[NO-BAKE] BOURBON BALLS WITH ORIGINAL OREOS™ REDUX 18 AUGUST 2023
The Preppy Kitchen has a recipe for OREO BALLS (his video is HERE) but it has cream cheese (and no bourbon) in it; John Kanell likes the "tangy flavor contrast", but we both think cream cheese overwhelms all other flavors. However, I thought the way he decorated them was lovely, like bonbons . . . mine would be BOURBON BONBONS . . . so I decided to return to the FAILED IT! [NO-BAKE] BOURBON BALLS, make the recipe AS IT IS SUPPOSED TO BE MADE, and then do some of the same decorating, with melted semi- and bittersweet chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, Andes™ crème de menthe baking chips, and, of course, various sprinkles (non-pareil sprinkles add a pleasing "mouth feel" to the smoothness of the cookie crumbs/corn syrup combination). Processing station . . . Mixing station . . . . . . adding SIFTED powdered sugar . . . . . . adding bourbon & corn syrup . . . As I used 27 Double Stuf & 15 regular ORIGINAL OREOS™ for 5-1/2 cups of crumbs, I added a little bit more bourbon, sugar & corn syrup. Then the mixture was too soupy, so I processed 10 more Double Stuf ORIGINAL OREOS™; I could have gone on like that all day, but I finally said that's enough. . . . mixed and put into fridge 'til after lunch . . . Time to scoop . . . I was anticipating rolling these by hand; then I remembered I'd bought the cookie scoops. Tray #1 . . . Tray #2, for a total of 46 (balls, not trays) . . . I put wax paper under the balls, even tho nowhere was it recommended to do so. After an hour in the fridge, time to dip & decorate . . . I used that hour to melt the chocolates: Mint, milk, semi-sweet & bittersweet (60% cacao); the white chocolate I thought I still had, I didn't. So these will look nothing like the photo above. . . . and it soon devolves into a fine mess, to paraphrase Oliver Hardy . . . Taste Tester #1 helped, BTW. All but the semi-sweet chocolate hardened too quickly; Neal suggested that next time (if there IS a next time), I set each container of melted chocolate into a container of warm water to keep the chocolate soft longer. The skewers for dipping didn't work very well; we finally just hand-dipped them. Of course, "Hand-Dipped Chocolates" is what you see on all the best candy boxes, so I guess we're classier than we thought. After an hour or two in the fridge . . . . . . I again have BOURBON BLOBS. Because I used real chocolate, rather than Candy Melt™, these will have to stay refrigerated or the chocolate will melt too quickly. Personally, I like 'em better when they're cold. And their shape doesn't affect their taste at all. Luckily. Be aware that as these are not baked, they are alcohol-infused. EAT RESPONSIBLY!
THE RECIPE I USED

CHOCOLATE COBBLE [LAVA CAKE] HERE