DIY Tutorial: Lemon Shortbread Truffles

Check out these beauties:


A tasty treat for bridal showers, baby showers, and seeing as Valentine's day is so close... find some cute packaging and you'll have a perfect gift! Fair warning- these are easy to make, but time consuming.


You'll need:

• 1 package of lemon cookies*
• 1 package of white chocolate chips
• large mixing bowl
• 2 cookie sheets
• 1 gallon ziplock bag
• 1 oz package of cream cheese
• rolling pin
• hand mixer
• wax paper
• spatula
  

*oreo cookies can be substituted, and the outside coating can be your choice of chocolate- dark/milk

Step #1 - take your cream cheese out and let it soften. In the meantime, count out 36 cookies and place them in your gallon ziplock bag. Take your rolling pin and crush the cookies as well as you can (if there are small chunks of cookie, no worries!)

You may need to scrape the sides of the bag since the frosting will stick. Keep the spatula handy, you'll need it after the next step.

Step #2- Pour the cookie crumbs into your bowl, add the cream cheese and beat on low-med. The mixture will be chunky and very sticky...

Remember how I told you to keep that spatula handy, use it to scrape out the mixer.

Step #3- Cover your cookie sheet in wax paper, then roll the dough into small 1in balls; remember, these are going to have a coat of chocolate so they will become larger. Once all the dough has been used place the cookie sheet in the refrigerator for 30min-1hr. You want the dough to be firm since it will be dipped into melted chocolate.

Step #4- Once the hour has passed place wax paper on another cookie sheet then melt 1/2-3/4cup of white chocolate chips and use a fork to dip the balls. This coats them evenly and drains the excess chocolate.

This is where your second cookie sheet comes in. Place each newly coated truffle onto the sheet, you can garnish them with anything you'd like. I used pink sugar crystals and sliced almonds.

Step #5- Place the truffles in the refrigerator once again, I usually let mine set overnight.

Step #6- Serve and enjoy!

If, and that's a big if (although this recipe makes 45-50 truffles)... you have leftovers be sure to store them in the refrigerator seeing as cream cheese is a huge ingredient.

I hope you enjoy your homemade truffles... let me know how yours turn out, esp. if you try other flavor combinations!

Event Review: Gaylord National's "Christmas on the Potomac"

So it's been quite awhile since I posted (before the i ♥ faces challenge), things have been a bit crazy around here for my little family... we attended two Christmas parties, Christmas Eve service at church, had a webcam date with the family on Christmas. We also attended Gaylord National's "Christmas on the Potomac," The ICE! attraction was simply amazing!

Check out this promo video:

I highly recommend anyone in the DC area to scrounge for tickets... it is so worth it! Once you arrive and are standing in line to receive your parka (believe me, you need it, inside it's 9*!) it's much like a theme park ride. There are promo videos playing, and cute little areas to take group photos.

Then... you step through the doors, and instantly enter a true winter wonderland... Here are some of my photos:

[As always click on any image to view in larger size]

Seriously... try to find tickets, you have 4 days left, good luck! =)
-Tay

An "i ♥ faces" photo challenge!

This week over at i ♥ faces they are celebrating their 1st Anniversary! The contest is very cool, they want their logo featured in the photos entered.

For my entries I wanted to make my logo's natural, not dissing photoshop, I love it... but I wanted to try to be extra creative (at least with a couple).

Entry #1: This is one of my guinea pigs, his name is Twix. I cut the apple to resemble the logo's heart!

Entry #2: I tried my hand at some "artistic" makeup... nothing here has been edited in photoshop.Entry #3: This one was photoshopped, I tried to make it look natural, not sure it worked. The photo is my friend and sister in the Armstrong Redwood Forest.
Entry #4: I used photoshop for this one as well (can you find it?)... Taken at the Charles Schulz Museum.

Please click on the photos to enlarge them to full size.

“I am submitting these photos into the I Heart Faces logo photo contest. By entering, I am granting I Heart Faces LLC permission to consider my photos for use in the marketing and promotion of their website.”