Oh....(Ginger) SNAP!

Like Michael Jackson, I tend to operate under the mantra of "don't stop 'til you get enough." Although, instead of the sexual connotations of that song, my "don't stop" occurs with my approach to culinary experiments; every time I make one even semi-successful recipe, I instantly think of how many other variations I can come up with. So it was no surprise that while making my Snowballs (White Chocolate Oreo Cookie Truffles), my eyes flickered over to the open pantry, where I spotted a bag of gingersnaps, left over from making Pumpkin Goo(p) at my Pumploitation Celebration in October, and immediately I thought, "Ginger Balls!" [Confession: The timing described in the 'story' above is slightly inaccurate, as before I even made the Oreo truffles I was already contemplating future incarnations. Thus, I had purchased a second block of cream cheese and extra chocolate chips, making me prepared for this endeavor. After all, why make one set of cookie balls when you can make TWO?] Into the food processor, I combined the gingersnaps and cream cheese, and, since I had just enough in the pantry, some candied ginger (although crystallized would work just fine...they are the same thing really I think, except crystallized has an extra coating of sugar on it).
I processed this in two batches, since my processor bowl got full pretty quickly.
This was seriously difficult not to eat. I love me some ginger in all of its forms, from the pickled kind that makes sushi worth eating, to the fresh variety that is the key to all good stir-fry dishes (or any Thai food choice I make), to the sweet baked breads, muffins, and cookies in which it plays a key part...I even love ginger hard candy.
If you have stubborn pieces of candied ginger that just won't break down (as in the photo above), I suggest you just go ahead and eat them to eliminate uneccessary frustration.
Scoop out the ginger-mess and put it into a bowl (leaving yourself a good bit to eat from the processor). Let it cool in the fridge for about an hour or so, then roll into tablespoon-sized balls.
Here is where you can get creative. I really wanted to cover these in a lemon-flavored coating, as I think lemon sauce + gingerbread might be one of my favorite desserts of all time. I was feeling lazy, though (when am I not feeling like a lazy baker, y'all?), so I had to stick with some form of chocolate I could melt in the microwave. For experiment's sake, I went with butterscotch!
Gingersnap Cookie Balls