Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles

These have been on my To Bake list for a while. A sudden brainstorm to add pretzels to the cookie dough (in order to help deplete the remaining pretzels leftover from the pound bag I had to buy to bake the Nutella Pretzel Cookies a while ago) and a desire to make something different than the usual cookie/bar scooted them to the top.

This is a straightforward recipe. First, you mix up a pretty standard chocolate chip cookie dough, sans egg (we're going for deliciousness, not salmonella, here; I'm sure there's enough contaminants floating around this grody dorm kitchen without consuming balls of raw eggs on top of it).

I added pretzels too, obviously. They added a nice crunch, but it's up to you whether you take or leave them. I recently read about someone adding graham cracker to a chocolate chip cookie. Maybe you could try that instead. Whatever floats your boat.

You're supposed to chill the dough for a good hour before moving on, but... I didn't have time. I rolled the balls right away and put them in the freezer while I melted the chocolate... but that's it. They probably would have been a bit firmer had I had time to chill them properly (they got a bit soft while sitting out during consumption), but hey, cookie dough's cookie dough, amiright?

And chocolate's chocolate. Mmmm... The original recipe called for candy coating chocolate or some such thing, but of course I didn't have any, so I just used your standard unsweetened baker's chocolate, added some milk and sugar, and presto! Now that I think about it, the lack of candy coating chocolate may also have been partially responsible for the softness of the final product... oh well.

My dipping process was all about precision, exactitude, and perfection. Almost like an artform. As you can see.

Hey. This isn't Paris. Things don't need to be attractive to be delicious! 

Also, no truffles were harmed in the making of this desert, I promise. Just, um, ignore those gory fork marks. They're only flesh wounds. Preserving the integrity of the truffle was my highest priority, I assure you.

If you could say no to one of these beauties when offered to you, you should probably see a cardiologist. Because it's possible you don't have a heart. But good news! I guarantee if that's the case, one bite of these truffles will give you immediate Grinch-style regeneration!

Good for the heart, good for the soul. No pain, just gain. Now that's medical advice I can advocate.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles
(Slightly Adapted.)

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp.easpoon salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
1/3 cup milk
1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup crushed pretzels
14 oz. baker's chocolate
      1/4 cup milk
      2 tbsp. granulated sugar

Method:

Beat butter and sugars and in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add milk and vanilla. Stir in flour, baking soda and salt and mix on low speed (or by hand) until incorporated. Stir in chocolate chips and pretzels.

Cover and chill dough for 1 hour.

When dough is firm enough to handle (it may help to lightly flour your hands), form dough into 1″ balls and arrange on a baking sheet lined with waxed paper.  Place sheets in freezer and let chill for 30 minutes.

Melt chocolate in a double boiler with milk and sugar. Using forks or a dipping tool, dip cookie balls into candy coating to cover. Tap fork on side of pan to remove any excess coating, and return to waxed paper-lined baking sheets. Chill until set. Store, chilled, in an airtight container for up to 1 week.