Homemade Oreo Cookies

     

Homemade Oreos

        Okay, so I am trying to avoid processed foods for the good of my husband and kiddos.  It shouldn't mean that we shouldn't enjoy yummy snacks.  For example, I stopped buying store bought cookies much to the chagrin of my 8 year old son.  He shortly changed his tune when I found a recipe for home made Oreo cookies from Smitten Kitchen.  The ingredient list seemed short and I had everything on hand and a baby in for a nap.  So since all was quiet on the normally chaotic home front, I got out my good old stand mixer and ingredients.

          I only actually started using my stand mixer after receiving it as a wedding gift 13 years ago.  I realized it was easier not to hold a mixer while a toddler was pulling you in each and every direction possible.  So the stand mixer has been an integral part of my new found baking career.

           Parchment paper is also something I cannot live without.  It is a great way to keep cookie sheets clean, and perfect no stick cookies.  I make mini "Oreos", so I took rounded teaspoons and then slightly flattened them down.  This dough is so easy to work with.  You do need to place the uncooked cookies in the fridge for 10 minutes before you bake them.    

            While the cookies are in the fridge and the oven is heating up you go ahead and make the icing.  This is where my recipe changes from the one on Smitten Kitchen.  I do not use vegetable shortening, just all butter.  

               Some yummy icing between the cookie halves and you've got a friend in milk, and also your neighbors, and of course the kids who have been deprived of store bought cookies for months.

Recipe

 

For the chocolate wafers:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup  unsweetened Dutch process cocoa.  I used Hershey's because that's what I had.
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 Cup sugar if you want them less sweet.  Add 1/2 Cup if you want the cookies more sweet.
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons room-temperature, unsalted butter
1 large egg
For the filling:
1/2 cup  room-temperature, unsalted butter
2 cups  sifted confectioners’ sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the cookie:
Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl.
In the mixer, beat the butter with the sugar.
Add the egg, once the sugar is well combined with the butter.
Then add the dry ingredients until a nice dough forms.
Drop rounded teaspoonfuls of the dough  on the parchment paper and flatten them.
Place in the fridge for 15 minutes.
Preheat your oven to 375F.
Place the cookies in the oven for 8-9 minutes.
Once done, let the cookies sit for 2 minutes, then place on a cooling rack.

For the icing:
In your mixer, mix the butter, sugar, and vanilla until they are well combined.

Simply place the icing on one cookie, and sandwich it with another cookie.

Serve with an ice cold glass of milk!

I placed these cookies in the fridge, since there is butter in the icing.