Thin Mint Truffles

St. Patrick's Day is right around the corner and what says "Luck o' the Irish" better than mint chocolate desserts!?  Uhh, nothing, obviously!  And, being in the spirit of Girl Scout season and all things deliciously minty, I decided to try making these cookies even yummier than before.  Cake truffles, brownie truffles and now, thin mint truffles!  Talk about taking things to a whole other delectable level.  Basically rolling things into tiny little morsels makes them even more irresistible than their full-sized counter part.  Personally, I am partial to the pint-sized versions because I think they're just the cutest little things..plus you can dress them up to suit any occasion, even if it's just to sit on the couch popping them into your mouth one by one.  I really do love celebrating all holidays, and the fact that St. Patty's day is just after my birthday makes me like it even more.  (Especially this year because I'll just have turned 21! Woohoooo!  I digress...) 

I have always thought mint and chocolate's harmonious joining was something only a genius could come up with (thank you, whoever you are!).  And ever since the glorious day the two met, the flavor combination has become a staple to Girl Scouts, and the Irish alike.  (And as I'm sure you can tell, I have a lot of Irish in me with my red hair and the spelling of my name and all.) So, if you love a good Girl Scout cookie and have been thinking of a new way to go about enjoying it, this is definitely something to try!  They are seriously addicting.

Ingredients:

• One box Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookies
• 3 oz softened cream cheese
• 1/2 lb Dark mint chocolate candy melts (or regular chocolate chips/candy melts)
• 1/4 cup green candy melts (or sprinkles, shaved chocolate, anything you'd like to decorate with) 
• 1 tbs shortening (+ 1 tsp)

Directions:

• Put both sleeves of cookies into food processor, process until finely chopped crumbs are formed
• Pour crumbs into a bowl and add softened cream cheese
• Mix together with a fork (I used my hands to combine it together well)
• Roll into truffle sized balls (I was able to get 15 out of mine)
• Refrigerate for an hour (or freeze for 30 minutes)
• Melt chocolate and shortening in a double boiler (a microwave works just as fine, use 30 second intervals if you go this route)
• Carefully cover each truffle in chocolate and tap off excess
• Place each truffle on wax paper on a cookie sheet (top with sprinkles or any other decorations before chocolate sets)
• Refrigerate until chocolate is firm

 To Decorate:

• Melt green candy chips & 1tsp shortening in a double boiler (again the microwave can be used as above)
• Pour chocolate into plastic bag, snip a very small piece off of the corner of the bag
• Drizzle over truffles
• Refrigerate again until chocolate is set