Oreo Inspired Holiday Cookies

Santa has got to love a home-made Oreo, right?

The internet is in love with BraveTart by Stella Parks . And I am in love with Oreos in general and making sandwich cookies in particular, so I thought this is right up my alley. Let’s give it a go. Overall, it’s close in flavor, but it’s not the same. If you are looking for a chocolate cookie or a sandwich cookie for your Holiday Cookie Platter this is a seriously delicious cookie. It’s a little fussy and the baking timing is tricky, like with any cocoa cookie, but it’s totally worth your time.

Cocoa Sandwich Cookie, like an Oreo

4 ounce butter, 1 stick, room temperature

3.5 ounces sugar

2 ounces corn syrup

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon coconut extract (optional)

5 3/4 ounces flour

1 1/2 ounces cocoa, plus more for rolling

Filling, recipe to follow

Preheat oven 350 degrees. Cream the butter, sugar and corn syrup together on low. Add the baking soda, salt and extract. Beat until fluffy. Sift the flour and cocoa powder together. (Always sift cocoa powder as it’s clumpy and you’ll never get all the clumps out simply by mixing.) Add to the butter an mix on low until it comes together. It will look like it may not come together but it will. Tip out onto the piece of plastic wrap. Using the plastic wrap form a disk. No need to chill.

Roll out in cocoa powder to keep them dark. That’s my vintage sifter used exclusively for cocoa. Also, I transcribe recipes by hand so I know them before I start and so I don’t destroy my cookbooks. And yes, see the parentheses and minimal instruction? That’s how I’ll give you a recipe IRL.

Immediately roll to a 1/8 of an inch thick. Using an embossing rolling pin, roll. You actually want to get the cookie dough skinny. This is the truth with most sandwich cookies.

Sometimes you get suckered into buying a pretty rolling pin from a targeted ad, and sometimes it’s for the best.

The baking soda make the cocoa extra dark when it bakes, but it also leavens the cookie so shallow imprints or scalloped edges disappear.

I baked mine for 11 minutes, and checked them at 8. But depending on the thickness of your cookie they may take more or less time. If you press on the cookie and it doesn’t feel super wet, or if you can see the edges looking dry the cookie is probably done. I wish I could be more precise. Cool, match up pairs, roughly assure the tops and bottoms are same size, and fill.

Filling:

4 ounces butter

8 ounces powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

pinch of salt

For real, this is just my butter cream made a little dryer. The BraveTart recipe has you melt the butter and cook it down so there isn’t water in it before adding powdered sugar and vanilla. As I try to refine my Oreo experience I’ll do that next time.