This is not the Oreo cookie of your childhood. It’s a little less crisp, a whisper less sweet. The squishy filling is a sophisticated, buttery vanilla flavoured layer of wonderfulness. The cookie is rich and dark and seductive.
CHOCOLATE CREME SANDWICH is an adult cookie. One you will reach for when involved in a long and difficult project; an intellectual cookie for the book-worm. A cookie that will sustain you as you wade knee deep in snow through War and Peace; when you think you will never get to the end of Atlas Shrugged, or a reward for actually finishing reading Ulysses.
The dough is pure joy to make. It’s easy, forgiving and simple to roll out, and holds its shape if you wish to use a scalloped cutter. Make this cookie with the very best cocoa you can find. For a darker cookie use a combination of black cocoa and Dutch-processed cocoa powder. Don’t use all black cocoa as it lacks the rich chocolate flavour your cookie requires.
Because of the butter filling this ephemeral cookie, once baked and filled, is best served that day. They can be wrapped well and refrigerated for up to 2 days.
The filling can be made ahead and kept tightly covered in the refrigerator for up to three days. The dough can also be cut into rounds, wrapped airtight and frozen. There’s no need to defrost before baking. This allows you to bake and fill half the cookies, then bake and fill the rest of the cookies two days later. Four glorious days to enjoy chocolate creme sandwiches!
| ALMOST OREO COOKIES . . . CHOCOLATE CREME SANDWICHES | Print |
- 340 grams (2½ cups all-purpose flour
- 43 grams (1/2 cup) sifted unsweetened cocoa powder.. For a darker cookies remove one to two tablespoons of cocoa powder and replace it with the same amount of black cocoa powder
- 183 grams (1 stick plus 5 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into chunks, at room temperature. The butter should be soft enough to indent when pressed with your fingertip.
- 134 grams (2/3 cup) sugar
- ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 30 grams (1) egg white at room temperature
- FOR THE FILLING
- 85 grams (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into chunks, at room temperature. Be sure the butter is soft. It should indent when pressed with your fingertip.
- 150 grams (1¼ cups) sifted icing sugar
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 generous teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- If you want an extra thick layer of filling double the recipe for the filling
- Heat your oven to 350F.
- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Have a 2 inch diameter cookie cutter (or the cutter of your choice) and a metal spatula at hand.
- Whisk your flour and cocoa powder together and set aside.
- Using your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment beat the butter for for a minute or so then add the sugar and salt. On medium speed mix until smooth and light.
- Add the egg white(which will curdle the mixture at first) and mix for 2 or 3 minutes, scraping the bowl as needed, until the egg white is fully incorporated.
- Mix in the vanilla.
- With the machine off add the flour and cocoa all at once and pulse gently until the risk of flying flour has passed.
- Turn the mixture to medium and mix until the dough holds together and forms clumps when pinched. It should come together as a ball. Don't over mix.
- Dump the dough out onto a work surface and knead until it comes together.
- Divide the dough in half and pat and flatten into disks.
- Work with one piece of dough at a time. Roll the dough between two pieces of parchment paper to a thickness of ⅛ inch.
- Slide the dough, STILL BETWEEN THE PAPER, onto a baking sheet . You can stack the slabs of cookie dough. Freeze for at least 1 hour.
- or ... The rolled-out dough can be frozen, wrapped airtight , for up to two months.
- or ... The dough can also be cut into cookie rounds, wrapped airtight and frozen for up to 2 months; no need to defrost before baking.
- Now let's bake the cookies! Working with one sheet of cookie dough at a time, peel away both pieces of parchment paper and place the the dough back on one piece of paper.
- Cut the dough and place the rounds of the baking sheets, leaving an inch between them. You may new the metal spatula to careful lift the cookies off the parchment paper.
- Gather together the scraps FROM BOTH PIECES of dough, re-roll them between parchment paper and freeze until firm.
- Bake the cookies, in the center of your oven, one sheet at a time for 12 to 14 minutes rotating the pans from front to back after 7 minutes. Cookies should feel firm to the touch when done.
- Transfer to racks and allow the cookies to rest for at least 5 minutes before taking them onto the racks to cool to room temperature
- This recipe makes 22 sandwiches (44 individual cookies) Any tiny bits of cookies scraps left over can be baked along with the cookies for the cook to nibble on.
- TO MAKE THE FILLING
- In the stand mixer, using the paddle attachment, beat the butter until smooth and add the salt and confectioners' sugar. Beat until smooth and add the vanilla. Mix until combined - about 4 minutes.The filling will look like creamed cheese.
- TO FINISH THE COOKIES
- Count your cookies for an even total.
- Take half that total and turn the cookies bottom side up. Put a spoonful of filling on the bottom half of the cookies.
- Top with the remaining cookies, bottom side down, and jiggle the cookies, twisting them in opposite directions, to spread the filling evenly.
- The cookies can be eaten immediately, although the filling will be soft and squish out at first bite.
- For neater cookies (with filling that will still squish, but less so) give the filling a couple of hours to set and firm a little, or chill the cookies for 1 hour.
- Once baked and filled, the cookies are best served that day, but they can be wrapped well and refrigerated for up to 2 days. The cookies are good cold or at room temperature.
This recipe adapted from Dorie’s Cookies
