Monday, October 10, 2011

Homemade Oreos!



When I was a kid, nothing was better than a stack couple of Oreo cookies with a tall glass of cold milk.



There was only one problem, my mother wouldn't buy Oreos. Something about them being "too rich or too heavy" (insert rolling of the eyes here)....I don't know. Knowing my mother.....I'm sure that the price of Oreos had a lot to do with it. She bought Hydrox cookies instead. But she couldn't fool me. Even at the age of ten, I always knew that the Hydrox cookie was simply a cheap Oreo "knock-off". It looked the same, but was light years away from that rich chocolate Oreo taste and creamy white filling.



Since my Oreo mainline was cutoff at home, I was forced to get my Oreos on the outside. Bus stops, school lockers, the cafeteria. But seriously, what kid in their right mind wants to swap an Oreo for a Hydrox cookie at lunchtime? I instead preferred to befriend those who had small stacks of of them tucked into the crevices of their lunchbox's. Who were willing to share.





Everything's changed now. Now that I have that recipe, I don't have to behave like that anymore. Er.....I mean, people won't have to behave like that anymore. Anyway, where was I?.........ah yes.

The oreo's that are sold at Flour Bakery are phenomenal. Colossal. They are oversized deep, dark chocolate dreams. And after taking a baking class at Flour Bakery, now I know how to make them.

(cue the diabolical laugh)

Oh wait. By the end of this post.............you will too. Curses. Keep in mind that this is not a quickie recipe. But if you do all the leg work the day before, you and your family and friends will be munching on homemade Oreos the very next day.


Flour Bakery's Homemade Oreos


  2 sticks of unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1and 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips, melted
1 egg
1 1/2 cup Dutch processed cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda


Combine the melted butter, sugar and vanilla in a medium bowl and whisk until combined. Whisk in the melted chocolate. Add the egg and whisk until combined.

Use a wooden spoon to stir in the flour, cocoa powder, and baking soda until thoroughly mixed. Add flour mixture to butter/chocolate mixture and stir until fully combined. It will have the consistency of playdough. Cover the dough in plastic and refrigerate until firm, at least 4 hours or overnight. If you leave it overnight you will have to let it soften for a bit to work with it....a few hours at room temperature.

Divide the dough in half and place each half on a 15-inch square sheet of parchment or waxed paper. Shape each half with your hands into a rough log shape, about 12 inches long and 2 inches in diameter. Place the log on the edge of the parchment square and roll the log up. Refrigerate the logs until firm about 2-3 hours.

Note: You can prepare the dough up to this point and refrigerate it (wrapped in plastic) for up to a week or in the freezer for up to a month (if frozen, remove the dough from the freezer the night before you want to bake it and defrost in the fridge)

Heat the oven to 325 degrees.

Remove the parchment from the logs of dough and slice the logs into 1/4 inch thick slices. Place the slices about 1 inch apart on a greased or parchment lined cookie sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes, until firm to the touch. Check them frequently after 16 or 17 minutes by poking them in the middle. When they feel firm to the touch, pull them and let cool on the baking sheet.

Oreo Filling

1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 2/3 cups confectioner's sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon milk

In bowl of a stand mixer, soften the butter until pliable. Add the confectioner's sugar and vanilla and beat until smooth. Add the milk and beat until smooth. Scrape well and remix. The filling keeps in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Bring to room temperature before using.

Use a tablespoon to scoop out a rounded tablespoon of Oreo filling and place it in the middle of one of the Oreo cookies. Press another cookie on top to distribute the filling toward the edges.





Remember to organize and pre-measure all of your ingredients. It really does make the task SO MUCH easier!



Combine the melted butter,


...with the melted semi-sweet chocolate chips and the vanilla.

Whisk it all together,

...add the egg and continue to mix...

Then add the baking soda,



flour,



...and cocoa powder. Try to use the very best cocoa  you can find. It really does make a difference. I used Valrhona that I purchased at Whole Foods.


After combining all the ingredients, the mixture will look like this. Keep mixing and turning until it almost has the consistency of Play Dough.


Then you are going to form it all into a loaf and wrap it in plastic wrap. Yes, I know. I have enough plastic wrap for the entire crew of Biosphere 3. But...... it is so easy to use. No more fighting with that little metal jaggy thing on the outside of the carton. With this commercial sized container, you just pull out the amount that you need and slide a little knob (a hidden blade) across the wrap....and voila! I love it!! 



Now, as I said earlier, this recipe is either an all-day event OR a two day event. But once the dough has been sufficiently chilled, you may proceed to the next step.


Remove from the fridge and slice the dough in half.



Then shape each section into a chocolate log. Keep in mind that this is easier said than done. It should be perfectly round. Please note that mine was not. All part of the learning curve.



Then, wrap each section in parchment paper, then plastic wrap,


....then put them back in the fridge to chill some more.


See what I mean?  Not a perfect log. What I neglected to do was to re-open the  log packages halfway through the chilling process and re-shape them. Hint. Hint. If you do this, it will make the rest of the process much smoother and you will have a much rounder cookie.



I like to line my cookie sheets with parchment paper. It makes your clean-up a snap.




Slice each log into 1/4 inch slices,



...and place them about an inch apart on the cookie sheets.



Bake in a 325 degree oven for about 20-25 minutes. Check them at 22 minutes. You want them a little on the firm side, but not hard. Watch them as they can burn quickly.


Place them on a rack to cook completely. Did you hear me? I said "cool completely".
That means no nibbling!

While they are cooling, you can whip up your filling. Trust me....it will take your mind off of the cookies.




Add vanilla and softened butter to the confectioners sugar...


...then add the milk..er, um...except that I used Half and Half.


Then mix it all furiously together.






Take a cookie and spread it with some filling.


Gently press another cookie against the filling.


I refridgerated the cookies until the filling firmed up,

...but it's totally up to you.


So now it's just you, the cookies and a big glass of milk.

  Big sigh.

What should you do first? Dunk the whole think in milk?  Unscrew the top and scrape off the yummy vanilla filling with your teeth??





How do YOU eat an Oreo?



16 comments:

Aunt Grace said...

Did you say you had ONE cooking class? Looks like you have stock in THE FLOUR BAkery. I know you will bring just a sample to the brunch. Hide it in your sleeve.

Anonymous said...

the instruction include adding flour but there is no flour in the ingredients list...how much do you use?

Anne said...

I am so sorry! Yikes! How could I have forgotten the flour???? Thank you for bringing it to my attention! It's 1 and 1/2 cups and I added it to the recipe. Thanks again!!!

Anne

EDNurseasauras said...

They look awesome! I would totally eat the cookie part and not just lick out the middle and throw them away! Miss you!

BlondeBomber said...

I bet these are 100 times better than oreos! They look fabulous! I am really excited to find your blog because I am a baker as well and love all things sweet. I live in NY but often visit my sister in Boston and we love to explore the foodie scene. There was this bakery that we used to go to called Mike's (I think)! Anyway, I'm rambling now, but I look forward to following.

Lisa said...

I think I black out! Those look FABULOUS!!!!!!!! Maybe we should skip school today and do the leg work for these cookies instead.

Anonymous said...

I am making these right now how much salt in the filling? You have it in the directions but not in the filling list. Thanks! :( cant wait to get them out of the oven.

Anne said...

Hi Anon.....so sorry. You use 1/2 teas salt in the filling.

Anonymous said...

Are these cookies suppose to come out soft like whoopie pies or crunchy??

Anne said...

They are supposed to come out on the hard, crunchy side....... like the real Oreo's.

The Amazing Trips said...

Charlie brought home the first box of Peppermint Joe-Joe's tonight … so I'll bet you could crush up some candy canes and mix them in with your filling for the perfect Christmas treat.

Maybe that could be the subject of your next post? Just copy this one and add that extra step. Or gingerbread houses!! How is your gingerbread house design?

I'd love to see that!!

(My word verification, is INDULGE. Ok then!!!)

Anne said...

Yum Jen. Gingerbread Men are in the oven as we speak. :)

Cathy Pieroz said...

Wow there is no possible way I could pass up a chance to make my own oreos. Can't wait to get these into my tummy, of course along with a glass of milk. Looking forward to these yum! Thank you - Cathy Pieroz at Ray White Alexandra Hills

Anonymous said...

Hey what kind of cocoa powder did you use?

Anne said...

I used Valrhona that I purchased at Whole Foods.

Robert said...

Actually Oreo was the knock-off of Hydrox, and I preferred the taste of the cookie in Hydrox. I assumed its name came from the use of cocoa that was Dutch processed, i.e. processed with alkali--hydroxide.