12/16/13

Homemade Oreos and ABK's 4th Annual Christmas Cookie Extravaganza


Fourth year in a row. Christmas cookie week  at ABK.
Day one. Homemade Oreos. I started with this recipe because I wanted to share an easy kid-friendly cookie. Christmas is steeped in tradition. Sometimes, we get into a rut with traditional baking.  We bake certain cookies because they have been handed down through generations. Those "I have to make these every year or it won't be Christmas" recipes. Lots of times they are loaded with nuts and fruits and who knows what else... My kids were never big on the fruit and nut cookies. After making Date Pinwheels (which I loved) for about 15 years, I noticed there were always lots of leftovers which I reluctantly tossed in the trash after January 1st.  I finally stopped making those lovely date cookies, and my kids have never peeped a word about the missing "must have" cookies.
I try to include a chocolate cookie in our Christmas baking each year, this year, it's the humble Homemade Oreo. Out with dates, in with chocolate.
Happy Baking.
Next up: Jolene's Linzer Cookies






















Homemade Oreos
adapted from Sweet Potato Chronicles
print recipe

cookies:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweet­ened Dutch process cocoa
1 tea­spoon bak­ing soda
1/4 tea­spoon bak­ing pow­der
1/4 tea­spoon salt
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons room-temperature, unsalted but­ter
1 large egg

fill­ing:
1/4 cup room-temperature, unsalted but­ter
1/4 cup veg­etable short­en­ing
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tea­spoon vanilla extract

Pre­heat oven to 375°F.
In a food proces­sor, or bowl of an elec­tric mixer, thor­oughly mix the flour, cocoa, bak­ing soda and pow­der, salt, and sugar. While puls­ing, or on low speed, add the but­ter, and then the egg. Con­tinue pro­cess­ing or mix­ing until dough comes together in a mass.
Take rounded tea­spoons of bat­ter and place on a parch­ment paper-lined bak­ing sheet approx­i­mately two inches apart. I used a mini scooper to form the cookies. Make sure to follow directions here, or you'll end up with cookies that are way too big. With moist­ened hands, slightly flat­ten the dough. Bake for 9 min­utes, rotat­ing once for even bak­ing. Cool completely.
To make the cream filling,  place but­ter and short­en­ing in a mix­ing bowl, and at low speed, grad­u­ally beat in the sugar and vanilla. Turn the mixer on high and beat for 2 to 3 min­utes until fill­ing is light and fluffy.
To assem­ble the cook­ies spread a bit of the filling onto the bottom of the cookie (flat side).  You may use a pas­try bag with a 1/2 inch, round tip, to fill the cookies, but I think spreading the filling on works just as well.  Place another cookie, equal in size to the first, on top of the cream. Con­tinue until all of the cookies have been sand­wiched with cream. Store in a sealed container. 
Makes about 25-30 small (about 3 inch) cookies.

4 comments:

  1. Yum, my "older" kids would love this one too. I can't give a date pinwheel cookie away. I think my family would just be happy to have any homemade cookie this year. I always enjoy your cookie posts.

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  2. thanks Bonnie! I hope you have a lovely Christmas with your family :)

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  3. Bonnie, I would really like to make the frosted brownies shown at the top of your blog! Could you share that recipe in time for the holidays? Thanks, Mary

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  4. Hello Mary,
    The brownies featured on the header of ABK are "Southern Lady Brownies" you can find the recipe here
    http://www.abountifulkitchen.com/2012/08/southern-lady-brownies.html
    Have a wonderful holiday!
    Si

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