.

Spread frosting over bottom cake layer; top with sliced strawberries.  Top with remaining cake layer; frost top and sides of cake.  Store in fridge.

Spring Flower Cookies and Rescue Vehicle Easter Eggs

Happy Easter!

Last year to celebrate we made a really fun spring cookie puzzle (click HERE to view).  I couldn't compete with that (indeed, we might make another) but we did make some cute flower m+m cookies.  They were quite tasty too. 

Just start by making sugar cookies (we made ours from scratch but you could also use a mix).  Once they've cooled you will make a glaze for them.

To make the glaze, place 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar in a bowl.  Whisk in 2 tbsp. milk, 2 1/2 tsp. light corn syrup, and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract until smooth.  Spread a thin layer of frosting over each cookie.  Press m+ms into frosting before it hardens (this was Pierce's job).  This cookie idea comes from Mom's Big Book of Cookies.

We also dyed eggs this year.

The eggs are from our chickens. 

Pierce turned them into fire engines, police cars, ambulances, and school buses.

As of the writing of this post, he's already broken two.

Being a rescue egg is dangerous work my friends. 

Thanks to all who entered my 300 followers giveaway.  The winner is Esther from Laugh With Us Blog.  Congrats!

Coffee Toffee Blondies

This recipe is from Mom's Big Book of Cookies.  These never last long at our house!! 
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 tsp. instant espresso powder (I didn't have any and used 1 tbsp. instant decaf coffee instead)
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup Heath bar milk chocolate toffee bits

Preheat oven to 350*.  Combine flour, baking powder, salt.  Melt butter in a medium saucepan over low heat.  Remove it from the heat and stir in brown sugar with a wooden spoon until dissolved.  Stir in espresso powder.  Whisk in egg and vanilla extract.  Stir in the flour mixture until just incorporated, then stir in half of the toffee bits.

Pour batter into 8 inch square baking pan.  Bake 25-30 minutes, until set in center.  Immediately scatter other half of toffee bits and press down lightly with back of a spoon so they adhere.  Let cool completely before cutting.

Vintage Jellied Irish Coffee Recipe for St. Patrick's Day

When we visited my grandparents a couple of months ago, my Granny Anne gave me a vintage cookbook from 1969 called The Year Round Holiday Cookbook, by Suzanne Huntley.  It's actually a really interesting cookbook, because it gives you various recipes for all the holidays (even the lesser holidays, like President's Day) and it tells you the history behind the holiday and the food.  I was flipping through the St. Patrick's Day recipes and found one for Jellied Irish Coffee that seemed intriguing.  It's basically an edible version of the drink.

Directly from the book:

For 6 servings:
1 tbsp. unflavored gelatin
2 cups water
1 1/2 tbsp. instant coffee
4 tbsp. sugar
3 ounces Irish whiskey
Sweetened whipped cream

Soften the gelatin in 1/2 cup of water.  Heat the rest of the water, add the instant coffee and sugar to the softened gelatin.  Stir to dissolve the gelatin, add the whiskey, and remove the pan from the fire.  Pour into demitasse cups or small bowls and chill until firm.  Just before serving, mask the top of the jelly with whipped cream.

As the last strains of "My Wild Irish Rose" fade into the night, we can bless Saint Patrick for inspiring this time of "fun and frolic".  Erin go bragh!

I'm not a big drinker and I only drink wimpy lattes from Starbucks as far as coffee goes, so I added some melted dark chocolate to my Jellied Irish Coffee so that the coffee/whiskey taste would not be so strong.  It's kind of like a jello shot.  Only with coffee.  And whipped cream.  I confess not my favorite thing ever, but if you were really into whiskey and coffee, I imagine you'd really love this dessert.

I'm sharing this recipe on Joy of Desserts this week.  She collects vintage recipes on her blog. 

Homemade Clark Candy Bars + Giveaway Winner

The person who puts the recipes in the newspaper every Sunday has my number.  He or she is always putting recipes for candy bars and other delectable desserts.  And each time, I feel absolutely compelled to make them.  Back in December I made Heath Bars.  This month is Clark bars.

These are so bad but oh so good.

You will need:

1 box of graham crackers

1 cup softened butter

2 cups smooth peanut butter

2 tsp. vanilla

2 cups powdered sugar

1 (12 oz.) bag of milk chocolate chips

1 can sweetened condensed milk

Crush graham crackers using a rolling pin (I just smushed mine in the package - it worked fine).

Mix together peanut butter, softened butter and vanilla.  Mix in graham crackers and powdered sugar, alternating until they are full incorporated and you have a thick, dough-like mixture.

Press peanut butter mixture into the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish, making an even layer.

Melt chocolate chips and condensed milk together over double broiler or in the microwave until smooth.

Spreak over peanut butter mixture.

Refridgerate for at least one hour.

Cut into small bars before serving. 

The winner of the bluebird house and squirrel proof bird feeder giveaway is commenter #8 - Taleah from Something Catchy.  Congratulations!  Thanks to so many of you who entered, apparently bird-related giveaways are popular because that's the most people I've ever had enter one of my giveaways.  So thank you!

It's Not Valentine's without Cookies!

Valentine's Day is one of those holidays like Christmas.  It just begs to make cookies.

My Mom got us this Snow Globe cookie baking kit on Christmas clearance.

We decided to repurpose it for Valentine's cookies.

I saved the cookie cutter for future snow globe and/or fortune teller ball cookies.

We discovered four heart cookie cutters in my cookie cutter stash.  Not sure why I had so many.  After rolling, cutter, and cooking the cookies, we made the frosting and iced them.

Pierce handled the snowflake sprinkles.  Snowflake sprinkles can double as heart lace, you see.

For the first time, I think he got more sprinkles on cookies than in his mouth. 

Next for Pierce's favorite part - painting the cookies.

He loves these edible paints that come in the cookie kits. 

The finished products: 

Ha, well, turns out that they tasted better than they looked: 

Linking this post up today with JDaniel4sMom's Valentine's Party Week.  Go check her out for more great Valentines ideas:

When You're Counting Calories and Need Something Sweet - Chocolate Meringues!

Meringues are easy to make, once you have an understanding of what it takes to beat those egg whites into fluffation.  They're great because they are about 10 calories a piece, and you can make different flavors.  This particular recipe is for chocolate meringues.

Ingredients:

2 egg whites

1/4 tsp. cream of tartar

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

1 tsp. vanilla

In a small mixer bowl, beat egg whites with cream of tartar at high speed until foamy.  Now seriously - for these to turn out right you have to use HIGH speed!  Add sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time, beating constantly until sugar is dissolved and whites are glossy and stand in stiff peaks:

Beat in cocoa and vanilla (to make vanilla meringues, just omit these two ingredients): 

I use an old cake decorator from the 50s that my Granny Anne gave me.  But you could use a piping bag or you could even just drop onto a cookie sheet with a spoon. 

Place on waxed cookie sheets.  Bake in preheated 225* oven until firm, about 1 hour.  Turn off oven but don't open it!!  Let cookies stand in oven with door closed until cool, dry, and crisp, at least 1 hour.  Makes 4-5 dozen meringues. 

Deluxe Banana Pudding - Vintage Recipe Thursday

It's been a while since I've joined in on Vintage Recipe Thursday over at Joy of Desserts.

Today's recipe is for Deluxe Banana Pudding.

This is my grandmother Lin Lin's recipe, and is handwritten in the front of one of her Southern Living cookbooks.

Mix 3 regular or 2 large boxes of instant vanilla pudding with 5 cups of milk.  Fold in 1 cup of sour cream and half a 9 ounce carton of whipped topping.  Layer in a large glass dish, starting with coarsely crumbled vanilla wafers, a layer of sliced bananas, then half of the pudding mixture.  Repeat the whole thing one more time.  Cover with remaining whipped topping and chill.

I've 'skinnied' this up many times by using 1% milk, fat free sour cream, fat free cool whip, and reduced fat vanilla wafers.  It does just fine with the substitutions.

Cheesecake Pops, A Tutorial

I have been continuing to make baked goods projects as little gifts for teachers, family, and friends.

My newest project was cheesecake pops.

These are time intensive, but not necessarily difficult.  I got the recipe from Woman's World Magazine.

You will need:

2 packages cream cheese (8 ounces each) at room temp

1 cup sugar

3 eggs

1/3 cup sour cream

2 tbsp. corn starch

3/4 tsp. vanilla extract

1/4 tsp. salt

24 (6" long) lollipop sticks

20 oz. semisweet chocolate squares, melted and cooled

Assorted toppings

Preheat oven to 325*.  Line 8" square baking pan with enough foil to overhang sides by 2 inches.  Coat with cooking spray.  On medium speed, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth, 2 minutes.  Beat in eggs, one at a time.  Add sour cream, cornstarch, vanilla and salt; beat until smooth and fluffy, 1-2 minutes.  Transfer to pan.  Bake 40 minutes or until set.  Cool 30 minutes.  Using foil to help, lift cheesecake from pan; cool completely.  Return to pan; cover.  Refridgerate overnight.

Cut cheesecake into 24 portions.  Shape into balls (this didn't go so well for me, so I left them as squares); insert a lollipop stick into each ball.  Transfer to a baking sheet; freeze until firm, at least 1 hour. 

Line another baking sheet with wax paper.  Place garnishes in separate bowls (for garnishes I did holiday sprinkles, heath bar toffee crunch, and crushed oreos).  Dip balls, one at a time, into melted chocolate.  Let excess drip off, then dip into desired garnish.  Transfer to baking sheet.  Freeze until ready to serve.

I found these cute lollipop bags that tie with a ribbon at Michael's.  They offer a very nice finished (and might I add yummy) product: 

Homemade Heath Bars

This recipe is from Mom's Big Book of Cookies. 

Ridiculously easy to make, they taste exactly like Heath bars.

Now that I know I can make my own heath bars in 10 minutes, I'm in trouble.

Stir 6 tbsp. butter w/ 1/4 cup brown sugar over low-medium heat until sugar is dissolved.

Pour in 8x8 pan (you may want to place down some aluminum foil to make cleanup easier) that has been lined with...graham crackers!  You may need to cut the graham crackers to get them to fit right.  Bake at 375* for 10 minutes or until bubbling.

Sprinkle 1/2 cup of chocolate chips on top, return to oven for 2 minutes.

Spread melted chips across top.

Add chopped pecans if desired.

Refridgerate until firm and cut into bars.

These are so yummy, and have the potential for creativity (use white chocolate or butterscotch chips, etc.)

I'm linking this recipe up with Mere's Foodie Friday.  You can find her HERE.

Oreo Truffle Balls - A Tutorial

If you've never made Oreo truffle balls, you are in for a treat.  They are so delicious, and make totally cute (and well-received) gifts.

You will need 36 oreos.  You can make different flavors - in this case I did a batch of mint and a batch of peanut butter, just using the flavored oreos.

Put the 36 oreos in the food processor and process them.

Place in bowl and add 8 ounces of softened cream cheese.

Using a spoon (or your hands) mix until you have one mass of creaminess. 

Roll into 1 inch balls, place on wax paper, and refridgerate for an hour. 

Melt chocolate in the microwave.  I like to use high quality chocolate, because it melts much smoother and tastes better.  I've also used the ghirardelli dark chocolate chips before with good results. 

Microwave and stir frequently (about every 15-30 seconds) so you don't burn the chocolate.

Once it's all melted, start dunking the oreos. 

If you want to top your truffles with sprinkles, you would do so before the chocolate hardens.

Place on wax paper, and refridgerate another hour. 

If you're not doing sprinkles, another cute option are some of the icings available from Wilton.  You can purchase these at Michael's.

I got mint and peanut butter flavors to match my truffles. 

Once the chocolate is solid, you can drizzle with icing.

Then refridgerate for one last hour before transferring into gift containers. 

You can get very cute truffle boxes at Michael's.

Have I mentioned how good these taste?  You may not want to give them away...