No-bake peanut butter Nutella cookie truffles!

So after making my adorable little Cookie Monsters last week (which were quite the hit), I had a whole bunch of store bought mini-chocolate chip cookies leftover.

"Why don't you just hand them out and pretend you baked them?" suggested one friend. "You have enough baking credibility to pull that off."

Sure, getting compliments on my baking is great and all, but I bake because I enjoy the process of finding/creating a recipe and seeing it through to the final product. Looking at the leftover cookies, I decided to invent a recipe to use them up.

After flipping through Pinterest, I had a few ideas. Crushed graham cracker crumbs are often used in desserts, so I thought, why not using crushed chocolate chip cookie crumbs to add a bit of flavor?

I settled on making a sort of peanut butter ball/truffle. It's fairly basic recipe - you mix peanut butter, powdered sugar, and graham cracker crumbs together, form balls, and dip them in chocolate. Of course, being in the creative mood, I put a few twists on this simple recipe.

First, I decided to add a bit of Nutella into the mix, making it half and half peanut butter and Nutella, mainly because I had Nutella that I needed to use.

Then, as I said before, I used crushed chocolate chip cookie crumbs instead of graham cracker crumbs to hold the mixture together. After this was all done, I realized I still had cookies leftover - so I used them as a base of the truffle, putting the molded balls on top to give it an extra crunch (see picture below). The whole thing was then dipped in chocolate.

Pre-dipped truffle balls!

Speaking of the chocolate...never has melting chocolate given me such a headache. I don't know why exactly it was so difficult - I never had an issue melting chocolate over the stove or in the microwave. I did it both ways and both times, my chocolate seized up, turning into a muddy, thick mess. After 1 pound and a half of chocolate wasted, I gave up, stuck the undipped truffles into the freezer, and made cookies instead.

Today, I pulled the truffles out of the freezer and was determined to finish them. This time, I make a chocolate glaze recipe (that I usually use for cake pops), which had me melting the chocolate with heavy cream instead of butter. I guess that made the difference because the chocolate came out perfect this time, allowing me to dip the truffles and finish them off.

Now I'm left with a bunch of seized chocolate - it's pretty much ruined for dipping/melting, but if I crush it up into bits, it can still be used in baking, so at least I didn't waste any chocolate! Even the best bakers run into table-flipping-inducing challenges at times. :)

Enjoy with a glass of milk!

No-Bake Peanut Butter Nutella Truffles (makes 30 balls)
Note: I made up this recipe based on weight - the volume measurements are just estimates. For best/accurate results, use the weight measurements. 

Truffles:

• ½ cup (125 g) creamy peanut butter
• ½ cup (125 g) Nutella
• 1 cup (100 g) powdered sugar
• 1 cup (120 g) crushed chocolate chip cookies
• 30 mini-chocolate chip cookies

Glaze:

• 1 cup (6 oz) of semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 3 Tbsp of heavy whipping cream
• 3 Tbsp unsalted butter
• ½ cup (50 g) of powdered sugar

1. In a stand mixer, beat peanut butter, Nutella, butter, and powdered sugar on medium speed until smooth. 
2. Add the crushed cookies and continue mixing until combined. 
3. Mold mixture into balls about 1.5 tsp large (I used my small size cookie scoop). Place each ball on a mini-chocolate chip cookie on a wax paper lined baking sheet. 
4. Place balls in freezer until they are solid enough to handle (about 30-60 minutes). 
5. Make the glaze: place chocolate chips and heavy cream in a deep bowl or glass and microwave for 1 minute. Stir in the butter and microwave for an additional 30 seconds. 
6. Add powdered sugar and stir until the glaze is smooth. 
7. Dip each ball into the glaze and place onto wax paper to dry. After all balls are dipped, place in fridge to let them set overnight. 
8. Enjoy!