MACCHIATO EGGNOG & DRUNKEN OREO TRUFFLES

A few days ago I invited some lady friends over for an end-of-the-year holiday cocktail. When I invited them I asked them what they like to drink, like a good hostess does. The answers were bourbon, bourbon and coke and coffee. Yep, that's pretty much all they said they drink. Of course, being who I am, I wanted to do something more festive and complicated than tossing a shot of whiskey in a cola or a cup of coffee.
How creative can you get with those options and still make your guests happy? Well, I happen to know they do drink eggnog as well because they served me some last year. And I just happened to have some eggnog ice cream and a little bit of my Homemade Caramel Liqueurs tucked away so ... 

The MACCHIATO EGGNOG COCKTAIL
INGREDIENTS: 1/2 Oz. Homemade Caramel Liqueur (I used my Cafe Noir Courvoisier recipe here.) 1/2 Oz. Caffè Borghetti 1/2 Oz. Bourbon 1 Cup Egg Nog Ice Cream Pinch of Fresh Grated Nutmeg Dash of Sea Salt
Garnish: Caramel Candy (I used the same McCrea's Cafe Noir candy used in the caramel liqueur), Dusting of Nutmeg
Tools: Blender
Glass: Punch Cup, Coupe or Cocktail (Martini), Cocktail pick for caramel.
DIRECTIONS: Combine all the ingredients in your blender and mix until smooth and creamy. Pour into your punch Cup, garnish with the caramel candy and a dusting of nutmeg and serve.

I served them up with some DRUNKEN OREO CHEESECAKE TRUFFLES:
INGREDIENTS: 1 Package of Double Stuff Oreos 8 Oz. Cream Cheese, room temperature 1 Tbsp. Instant Espresso Powder 2 Oz. Coffee Liqueur 1/8 Tsp. Salt 1 C. Dark Chocolate Pieces 1 C. White Chocolate Pieces Tools: Food processor or something to grind up the Oreos with, toothpicks, mixing bowl, double boiler(s) or microwave safe bowl(s), cookie sheets, parchment paper.
Garnish: Ground up cocoa nibs, sparkly cake decorations, whatever you want to decorate them with that will stick to the chocolate coating. I had some cool Wild Hibiscus Salt from WildHibiscus.com that I sprinkled on top.
DIRECTIONS: Grind up one package of double stuff Oreo cookies, blend this with the softened cream cheese, instant espresso powder, salt and coffee liqueur. Roll these into one and a half inch diameter balls, stick a toothpick in each one then freeze them on a parchment lined cookie sheet for about 30 minutes. Most recipes for the Oreo Cheesecake Truffles say to freeze for 15 minutes, but because you have added liquor  you will need to keep them in the freezer a little longer . While the truffles chill, melt the chocolate you're going to dip them in, either in the microwave or a double boiler, until smooth and creamy. Take your truffles out of the freezer and grab them by the toothpicks and dip them in your melted chocolate(s) until covered. Gently tap off the excess chocolate and place them on another parchment lined cookie sheet. I simply flip the parchment paper over and use the same one. Sprinkle on some ground up cocoa nibs and/or some sparkly cake decorations and chill in the refrigerator until time to serve.
I got low on my melted dark chocolate at the end so I grabbed a bit more of the instant espresso and some dark cocoa powder and rolled the last few in the espresso then in the dark cocoa. These were my favorites, I really liked the bitterness of the coatings because they balanced a pretty sweet treat.
Sit back and accept the accolades.
Updated 6-2018 PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY