Give Meringue Swirl Cookies to Friends and Family this Christmas

On Friday, I shared my Oreo Truffles recipe. Dark, moist, and decadent, these little balls of indulgence will keep you going throughout the holidays. I keep a constant supply in my fridge and pop one in my mouth every time I walk through the kitchen. Didn't you hear that there is no calorie counting during the holidays?

Today I want to share with you a recipe that is the polar opposite of the Oreo balls. Light, airy, and elegant, these Chocolate Swirl Meringues are a like a little kiss of sugar on the tongue. The chocolate center is moist and rich and the outside is light and crispy. A perfect combination. Make a couple of batches and you have the perfect treat to share with friends and neighbors when you hand out your belated holiday cards.

I often think that baking has an element of magic to it, especially when it comes to meringues. Even though I've been making them since I was a kid, watching the egg whites transform into a puffy cloud of white always seems like a miracle. This recipe brings a little heat to the process, making the meringues especially shiny and beautiful.

Chocolate Swirl Meringue Cookies
Makes 2 dozen
Prep Time: 15 Minutes
Cook Time: 40 Minutes
Ingredients:
4 oz bittersweet chocolate (chopped) (about ½ cup)
5 large egg whites
1 1/4 cups of sugar

1. Preheat oven to 275°F. 
2. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silpats and set aside. 
3. In a medium saucepan, bring 1 inch of water to a simmer. Place chocolate in a heatproof bowl over simmering water. Melt, stirring occasionally. Set aside to cool slightly.
4. In a bowl, combine egg whites and sugar. Place over simmering water and whisk until mixture is hot, 4-5 minutes. 
5. Transfer bowl to mixer; beat on high speed until stiff peaks form and mixture is lukewarm, 4-5 minutes. Don't stop too early. To test for peaks, pull the beaters out and watch for the egg whites to hold their shape.
6. Remove bowl from mixer and drizzle melted chocolate over egg whites, folding in with a rubber spatula until just marbled. Don't overmix or you'll just end up with chocolate meringues. The marbling is what makes these cookies truly special, a mix of chewy chocolate and crisp, airy meringue.
7. With a soup spoon, drop batter in large mounds spaced 1 ½ - 2 inches apart on prepared sheets. 
8. Bake until crunchy outside and still chewy inside, 35-40 minutes. 
9. Transfer pans to wire rack to cool completely before removing cookies from parchment. Store in airtight container.

Oreo Truffles Even a Kid Will Love

Do you remember the first time you bit into a truffle as a child? Those perfect little balls dusted with golden cocoa in their fancy gift boxes just looked so irresistible. Each time the soft chocolate yielded to my baby teeth, my taste buds were assaulted by the intense flavor of pure cocoa, and I cried out in betrayal and disappointment. But every year, I tried again, lured in by the beauty of truffles.

Now that I'm a grown-up (most of the time), I love the rich bitterness of chocolate truffles, but I still appreciate the kind of chocolate that wouldn't make a little kid cry. These Oreo Balls are the truffles I wish I'd reached for as a child. They're also the type of treat that will be the talk of your cookie exchange and the perfect little something to give to your neighbors.

They're incredibly easy to make as they require no baking. It's a recipe I love to make with my kids, part of our Christmas tradition. Crushing the Oreos to smithereens is a great way to use up a little of that trapped boy energy on a cold winter day.

Chocolate Oreo Balls
Makes 3 dozen balls
1 16.6 oz package Oreo Cookies (Do not use double stuffed! Save those for eating)
1 8 oz brick of cream cheese
3 4 oz bars of semi-sweet chocolate (340 grams)
Any sprinkles or decorations you want to add

1. Pour the Oreos in a bowl and crush with a meat cleaver. Alternatively, you could put them in two ziplock bags (one inside the other) and tell your kids to go nuts on them. Once the Oreos are in coarse chunks, place them in the food processor and pulse them a few times.
2. Add the cream cheese to food processor and pulse until well blended. This is tough work for your mixer, and should make you pause and appreciate the conveniences of modern life! You will have to open the lid and move the contents around many times until you get the right consistency. You'll know when you're done. The mixture will be glistening, dark, and smooth.
3. Roll mixture into small balls and place on wax paper on a cookie sheet.
4. Chill in fridge for ½ hour.
5. Melt chocolate bars in double boiler until smooth and beautiful.
6. Dip oreo balls in chocolate. This can be messy if you don't use a spoon. Resist the temptation to use your fingers or you will have unappetizing fingerprints on your Oreo balls. I prefer to dump the balls one by one in the melted chocolate and scoop them out with a spoon onto a wax paper covered cookie sheet.
7. Decorate the balls with sprinkles if desired. I prefer a smoother coating.
8. Chill again in the fridge for 30 minutes.
9. Keep in the fridge until ready to serve. Dust with cocoa or powdered sugar before serving.

Grown-Up Rice Krispie Treats and a $100 Visa Gift Card Giveaway

I was ten years old when I tasted my first Rice Krispie Treat.

It was Kathy Duffy, our favorite babysitter, who taught me how to make them one winter evening. Kathy was a rockstar babysitter, the type my sisters and I waited for in our pajamas eagerly by the door, wondering what new game or craft she would pull out of her giant floppy purse. One night she surprised me by pulling out something edible, a bag of cereal and some marshmallows, and with the addition of a little butter from our fridge, she showed us Frenchies how those three ingredients come together magically.

I gorged myself on that first batch of Rice Krispie treats. Hot from the pan, I licked them off my fingers, amazed that something so good hadn't come out of a boulangerie.

Now my kids are the ones eating the Rice Krispie treats straight from the pan, making magic by bringing together marshmallows, butter, and Rice Krispies with a little heat. But this holiday season, I wanted to make Rice Krispie Treats my own again, by turning them into a grown-up treat.

I started with Smitten Kitchen's salted brown butter version, as recommended to me by my friend Alma. Without this amazing recipe as a base, the ratios would have been all wrong. Then I added coconut and dark chocolate, two of my favorite dessert treats.

The result: a decadent grown-up Rice Krispie Treat. More gooey than traditional Rice Krispie treats. Every bite filled with rich caramel and dark chocolate overtones. I just wish I had a cookie exchange to attend this year to dazzle everyone with my creation!

$100 VISA GIFT CARD GIVEAWAY
I'm working with Kellogg's Rice Krispies this December to inspire home cooks everywhere to create their own version of Rice Krispie treats this holiday season. To help spread the word, Kellogg's has given me a $100 Visa gift card to give away to one of my readers.

To enter to win, please leave me a comment about how you like your Rice Krispie Treats or do one of the actions below. ONLY ONE ENTRY PER PERSON. Other actions to qualify you for your one entry:

• Follow @Frenchfoodiemom on Twitter
• Tweet about this contest using either this tweet, "Win a $100 Visa Gift Card in the @FrenchFoodieMom #RiceKrispie giveaway. www.chefdruck.com"
• Like the Chefdruck Musings Fan Page
• Post about this contest on your Facebook page.
• Post about this contest on your blog.
• Subscribe to Chefdruck Musings.

I'll select the winner at random using Random.org after midnight on Tuesday, December 21. The winner will have 48 hours to respond, or their entry will be void and I will select another winner. There are 30 different Rice Krispie Treats $100 Gift Card Giveaways being coordinated by The Motherhood this December. You may only win one gift card across the 30 blogs.

THE MOTHERHOOD HOLIDAY RICE KRISPIES TREATS EXCHANGE BLOGGER GIVEAWAY
Abbreviated Rules. No Purchase Necessary. Begins no earlier than 12:00:00 AM (ET) on 11/29/10 and ends no later than 11:59:59 PM (ET) on 12/21/10. For complete Official Rules, go to http://web.mediacdt.com/docs/motherhoodholiday. Open to legal residents of the fifty (50) United States and District of Columbia who are 18 years of age or older at time of entry. Subject to complete Official Rules. Void where prohibited. Sponsor: The Motherhood. Head on over to the Motherhood for the full official rules.

Good luck to everyone, and here is the recipe:

Very Grown Up Dark Chocolate and Brown Butter Rice Krispie Treats

Makes 16 2-inch squares

1 stick of unsalted butter (4 oz), plus extra for the pan
1 10-ounce bag marshmallows
1/4 teaspoon coarse sea salt
6 cups Rice Krispies cereal (about half a 12-ounce box)
3/4 cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4 cups of shredded coconut (sweetened)

1. Grease an 7x12 inch rectangular Pyrex pan with 2-inch sides. Line with plastic wrap that is three times as long as the pan. Leave the extra wrap hanging out of the pan.
2. In a large pot, melt butter over medium-low heat. Make sure you pick a large pot, or you will have a sticky mess of Rice Krispie overflow all over your counters and floor. The butter will melt, then foam, then turn clear golden and finally start to turn brown and smell nutty. Use your nose to guide you! When it smells good, slightly nutty, and is a pretty golden brown, the butter is "noisette" and ready. Don't wander off, because your browned butter can and will turn to burnt butter in less than a minute.
3. As soon as the butter is ready, turn the heat off and stir in the marshmallows. If the warmth of the melted butter is not enough to melt the marshmallows, turn the heat back onto low to help it along and get the marshmallows smooth. But again, be careful not to burn the butter.
4. Remove the pot from the stove. Pour the salt, Rice Krispies, coconut and chocolate chips on top of the melted marshmallows. Take a deep breath and get ready to work stirring. This is the hardest part of the process as you'll have to burn off a little sweat equity stirring the pot.
5. Quickly spread the mixture into the greased pan, on top of the plastic wrap. Then cover the top of the treats with the extra plastic wrap, and press in the mixture as hard as you can. I even like to use a small pot to push it in smoothly. 
6. Cool at room temperature, or if you have some impatient kids (or adults) in the fridge. 
7. Store in airtight container. Will keep for 3-4 days.

No-Fuss Lick Your Lips Holiday Cookies

Chefdruck's Tasty Tuesday

I'm headed out to a cookie exchange pajama party tonight. Although I still haven't decided what, if any, pajamas I'll wear. I turned 35 this summer. Doesn't that make me a little old to wear PJs? But then what if I'm the odd man out? I guess I'll never be too old to worry about that. The nice thing at least will be that I'll be able to crawl right into bed right when I get home - something I desperately need.

I'm bringing my favorite holiday cookie tonight. I've already snuck three since four o'clock. Thirty-five doesn't seem to be too old to ruin your appetite. These cookies are no-bake and completely addictive. And you only need three ingredients (which will give you a clue as to how good these are): oreos, cream cheese, and chocolate.

Chocolate Oreo Balls

1 package Oreo Cookies
1 brick of cream cheese
Several packages of Bakers Chocolate
Any sprinkles or decorations you want to add

Place package of cookies in food processor or blender to make into crumbs.
Add cream cheese to mixer and pulse until well blended. This will be tough work for your mixer and you will have to open it and move the contents around many times until you get the right consistency. You are done once you have a homogeneous moist mixture - see picture at right.
Roll mixture into small balls.
Chill in fridge for ½ hour.
Melt chocolate in double boiler.
Dip oreo balls in chocolate. I prefer to dump them in the melted chocolate one by one and scoop them out with a spoon onto a foil-covered cookie sheet.
Sprinkle decorations.
Put in fridge to harden.