Homemade Oreos

I've been wanting to make homemade oreos for a while now.  I found last week to be the perfect opportunity because it was the week of the Oreos 100th birthday! (March 6th, to be exact).  I have a minor (ok, major) obsession with oreos, and the homemade version is just as good as the well-known packaged cookie (in my opinion, anyway).

This version is different only slightly in taste, but definitely so in texture.  These oreos are softer than the the crunchy originals.  These do have a little crunch to them though.   

The creme filling is pretty much identical, and the not-so-chocolately taste with a hint of salt very much resembles a store-bought oreo also.  I tried to made a few little impressions on some of them using my pie dough presses, as you can see if you look closely at a few of the pictures.

We enjoyed these with a cold glass of milk!

***OH...about the header and "...Gone Vegan" part:  Our little family has decided to go Vegan.  No meat, and no dairy.  I'll do a separate post soon about our reasons why and what our approach will be.  This here blog will be transitioning to a vegan-recipe blog for the time that we will be vegan (we're hoping for it to be a permanent change, but aren't quite sure yet).  But as for now, during our transition, some non-vegan recipes (such as this one) will still be seen here.

Any of you vegans out there are more than welcome to share your advice to us newcomers!

Homemade Oreo Cookies

Slightly adapted from SmittenKitchen

for the dough:

1 1/4 cup flour

1/2 cup unsweetened dutch-processed cocoa powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup + 2 tbsp butter, room temp

1 large egg

for the creme filling:

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup vegetable shortening

2 cups confectioner's sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

Prehead oven to 375.  In a mixer or food processor, mix together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, salt and sugar.  While mixing on low speed, add the butter first, then the egg.  Mix until well combined.  Put spoonfuls of dough onto parchment-paper-lined baking sheet.  slightly flatten the dough with the palm of your hand.  Bake for 9 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking.

For the cream, beat butter and shortening on low speed.  gradually beat in the sugar and vanilla.  mix on high and beat on high for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy.

Put the cream filling in a pastry bag with a big tip (or put in a zip lock bag, and cut off a corner).  Squeeze out tsp sized blobs on the bottom of one of the cookies.  Top with another cookie, giving gentle pressure to spread out the filling. 

Enjoy!