This recipe and the next two are inspired by my effort to clear out the cupboards as we prepare to move back East this month.  These recipes are super flexible; you can use whatever is in your cupboard that you don’t really want to pack up in yet another box…

Three ingredients, a blank canvas for creativity, and it only requires a microwave!

a block of cream cheese (non-negotiable)

about 8oz of chocolate (bars, chips, white, dark, almond bark–anything)

a whole package of sandwich cookies (nutterbutters, oreos, vanilla sandwich cookies… or graham crackers with some nutella thrown in, or shortbread cookies)

Melt the chocolate over a double boiler or in the microwave–this will be the candy coating; if you’ve got any kind of baking bar, or many kinds of chips, just about anything will work.  If you’ve got some vegetable oil or butter to use up, add a tablespoon or two–it’s not necessary, but it does make the coating a little softer on the candy.

Use a food processor or a plastic bag and rolling pin to crush the cookies–totally pulverize them.  Mix the powder into the cream cheese (if using a food processor, you can just add it to the bowl–in chunks will probably work best to completely combine the cheese & cookie powder).  Shape the dough into small balls–about a tablespoon in volume–and put them on a cookie sheet in the fridge to firm up a bit before dipping them in the chocolate coating.

If you want to add toppings–the end of a bag of crushed nuts, or a bit of coconut, or, in my case, some colored sugar, all the better!

Which combination would YOU want to make?