Homemade Oreos

One of my favorite past times, besides baking, is actually taking what I've baked to someone with a bright and gushing note. Everyone deserves to open their door and find a plate of goodies taking over their front door mat, something that was specifically made for them. We all work so hard after all, don't we? We're all just trying to make it in this crazy world. These particular puppies were being delivered to 9 squirrly but completely adorable 8 year- old children that we have the honor of teaching in church each Sunday in primary class. I hope these cookies merit their stamp of approval.

Homemade oreos always hit the spot for me- far more than those hard and crunchy things you find in the store. These are soft yet dunkable and hold up to any milk drenching techniques employed. They are rich but not so heavy to the point you feel like being a paperweight after eating one. They are awesome, a cookie that everyone can relate to, and will brighten even a summer's day drenched with rain.

This is, let it be known, my third attempt making homemade oreos in the last month and this time around, they were a huge success. Finally. Attempt one, I placed the rolled up dough too close to each other on the baking sheets which, during oven time, they all melted and spread like butter into each other- what I had were alien-looking cookies, not petite little rounds. Not pretty. The second time around, I used a basic knife to frost each sandwich, as opposed to a frosting bag and rounded tip, and they just looked plain sloppy. Today, I did everything correctly- made sure each ball of dough had room to bloom on the pan, baked each pan in 6 minutes, leaving them slightly underdone but not gooey, and finally, used the darn pastry bag fitted with a larger round tip. Believe me, that step makes a HUUUU-MONGOUS difference in its presentation I can't even stress it enough.

Homemade Oreos

{adapted from Smitten Kitchen}

For the chocolate wafers:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 to 1 1/2 cups sugar (Kate note: add 1 cup if you want them more “bitter” tasting, add the maximum amount if you like these overly sweet. I added 1 ¼ cups for a happy medium).

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) room-temperature, unsalted butter

1 large egg

1 Tbsp of heavy cream (Kate addition- my dough was too dry without it)

For the filling:

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) room-temperature, unsalted butter

1/4 cup vegetable shortening

3 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 Tbsp heavy cream

Set two racks in the middle of the oven. Preheat to 375°F.

In a food processor, or bowl of an electric mixer, thoroughly mix the flour, cocoa, baking soda and powder, salt, and sugar. While pulsing, or on low speed, add the butter, and then the egg. Continue processing or mixing until dough comes together in a mass (Kate note: I added a TBSP of heavy cream and the mass was perfectly moist and came together better than it did without it).

Take rounded teaspoons of batter and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet approximately two inches apart. With moistened hands, slightly flatten the dough. Bake for 9 minutes, rotating once for even baking. Set baking sheets on a rack to cool.

To make the cream, place butter and shortening in a mixing bowl, and at low speed, gradually beat in the sugar and vanilla and cream. Turn the mixer on high and beat for 2 to 3 minutes until filling is light and fluffy.

To assemble the cookies, in a pastry bag with a 1/2 inch, round tip, pipe blobs of cream into the center of one cookie. Place another cookie, equal in size to the first, on top of the cream. Lightly press, to work the filling evenly to the outsides of the cookie. Continue this process until all the cookies have been sandwiched with cream. Now do what you wish with them.