Homemade Oreos

I have had this recipe saved for quite a while, and I’m so glad I finally tried it! The cookies are great by themselves, but combined with the filling they are real winners. I reduced the amount of sugar by 1/2 cup as the poster suggested, and I’m glad I did. I think it would have been way to sweet for our tastes with the extra sugar. I would definitely make these again!

 

Homemade Oreos (source: seen on Smitten Kitchen, originally from Retro Desserts, Wayne Brachman

 

For the chocolate wafers:

• 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened dutch process cocoa
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 to 1 1/2 cups sugar (I used one)
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tbl (1 1/4 sticks) room temperature, unsalted butter
• 1 large egg

For the filling:

• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) room temperature, unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup vegetable shortening
• 2 cups sifted confectioners sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Set two racks in the middle of the oven. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a food processor, or bowl of an electric mixer, thoroughly mix the flour, cocoa, baking soda and powder, salt, and sugar. While pulsing, or on low speed, add the butter, and then the egg. Continue processing or mixing until dough comes together in a mass. Take rounded teaspoons of batter and place on a parchment lined baking sheet, approximately 2 inches apart. With moistened hands, slightly flatten the dough. Bake for 9 minutes, rotating once during baking. Set baking sheets on a rack to cool. To make the cream, 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 2-3 minutes until the filling is light and fluffy. To assemble the cookies, in a pastry bag with a 1/2 inch, round tip, pipe teaspoon size blobs of cream into the center of one cookie. Place another cookie, equal in size to the first, on top of the cream. Lightly press, to work the filling evenly to the outsides of the cookie. Continue this process until all the cookies have been sandwiched with cream.