There are few things I like better than a good giant Oreo entering my face.
Oreos are one of my only hard cookie weaknesses (only the chocolate ones, not the goldens). Being able to make an even more delicious version at home can only be a dangerous thing. Thankfully they require the extra step of making icing, and if there’s one thing that always keeps me fitting my favourite jeans it’s recipes with extra steps.
(Not that I fit any of my regular jeans at the moment anyway. #27weeks!)
Recently, however, we got a new boarder. A girl after my own heart, she was craving cupcakes one evening and whipped up a delicious batch that made the whole house smell like vanilla. I introduced her to my perfect vanilla icing and the joy of icing tips for making your cupcakes look beautiful with minimal effort. The abundance of icing, however, meant a full container in my fridge that left me no choice but to make a giant batch of “homemade chocolate sandwich cookies” (apparently the politically correct way of saying Homemade Oreos, you all know how politically correct I try to be).
The base cookie recipe for these comes from the cookbook Butter, a book so full of delicious things it is a wonder I have yet to drive the hour-ish to Vancouver just to buy out everything in their little bakery, which does a booming business. Not to mention the book matches my living room perrrfectly, and adds a lovely touch to the decor, even if I do get a little hungry every time I see it.
I made the cookies half the recommended size since you’re eating two cookies every time and otherwise they are huuuuuge and you won’t be able to eat your fruits and veggies even if you want to. Obviously this way you also get twice the cookies for the same amount of work, and, even halved, they were significant in heft.
The icing is none other than my favourite vanilla icing, only a little heavier on the butter than usual because we were low on icing sugar and high on butter and what better thing to be high on, I ask you.
Well worth the extra icing step and the extra exercise steps, these are a chocolate vanilla match made in heaven.
- COOKIES:
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- ¾ cup dark cocoa powder (regular also works)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1½ cups butter, softened to room temperature
- 2 cups granulated sugar (plus about ¼ cup for later)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- FILLING:
- ¾ cup butter, softened
- 3 cups icing sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or grease lightly.
- For cookies, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
- With mixer on medium speed, beat together butter and sugar. Scrape down sides of bowl with a spatula, add eggs and vanilla, and beat well.
- Add dry ingredients to mixer and beat on low speed until combined and no streaks of flour remain.
- Scoop dough by Tablespoons onto prepared cookie sheets, about 2-inches apart. Put remaining ¼ cup sugar in a small bowl and press a flat-bottomed glass into the sugar - not much will stick until you get some cookie dough on the glass too :) Dip the glass into the bowl of sugar then press down gently on each ball of dough to flatten slightly and coat with sugar. Re-dip in the sugar between each cookie.
- Bake for 12-13 minutes, until firm around the edges but still slightly soft in the center. Remove from oven, let cool for 2-3 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough - I got about 40 cookies.
- While cookies are cooling, prepare the filling. Beat butter, icing sugar and vanilla on medium/high speed until very light and fluffy. When cookies are cooled, turn half of them upside down and spread icing on the bottom side, about 1 Tablespoon per cookie. Top with another right-side-up cookie and press together lightly.
- Serve immediately or store, covered, at cool room temperature or in the fridge. Cookies will keep in an airtight container for 5-7 days.
Adapted from “The Homemade You-Know-What”, in Butter by Rosie Daykin, 2013
Leave a Reply