200th Post! No Bake Holiday Cookies

     A friend at work made these cookies a few weeks ago for a staff meeting.  The were the talk of the school, so naturally I had to give them a try!  I had the perfect excuse for these no bake treats since my sister and her family drove home from North Carolina for the Holidays.  I was keeping my fingers crossed that Jaxson, a very picky eater, would enjoy the peanut butter sandwich cookies since they contain many of his favorite foods. 

Chocolate Covered Ritz Treats

Ingredients
1 sleeve of Ritz crackers
smooth peanut butter
1 cup of semi sweet chocolate chips
1 tbs shortening

Method
1. Spread a thin layer of peanut butter on one cracker.  Place another cracker on top to form a sandwich.  Continue until the entire sleeve of crackers has been used.
2. Place a glass bowl above a boiling pot of water, the bowl should not touch the water.  Pour 1 cup of chocolate chips into the bowl along with 1 tablespoon of shortening.  Melt the chocolate and stir until smooth.
3. Dip each sandwich into the chocolate.  We used a fork to remove the sandwiches from the chocolate.
4. Place the cookies on waxed paper to harden.  Once cooled, move to refrigerator.

Oreo Truffles

Ingredients
1 package of Oreo Cookies
1 package of cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup chocolate chips (semi sweet or white)

Method
1. Use the food processor to transform the cookies into fine cookie crumbs.
2. Press the cookie crumbs into the cream cheese until well combined.
3. Roll the dough into 1 inch spheres. 
4.Place a glass bowl above a boiling pot of water, the bowl should not touch the water.  Pour 1 cup of chocolate chips into the bowl .  Melt the chocolate and stir until smooth.
5. Place a few Oreo spheres into the chocolate.  Use a spoon to make sure that they are completely covered in chocolate and then transfer to a cookie sheet lined with wax paper.  Refrigerate to harden completely.  

The Taste Test
    My favorites were the Ritz Cookies.  The Orea Truffles are really rich.  They also looked a lot messier, especially the ones I tried to roll in white chocolate.  I think that dipping cookies into chocolate, neatly, takes some practice.  Jax liked the peanut butter cookies, as you can see from his thumbs up!