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!

Orange - White Chocolate Chip Cookies

I've baked a lot of batches of cookies during the last 6 years. I moved to New York to pursue a career in music. Needless to say, it is a difficult career choice. There is a lot of joy and lot of wonderful things to learn but there is also a lot of tears and rejection. After each audition I would walk to the nearest Sephora and buy a lipstick, but, believe it or not, it is possible to have too many lipsticks. Besides, there's no creativity in shopping! But baking...Oh, the possibilities! Baking provides me an activity to channel energy in a positive way and tame the crazy lady living inside my head. I share this passion with one of my best friends, well, more like a sister. When I moved to New York, she gave me "The Magnolia Bakery Cookbook" and the first recipe we made was Orange Vanilla Chip Cookies. It was wonderful and it quickly became one of our favorites. So aromatic and sweet! We fell in love with the cookie.

The following is an adapted version of the original recipe by Jennifer Appel and Alyssa Torey.

Orange - White Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 + 2 Tbsp firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1 large egg at room temperature
• 1 Tbsp grated orange zest
• 1 cup white chocolate chips
• 1 tsp good vanilla extract

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda and the salt. I used to skip this step, using a fork to fluff the flour instead of sifting it, but it makes a world of a difference taking the extra time to do so.  

Cream the butter until fluffy and light in color. Add the sugars and beat until smooth (about 3 minutes). Add the egg and vanilla extract. Mix well.

Add the flour mixture in quarters and mix thoroughly. Stir in the orange zest and the white chocolate chips. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto parchment paper lined cookie sheets. Leave several inches between cookies as they will expand when they cook. I used a 1 1/2 teaspoon cookie scoop to form the cookies.

Bake for 10 - 12 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Cool the cookies on the sheets for 1 minute, then move to a rack to cool completely. Enjoy!