homemade oreos

I don't know what to say for myself. Except, maybe, Look! I made Oreos from scratch!

Who knows what prompted this madness. I think it was the weather. It was our first 60-degree day in Vermont in months — little did we know that a full week of nearly 80-degree weather in March was on its way —and Dave and I were invited to the first barbecue of the season. Something about this scenario just screamed for sandwich cookies. Voilà.

Be warned: You'll want to have a big glass of milk on hand, OK?

Homemade Oreos


Recipe slightly adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Makes about 25 sandwich cookies

For the chocolate wafers:

1 and 1/4 cups flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 and 1/2 cups sugar
1 and 1/4 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1 egg

For the filling:

1 stick unsalted butter, just slightly colder than room temperature
2 cups confectioner's sugar
seeds scraped from 1/2 vanilla bean pod (or use 2 teaspoons vanilla extract)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, salt and sugar. Use an electric mixer on low speed to mix in the butter, then the egg. Continue mixing for several minutes, until the dough comes together in a mass.

Take rounded teaspoons of the cookie batter and roll into balls. Place about 2 inches apart on a parchment-paper-lined baking sheet, then use your hands to flatten the balls into even patties about 1/4-inch thick. Bake for 9 minutes, rotating once for even baking. Set baking sheets on racks to cool.

To make the cream filling, beat the butter at low speed. Gradually beat in the sugar and vanilla. Turn mixer on high and beat for 2 to 3 minutes more until the filling is slightly fluffy. If the butter gets too warm and starts looking melty, chill in the fridge.

To assemble the cookies, fill a pastry bag with the cream filling and pipe teaspoon-size blobs onto the center of one cookie. Place another cookie of equal size on top of the cream and lightly press together. Repeat these steps until all the cookies have been sandwiched.