BD, I think they are very easy to make. Here is the recipe I've used a bunch of times for the past decade or two, I don't even remember where I got it. I don't always dip them in the chocolate coating, sometimes I just roll the chilled truffles in chopped nuts or chocolate sprinkles or crushed peppermint candy or powdered sugar or cocoa powder or whatever suits me at the moment. TRUFFLES 2 packages (12 ounces each) semisweet chocolate chips 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened 3 tablespoons instant coffee granules 2 teaspoons water 1 pound dark chocolate candy coating, coarsely chopped White candy coating, optional In a microwave-safe bowl, melt chocolate chips; stir until smooth. Add the cream cheese, coffee and water, mix until well blended. Chill until firm enough to shape. Shape into 1-in. balls and place on waxed paper-lined baking sheet. Chill for 1-2 hours or until firm. In a microwave, melt chocolate coating; stir until smooth. Dip balls in chocolate; allow excess to drip off. Place on waxed paper; let stand until set. Melt white coating and drizzle over truffles if desired. Yield: about 5-1/2 dozen. I know there's a recipe for Oreo Truffles too, the girls loved those. I think it came from Sue (cookingrvc), but I'm not sure, this one came right off the Kraft Foods website! Oreo Truffles 1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened 1 pkg. (1 lb. 2 oz.) OREO Cookies, finely crushed (about 4-1/4 cups), divided 2 pkg. (8 squares each) BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, melted MIX cream cheese and 3 cups cookie crumbs until well blended. SHAPE into 48 (1-inch) balls. Dip in melted chocolate; place on waxed paper-covered baking sheet. Sprinkle with remaining cookie crumbs. REFRIGERATE 1 hour or until firm. Store in tightly covered container in refrigerator. I've been thinking, actually, that I haven't made Ann T's graham chewies in quite a long time and I really like those a lot... Annie

Maybe that's how they stay slim forever--mix up the chocolate cake, get a gloppy mess, then throw it out without eating it! I'm sorry your recipe didn't work. That's a lot of expensive chocolate to toss in the trash. I hope you were able to salvage it somehow? This is the recipe I use most often. It's from Rose Levy Berenbaum's Cake Bible, and it has three ingredients--one of which is the butter they left out of the one you tried. It's easy--even though the instructions are longish--and it always comes out great. Chocolate Oblivion Truffle Torte 1 pound bittersweet chocolate, room temperature* 1/2 pound (1 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature 6 large eggs, room temperature * Beranbaum's note: Two of my favorites are Lindt Courante and Tobler extra bittersweet. If using Courante chocolate, add 1/3 cup (2.25 ounces/66 grams) sugar to the eggs while beating. If using extra bittersweet, add 3 tablespoons (1.5 ounces/37 grams) sugar. Heidi note: I added 3 tablespoons superfine sugar to the eggs when using the 70% Sharffen Berger. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Lightly butter a 8-inch springform pan; line the bottom with buttered parchment or wax paper. Wrap of outside of the pan with a double layer of heavy-duty aluminum foil to prevent seepage. In a large metal bowl set over a pan of hot, not simmering, water (bottom of the bowl should not touch the water) combine the chocolate and butter and let stand, stirring occasionally, until smooth and melted. (The mixture can be melted in the microwave on high power, stirring every 15 seconds. Remove when there are still a few lumps of chocolate and stir until fully melted). In a large bowl set over a pan of simmering water heat the eggs, stirring constantly to prevent curdling, until just warm to the touch. Remove from the heat and beat, using the whisk beater, until triple in volume and soft peaks form when the beater is raised, about 5 minutes. (To insure maximum volume if using a hand mixer, beat the eggs over simmering water until they are hot to the touch, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and beat until cool.) IMPORTANT: Be sure to add the beaten eggs to the chocolate mixture and not the chocolate to the eggs. This will insure a moist airy texture. Using a large wire whisk or rubber spatula, fold 1/2 of the eggs into the chocolate mixture until almost incorporated. Fold in the remaining eggs until just blended and no streaks remain. Finish by using a rubber spatula to ensure that the heavier mixture at the bottom is incorporated. Scrape into the prepared springform pan and smooth with the spatula. Set the pan in the larger pan and surround it with 1-inch very hot water; place on center of middle oven rack. NOTE: Baking in a water bath keeps the texture creamy throughout. Bake 5 minutes. Cover loosely with a piece of buttered aluminum foil and bake 10 additional minutes. NOTE: The cake will look soft, but this is as it should be. Remove from oven and let the cake cool on a wire rack for 45 minutes. After cake has cooled, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until very firm, about 3 hours. To Unmold: Have ready a serving plate and a flat plate at least 8-inches in diameter, covered with plastic wrap. Wipe the sides of the pan with a hot, damp towel. Run a thin metal spatula around the side of the cake and release the sides of the springform pan. Place the plastic-wrapped plate on top and invert. Wipe the bottom of the pan with a hot, damp towel. Remove the bottom of the pan and the parchment. Reinvert onto the serving plate. Chocolate Torte will store up to 2 weeks refrigerated. Do not freeze because it changes the texture. When ready to serve, bring to room temperature. Cut into narrow wedges with a thin sharp knife that has been dipped in hot water. When this cake is served at room temperature, you get a rush of chocolate from the moment it enters your mouth. The full flavor of chocolate can best be appreciated only in a softened state. (A chocolate bar, for example, has to start melting in the mouth before the flavor comes through.) Makes 16 servings.

Here are a couple of versions of Twas the night before Christmas. The first one isn't funny but I thought it was nice. The Night before Christmas for Moms It was the night before Christmas, when all thru the abode only one creature was stirring, and she was cleaning the commode. The children were finally sleeping, all snug in their beds, while visions of Nintendo 64 and Barbie, flipped through their heads. The dad was snoring in front of the TV, with a half-constructed bicycle on his knee. So only the mom heard the reindeer hooves clatter, which made her sigh, "Now what's the matter?" With toilet bowl brush still clutched in her hand, she descended the stairs, and saw the old man. He was covered with ashes and soot, which fell with a shrug, "Oh great," muttered the mom, "Now I have to clean the rug." "Ho-ho-ho!" cried Santa, "I'm glad you're awake. Your gift was especially difficult to make." "Thanks, Santa, but all I want is some time alone." "Exactly!", he chuckled, "I've made you a clone." "A clone?" she asked, "What good is that? Run along, Santa, I've no time for chit-chat." The mother's twin; Same hair, same eyes, same double chin. "She'll cook, she'll dust, she'll mop every mess. You'll relax, take it easy, watch The Young & the Restless." "Fantastic!" the mom cheered. "My dream come true! I'll shop. I'll read. I'll sleep a whole night through!" From the room above, the youngest began to fret. "Mommy?! I scared...and wet." The clone replied, "I'm coming, sweetheart." "Hey," the mom smiled, "She knows her part." The clone changed the small one, and hummed a tune, as she bundled the child, in a blanket cocoon. "You the best mommy ever. I really love you." The clone smiled and sighed, "I love you too," The mom frowned and said, "Sorry Santa, no deal. That's my child's love, she's trying to steal." Smiling wisely Santa said, "To me it is clear," Only one loving mother, is needed here." The mom kissed her child, and tucked her into bed. "Thank you Santa, for clearing my head. I sometimes forget, it won't be very long, when they'll be too old, for my cradle-song." The clock on the mantle began to chime. Santa whispered to the clone, "It works every time." With the clone by his side Santa said, "Goodnight. Merry Christmas, Mom, you'll be all right. A Parent's Night Before Christmas Twas the night before Christmas when all through the house I searched for the tools to hand to my spouse Instructions were studied and we were inspired, in hopes we could manage "Some Assembly Required." The children were quiet (not asleep) in their beds, while Dad and I faced the evening with dread: a kitchen, two bikes, Barbie's townhouse to boot! And now, thanks to Grandpa, a train with a toot! We opened the boxes, my heart skipped a beat - let no parts be missing or parts incomplete! "Too late for last-minute returns or replacement; if we can't get it right, it goes...

The sudden death of my grandmother, the best person in my family, the only one who was loving and not abusive in some way. That killed me for a long time. Years of therapy later, I finally worked up the courage (and self-compassion) to tell another trusted family member how much they hurt me with the way they would habitually speak to me since I was a kid. Being used as a verbal whipping post. Their response? I don’t care, I need someone to talk to, “let it roll off like water on a duck’s back”. I had to write the actual words down right then so I wouldn’t forget and get sucked back in as usual, thinking that they don’t mean it and things will change. That conversation finally gave me permission to stop talking to them and the rest of the family soon followed. “Things don’t have to be this way.” I don’t want to be confined by my past but it’s very hard to rewire a brain habituated to abuse and “feeling bad”. I realized in group therapy that being offered compassion is very painful for me and I withdraw. (I don’t deserve it.) Being yelled at and threatened and demeaned is LESS painful than being shown love, since it’s much more familiar and acceptable. That was a big realization and even though I’m not “there” yet, I know what’s possible with healthy relationships. I watch friends lovingly interact with their kids (and each other and their families) and it’s foreign and painful and scary but slowly healing. A gift.