Homemade Oreos

Happy Birthday America! To celebrate 4th of July, my family played bags, we grilled some brats, and we have some 4th of July cookies. But what's more American than the Oreo cookie? Not much. These homemade Oreos are so good. They don't taste exactly like a real Oreo cookie but I think they are better. What's great is that I knew what was going into my Oreos. If you look at a bag of Oreos you won't be able to pronounce a few of the ingredients. I like to know exactly what is going into my food, even if the result is still not very healthy. These cookies are definitely a treat!

Ingredients:

For the cookie:

 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

 1 tsp baking soda

 1/4 tsp baking powder

 1/4 tsp salt

 1 to 1 1/2 cups sugar (I used 1 cup and it was perfect, use 1 1/2 cups if you like a sweeter cookie)

 1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp (1 1/4 sticks) room-temperature, unsalted butter

 1 large egg

For the icing:

 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) room-temperature, unsalted butter

 1/4 cup vegetable shortening (I subbed 1/4 cup of butter for this)

 2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar

 2 tsp vanilla extract 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and set oven racks to the middle of the oven. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and sugar. While mixing on low speed, add the butter and egg, and mix until the dough forms into a giant clump. Line a baking pan with parchment paper or grease well. Take a teaspoon of batter, and roll it into a ball with your hands. Then lightly press down on the ball to form a patty (not entirely, these will flatten out a bit in the oven). Place about 2 inches apart on the baking sheet. Bake for 8-9 minutes and then cool on a wire rack. To make the icing, cream butter and shortening in a bowl. Then add the confectioners' sugar and vanilla. Keep mixing until the batter is light and fluffy. To assemble cookies, take a spoon and put a little glob of frosting in the middle of the cookie. Push down with the top cookie to make the icing cover all ends of the cookie. You can also use a pastry bag to pipe the frosting if you would like. 

Makes about 25-30 sandwich cookies. 

Source: Recipe from Smitten Kitchen


***What are your plans for 4th of July?***


P.S. Check out all these sweets at Sweet As Sugar Cookies!