Or-e-o-my!

I haven't had an Oreo cookie since I-don't-know-when. But they sure do conjure up fond memories. See, despite the fact that my mom always packed me a wholesome lunch and fed me a well-rounded dinner, she used to let me eat dessert for breakfast. Shocking, I know, and probably why I have such a sweet tooth today. I'd scoff at a parent doing this now, but at the time I thought she was the best mom ever!

Oreos became one of my favorites as a kid, and with a big glass of milk they could almost pass as breakfast. Whether you like to twist them, lick them, dunk them or just eat them in one big bite, I think we can all agree that the allure of the Oreo is irresistible. It's probably why I had a hankering for a deep fried Oreo at the State Fair a few weeks ago. I chickened out at the Fair (as I have so many other years when I've said I'd have a deep fried Oreo), but a week later I still had that craving. And that's when I started wondering if I could make them myself (because buying a bag at the store would just be too easy).

I ended up forgetting all about this as I was consumed with other stuff last week (like winning the America's Test Kitchen Macaroni and Cheese Blogger Challenge, thank-you-very-much!), but I stumbled across this awesome blog on Friday night and my jaw dropped when I saw the post on Oreos from scratch. I just couldn't resist, so I made them right away on Saturday morning. And boy, oh boy, oh boy, am I glad I did! As the blog claimed, they're even better than the real thing!

I had just one minor problem with this recipe, which I think I may be able to remedy with a slight tweak. While the cookies were perfectly-sized circles headed into the oven, they ended up spreading and made super-sized Oreos. That's fine, but had they held their shape they would have looked and tasted like the real thing. Usually, spreading occurs as a result of too much butter so next time I make this (and there WILL be a next time!) I'll either omit a little butter or add a little flour. The cooking time was also somewhat tricky, as my 9-minute batch yieled super crisp but very brown cookies and my 8-minute batch yielded still sort of chewy cookies. I prefer the super crispy batch, but it would have been nice to reach a happy medium. Regardless, I'm totally addicted now. In fact, I might go eat one right now!

Experimenting with my new foam board display!

Homemade Oreo Cookies
Ingredients:
For Cookies
1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
1 egg
Cooking spray (for greasing and cookie-flattening)

For Filling
1/4 cup butter, at room temperature
2 tablespoons shortening
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Beat in butter and egg until the dough comes together. (Note: The mixture will appear crumbly at first, but just crank up the speed of your mixer. It will come together into a nice sticky ball after a minute or so.)

Place rounded teaspoons of dough about 2 inches apart on a greased cookie sheet.

Spray the bottom of a small glass with cooking spray and flatten each cookie to about 1/8 inch. (Note: You'll need to repeatedly spray the glass to keep the dough from sticking.)

Using a small round cookie or biscuit cutter, cut each cookie into uniform circles. (Discard scraps ... or nibble on them. We don't judge in this family.)

Bake 8 to 9 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.

To prepare filling, beat butter and shortening in a medium bowl. Slowly beat in confectioners' sugar and vanilla (adding more confectioners' sugar as necessary to reach desired consistency ... filling should be thick, almost paste-like).

Spread a tablespoon (or so ... depending on if you like single stuft or double stuft!) of filling over half of cookies. Top with remaining cookies to create sandwiches. Get dunking!