Homemade Oreos

Oreos are one of those supermarket staples that everybody likes. I think I do not know a single person that dislikes Oreos. I have to admit they are not my favorite, because, well, chocolate is not my favorite thing. I've been an asthmatic for as long as I can remember and chocolate is one of my biggest triggers. Chocolate is delicious, but I will take anything vanilla or almond flavored over it almost every time.

Last week I had this super weird craving for some Oreos, so instead going across the street to buy them, I baked them! So much better than the boxed thing! (Sorry, Nabisco!) Nothing beats the satisfaction of knowing what is in your food. These take a little more effort than just buying a box of cookies, but they are worth it! The recipe I used is adapted from recipes by Thomas Keller and Martha Stewart.

Ingredients

Filling

• 1 1/2 cups (12 oz) white chocolate, chopped
• 1/2 cup heavy cream 

Cookies

• 1 3/4 cups + 1 1/2 Tbsp all purpose flour
• 1 cup + 1 1/2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 3/4 cup + 1 Tbsp sugar

Make the filling!

Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set aside. Heat the heavy cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until just beginning to bubble (about 4 minutes). Pour the cream over the chocolate and let it sit for 5 minutes. Do not mix before letting it sit. After the required time has elapsed, whisk until smooth. Cover and let chill in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.

Make the cookies!

Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt on a bowl. Set aside.

On the bowl of an electric mixer, place the butter and beat until creamy. Add the sugar and beat until fluffy and light. Lower the speed of the electric mixer and add the dry ingredients in 3 additions. 

Form the dough into 2 disks, cover them with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

After the dough is chilled, preheat your oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Roll the disk until approximately 1/8 inch thick. Cut the cookies using a fluted biscuit cutter. I used a linzer cookie cutter. Place the shaped cookies on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Bake for a total of 10 minutes, and make sure to rotate the cookie sheets at the 5 minute mark.

After the cookies are completely cooled, turn half them bottoms up. Transfer the chilled filling to the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until smooth. 

Transfer the filling to a piping bag and pipe about 1 teaspoon of filling to each turned cookie.

Put the remainder cookies on top of the filled cookies. Enjoy!

Double Chocolate Brownies

Today is my brother's birthday. We have lots of things in common: we love animals, especially spitting llamas. They are hilarious! We always laugh when people use profane language and we love Cookie Monster, among other things. We hate... well, we hate a lot of things. My brother loves beer and brownies and he does not live near... That's why I decided to have a beer while baking Double Chocolate Brownies.

Ingredients:

• 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, plus more for the pan
• 6 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped, or in chips
• 1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa powder
• 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp coarse salt
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a buttered 8 inch square baking pan. Line with parchment paper and leave a 2 inch overhang. Butter the parchment paper avoiding the overhang.

Put the chocolate, butter and cocoa powder in a double boiler. Stir until melted. Let the chocolate cool slightly.

Whisk flour, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, put eggs. sugar and vanilla extract. Using the whisk attachment of the electric mixer, whisk until the mixture is pale in color, about 4 minutes in medium speed.

Add the chocolate mixture and whisk until combined. Add the flour mixture and continue to beat, this time in low speed. Scrape the sides as necessary.

Pour the batter on the prepared baking pan and even it out with a spatula.

Bake until a cake tester comes out with crumbles but not wet (about 25 minutes). Let it cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Lift using the overhang and let it cool on a wire rack. Stored in an airtight container, the brownies will keep for 3 days.

Enjoy! And here, a gif of a spitting llama. Happy birthday, little brother!

Wookiee Cookies

May the Fourth be with you! It's Star Wars Day! According to Wookieepedia, yes, that's like Wikipedia for everything Star Wars under the sun, the phrase "May the Fourth be with you" dates back to May 4th, 1979 when Margaret Thatcher was elected as the first woman Prime Minister of England. Her party published a newspaper ad in the London Evening News that read: "May the Fourth be with you, Maggie. Congratulations."

Since then,  Star Wars fans all over the world adopted the date as an unofficial holiday, followed by "The Revenge of the Fifth" in May 5th, where fans let their evil side shine bright. I love Darth Vader, so I may or may not be evil tomorrow...

Today, as I let my geek run around, I baked Wookiee Cookies. This recipe is part of The Star Wars Cookbook. The recipe is huge so it's great for sharing or parties. Also, the dough freezes well for  impromptu baking while entretaining guests.

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cup flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup milk chocolate chips
• 1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Put the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a mixing bowl. Whisk together and set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter until light, add the sugar and beat until well incorporated (about 3 minutes). Beat in the eggs and vanilla extract.

Add the flour and mix until incorporated and finally, whisk in the chocolate chips.

Drop cookies with a medium cookie scoop on a prepared baking pan. You can use for that purpose parchment paper or a silicon mat.

Bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown.

Enjoy! Chewbacca approves!