Chocolate Covered Oreo Cookies

I hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving.

This year Michelle and I broke with tradition and didn't attend the Black Friday sales. I slept in and ventured out around noon on Black Friday. While I missed the extra 25% off at the registers, I also missed the crowds and the long lines.

The last two weeks I have been busy knitting socks for Christmas gifts. Both Brittany and Diana have strongly hinted that they would like a pair of hand knit Merino wool socks. The first pair is finished and the second and third pairs have one sock left to knit. I used Dream in Color Smooshy (Fierce Scarlet) for the first pair and Valley Yarns Huntington for the other two pairs. Smooshy is easy to work with and produces uniform, well defined stitches. Huntington is a soft, reasonably priced ($4.79/ 218 yd. skein) Merino wool/ Nylon blend. Unlike Smooshy, the Huntington tends to slip off the needles and the yarn has a tendency to split making it hard to pick up dropped stitches. The two socks that were knit in Huntington are so soft. Overall Huntington is a good value and I would consider knitting with it again.

Top to bottom: Dream In Color Smooshy, Huntington Brown and Huntington Scarlet

Last week I was browsing through stores looking for items to add to gift baskets. A small box of chocolate truffles (6 per box) was $12.99. That was only the beginning. I could easily spend over $100.00 to fill a small gift basket. Then the inspiration hit me, why not make my own packaged cookies and treats? After several stops I had enough supplies to make my own creations. Michaels sells Wilton decorating supplies (chocolate, flavorings, decorating sugars, gift boxes and bags), Staples sells Avery Labels for the bags and boxes, and BJ's Wholesale Club was the source for the giant industrial sized package of Oreo cookies.

Chocolate Mint Oreo Cookies

The chocolate appears shiny until it hardens.

Packaged Cookies

Cookies in Gift Box.
  Avery.com was the source for the Santa graphic and font for the label.

For this project you will need a silicone baking mat and  a cookie sheet and some way to melt the chocolate coating for the cookies. Last year I invested in a Wilton Chocolate Pro melting pot. It melts the chocolate evenly and keeps it at a consistent temperature. The Chocolate Pro sells for about $30 but Michaels will let you use the 50% coupons on this item. 

Directions for Choclate Mint Oreo Cookies:

This is a quick and easy project- it only takes about an hour start to finish. Beware of predators that may lurk around your kitchen ready to pounce on "samples". You may want to make extra cookies so that you will have enough to wrap for gifts.

Wilton Chocolate Pro Melting Pot- you can use a double boiler or microwave to melt chocolate if you prefer.
Wilton Christmas Sprinkles (red, white and green combination)
Wilton Melting Chocolate-milk chocolate wafers (this is about $15/bag but it's real chocolate and not chocolate flavored coating). There is a definite difference in the taste.
Wilton Candy Flavoring Oils-don't use liquid extracts that are used to flavor cakes and cookies. The liquid will cause the chocolate to seize and become grainy and unusable.
Oreo Cookies- 10 sleeve box  This project uses half a box of cookies (5 sleeves).
Silicone baking mat- You can line the baking with parchment paper instead of the silicone mat but the silicone mat gives the underside of the cookie a smooth surface. Any chocolate that seeps from the edges of the cookies as they harden can be scraped from the mat and re-melted.
Wilton small metal spatula
Baking sheet or pan
Wilton Chocolate dipping tools-slotted spatula  You can also use a fork. Be careful not to let the fork scratch your melting pot's non stick interior.
Avery 22804 Glossy White Oval Labels
Wilton Treat Boxes 3 inch x 4.5 inches
Decorative cupcake liners from Walmart
Red Ribbon- 3/8 inch wide


1.  Add a small amount of chocolate to the melting pot. No more than 1/3 to 1/2 full. Stir with a heat resistant silicone spatula until the chocolate is melted.

2.  Add 2 drops of Wilton Creme de menthe candy flavoring to the chocolate and stir.

3.  Dip one Oreo at a time in the chocolate. Make sure the cookie is evenly coated. Lift the cookie out of the chocolate using the slotted spatula. Shake off the excess chocolate and transfer to the baking mat. Decorate the cookies with the sprinkles before the chocolate hardens.

4.  After the chocolate has hardened, carefully lift the cookie from the baking mat with the small metal spatula and transfer to another baking sheet until all the cookies have hardened and ready to wrap.

5.  Load the Avery Oval 1 1/2 inch x 2 1/2 inch white labels in the printer (I used a laser printer). Use your own design or a design from Avery.com for your label. Preview the label before you print it. If using a laser printer change the paper option from plain to label. The label option will print slower than the plain paper option, allowing the design more time to adhere to the label. This will help to eliminate streaks in the printed design.

6.  Add a label to the top of the treat box. Place the cookies in a cupcake liner and place in the bottom of the box. Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit snugly in the treat box. Place the parchment paper over the layer of cookies and place cookies in cupcake liners on top of the parchment paper for a second layer.

7.  Attach a label to the upper left side of the treat box window. Cut a piece of red ribbon long enough to tie around the box and make a bow.

Crazy foot Sock

I bought a copy of Ann Budd's Master Sock Knitting and some yarn while on vacation. I was anxious to start knitting. The book is divided into two parts: one devoted to knitting top down socks and the other section contains patterns for knitting socks from the toe up. I have tried both methods and I definitely prefer knitting from the top down.

 I personally think that the socks knitted this way fit my foot better. Besides I like knitting socks on double pointed needles.  I found knitting socks using two circular needles to be a bit confusing and I didn't like the ladders that were formed at the join of the needles. While buying this yarn, a woman in the yarn store approached me and asked if I had tried knitting from the toe up rather than using double pointed needles? I explained that I have tried both methods and still prefer the double pointed needles. She really loved knitting on two circular needles and tried very hard to convince me that this was the best way because I wouldn't have to "mess with those double pointed needles." I thanked her for her advice and quietly went to retrieve my yarn, which by this time had been wound into balls.

What can I say? I like knitting on double pointed needles so naturally I chose a sock pattern knitted from the top down. Anne Hanson (knitspot.com) is one of my favorite designers so when I saw her lacy sock pattern in the book I just had to knit them. The pattern is well written and easy to follow. I knitted my socks in Mountain Colors Crazyfoot in the Alpine color. This pattern is called a lace pattern but it's not an open lace making it suitable for socks. I'm really happy with the finished result. The Crazyfoot yarn gives the sock a nice cushy feel and the socks fit well with my Birkenstock clogs.

Sock Update: This pattern worked so well with the Crazyfoot yarn that I started knitting another pair in the Winter Sky color (deep blues and purple). I love my socks and wear both pairs on a regular basis. Even after repeated machine washing the socks still look and fit great.

Colonial Williamsburg

I spent the last week in Colonial Williamsburg. Once a year I make the trek back into the 18th century. Since I love 18th century history it's the perfect place for me to escape modern life and reconnect with the past. When I mentioned that I was vacationing in Williamsburg, again this year, I got the "Oh that's nice" response from my friends. Don't be fooled into thinking that a visit to Colonial Williamsburg is a boring waste of time. On the contrary, there are interactive programs for the whole family and children especially are invited to participate with the actors in many of the activities. The actors do a good job at portraying events so that you feel almost like you are in the 18th century. I took some photos to share with you.

Wigmaker

Colonial Gardens

Basket-makers

Inside the Capitol

Messenger delivering message for the Governor

Don't worry about being bored in Williamsburg, there are plenty of other things to do besides the Colonial activities, Busch Gardens, plantations and other historic sites and plenty of shopping.

  The Williamsburg Pottery Factory has a reputation for bargains on everything from cooking supplies and gourmet foods to frames and floral arrangements. The original Pottery was housed in large steel buildings that interconnected where you could literally shop until you dropped and since it was not air conditioned it often got very hot. The new Pottery although a lot nicer and air conditioned, doesn't have the same charm that the old Pottery did. It's laid out like a store rather than a warehouse. There are still bargains but you really need to know your prices to ensure that you are getting a true bargain. I did get a heavy French souffle dish for $14 versus $40 on line and my husband got a large crab steaming pot for $49 versus $100 on line. The Pottery does offer senior citizen discounts to those 55 and over and military personnel discounts. The Pottery is only a short ride from the Prime Outlets with brand name stores. There's a Dooney and Burke factory store with great prices and fantastic sales. They sell seconds which are often bags with slightly irregular stitching or overstocks of their first quality bags.

New Pottery

Old Williamsburg Pottery Factory

Since Brittany and I love to knit we had to make a stop to the Knitting Sisters on our way home from Busch Gardens.  The Knitting Sisters is a large well stocked yarn shop that is run by two sisters. The owners are very knowledgeable and helpful. We were looking for sock yarn and they suggested Mountain Colors yarn (their favorite). We liked the yarn so much that Brittany and I bought five skeins. They also helped Brittany to pick out a beginner sock pattern. Now that we are back home and knitting with the Mountain Colors yarn we are so glad that the Knitting Sisters suggested this yarn to us.

This is the sock that I'm knitting from Mountain Colors Crazyfoot  Alpine Color.