Homemade Oreos

Sometime I get the urge to bake something and recently that urge lead to these homemade Oreos. So I grabbed my favorite little helper and got to work making these. The cookies were supposed to be thinner, but it was really hot that day and the oven was on in the kitchen so even though the dough had been refrigerated to firm up it was hard to slice thin wafers that would stay together. We had to use our hands to form them together.

I'd have to say the best part of making your own Oreos is that you get to control how much filling you get. The creme filling definitely my favorite part of an Oreo, and apparently it's also my niece's favorite part.  You can see that the cookies got a bit messy. That's because creme filling was disappearing from the bowl as I was assembling the cookies. I had to work fast!

If you make these cookies watch out for little creme filling monsters.

HOMEMADE OREOS

INGREDIENTS:

FOR THE COOKIE:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. baking soda

14 tbsp. unsalted butter (room temperature, cut into chunks)

3 tbsp. whole milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

FOR THE FILLING:

4 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature

4 tbsp vegetable shortening

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

3/4 tsp. salt

1 tbsp. vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:

FOR THE COOKIES

• In a food processor pulse together the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, salt, and baking soda until completely combined.
• Add the butter and pulse until uniform.
• In a small cup, whisk together the milk and vanilla. While the food processor is running, slowly pour in the milk mixture. Let process until the dough clumps around the blade.
• On a large piece of wax paper, press the dough into a log about 2 inches in diameter. Wrap the log in the wax paper. Refrigerate the dough for at least 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 350. Cover two baking sheets with parchment paper. Remove the log from the fridge. Cut the cookies into slices as thin as you can possibly make them, anywhere from 1/8 inch to 1/4 inch is best.
• Lay the cookies on the baking sheets about 1 inch apart. Bake for 12-15 minutes.
• Let the cookies cool on a wire baking sheet.

FOR THE FILLING

• Add all the filling ingredients to a mixing bowl or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Whisk together until smooth and creamy.
• Once the cookies have completely cooled, spread filling on one cookie. Place another cookie on top. Repeat for the remainder of the cookies.

Source: The Homemade Pantry: 101 Foods You Can Stop Buying and Start Making