Homemade Oreo Cookies, version 1

Homemade Oreo Cookies, version 1

Cookie Dough
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room-temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Cream Filling
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room-temperature,
1/4 cup vegetable shortening (Crisco)
2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flou, cornstarch, cocoa and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the butter and granulated sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and then the vanilla, and beat until blended. On low speed, beat in the flour mixture. Divide dough into 3-4 pieces, shape each into a disk and wrap in waxed paper. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or until firm.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with either parchment paper or a silpat.

Pinch off nickle-sized chunks of dough and roll in a ball. With slightly damp fingers, lightly press down on the balls creating a disk about 1/8 of an inch thick.  Smooth them out to make a nice smooth cookie.  Originally I tried using a greased measuring cup to flatten, but the cookies kept sticking to the cup.  So I switched to my fingers and had a much easier time.  Place the cookies about 2 inches apart on the prepared cookie sheets.  Using a toothpick, poke decorative holes into each cookie, if desired.  Bake for about 9-12 minutes or until firm to the touch (my oven runs a little hot so I found 9 minutes made a crisp, but still slightly chewy cookie and 10 minutes made a crisp and crumbly cookie).

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

To assemble cookie's: place a teaspoon-sized ball of frosting in the center of one cookie and lightly press another cookie, equal in size, together to make a sandwich. You want the cream to work its way all the way to the edges. Repeat to use up the rest of the cookies.

Serve with a huge glass of ice cold milk and be sure to dunk!

I have been wanting to make a yummy homemade Oreo for some time now and in my search have found two different recipes to give a whirl.  One uses Dutch Process Cocoa and one uses regular, natural cocoa.  The difference in the cocoa is supposedly in flavor and color and the way you bake with them.  I really wanted to try the Dutch Process version first because those are to be truer in color and flavor to Original Oreo's, but all I had in my pantry today was Hershey's Natural Cocoa.  So this version came first!

Although I very much liked these cookies, I will be giving the Dutch Process version a try next, for sure.  These ones seem to be very, very sweet- you definitely need a glass of milk to wash them down!  I tasted a cookie after baking my first batch and decided to make sure I made them slightly smaller in size to help with the sweetness factor.  That seemed to help quite a bit.  These were a fun experiment, and one I will play around with, maybe adding different flavors to the cream filling (mint, peanut butter, etc.) to get them just right.

my little helper.... someone needed to lick the spoon!