Homemade Oreos

I've always wanted to make homemade Oreos. They're just such special cookies. Under normal circumstances, I'd argue that the best cookies are the soft, chewy ones that disintegrate as you bite into them. But Oreos? These crunchy, chocolate cracker-like cookies stuffed with frosting are the things dreams are made of. They're also one of few cookies that I can think of that just aren't quite complete with a glass o' milk.

Oreos are also one of those cookies, and brands, that are known best by the brand name. Think Kleenex, in edible form. Tell me, does, "Hey, do you want a chocolate sandwich cookie?" sound nearly as good as, "Hey, want an Oreo?"

I went a little special with this one in the use of french flour. It's not something I'd had experience with before, but a friend let me in on it. She mentioned it was lighter and softer, ideal for the type of baking I do most. And as she orders in bulk, she even passed on a bag of it to me.

This started out like your average cookie. I beat the butter, sugars, and extracts together, then mixed in the eggs. I gradually added the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt, mixing until the dough was combined.

The amazing thing about black cocoa is it's strength in color. I used half the amount of black cocoa than flour and yet the dough turned a rich, black, color. The dark is more powerful than the light, in this case.

After mixing, I wrapped the dough snugly in plastic wrap and stuck it in the fridge to firm up. I needed the buttery dough cold so it could handle being rolled out. After the cooldown time, I separated the dough into 4 sections.

Despite the dark, color absorbing cloud that was my cookie dough, I didn't want to risk the white flour leaving white spots on my perfectly dark Oreo knock-offs. So I sprinkled black cocoa out on my pastry board and rolling pin and rolled the dough out to 1/4 inch thick, then used my biscuit cutter to make my little rounds.

I laid my little black circles of doom out onto a cookie sheet. I didn't worry about them rising and bumping into each other, as these are shortbread cookies, lacking baking powder. I stuck then in the oven for about 16 minutes, then set them aside to cool.

I made a basic buttercream icing, then paired up this cookies together to create a marriage of chocolate goodness. The frosting part was easy. After a few cookies, I learned that the easiest way to create a smooth, evenly-filled cookie was to spoon a dollop on the bottom of one cookie, then stacked a second one on and twisted them together to spread the frosting.

There's not much more I can say about these besides JACKPOT! Remember the crunchy chocolate goodness I described earlier? The black cocoa is key, as I mentioned with my Oreo Cupcakes recipe. No, they're not vegan like legitimate Oreos. But they are rather good.

What other adventures can we get into with these? Perhaps using the shortbread cookie part as the base of a cupcake? Making a chocolate cookie pie crust? The lack of rising can definitely open up some possibilities as a base for other confections. But for now, I'm willing to live off the winnings of conquering one from my longtime hangers-on from the "To Make" list.

Homemade Oreos Recipe

Ingredients:

For the cookies:
1 cup butter
1/3 cup white sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup black cocoa
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

For the frosting:
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons water

Instructions:

In a large mixing bowl, beat together butter and sugars. Add vanilla and almond extracts, then eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Gradually add dry ingredients, stirring until well-combined. Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Remove dough from fridge and divide into 3-4 parts. Roll one section out onto a floured surface (or use black cocoa powder) until about 1/4 inch thick. Use circle cookie cutter to cut out cookies, then place on a lined baking tray. Bake for 15-17 minutes. Set aside to cool.

To make the frosting, beat butter for 3 minutes on high until fluffy. Lower speed and slowly add powdered sugar, vanilla, and water.

To make cookies, spread frosting on one cookie, then top with a second cookie to form a sandwich.