Joanne Chang's Homemade Oreo Cookies

With all of the tragic news from Boston over the last couple of weeks, I thought of all of the wonderful things to do and see in the Boston area.  With that inspiration, I decided to share a recipe that was created by Joanne Chang, owner of at Boston's Flour Bakery & Café.

I love Flour Bakery's version of the Oreo cookie, as the crispy cookies have a wonderful chocolate flavor, and the vanilla butter cream filling is absolutely perfect. These cookies are both much better than the Nabisco cookie, and full enough in flavor to cater to an adult pallet.


When in Boston, visit one of her bakeries:  http://flourbakery.com


Ms. Chang's cookbook is one of my favorites, and is available on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Flour-Spectacular-Recipes-Bostons-Bakery/dp/081186944X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1367377412&sr=1-1&keywords=flour+bakery+cookbook

Joanne Chang's Homemade Oreo Cookies

Skill level: 

Makes 16

To make Joanne Chang’s Oreos, allow 1 hour for the dough to firm before shaping, then several more hours for it to chill before slicing. You can refrigerate the dough for up to 1 week or freeze it for 1 month (defrost in the refrigerator). The log may settle as it chills, so reroll it every 15 minutes if you’re around during the initial chilling so the log stays round. The filling will keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Let it come to room temperature before using.

COOKIES

Ingredients

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips, melted

1 egg

1 1/2 cups flour

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

Preparation

1. In a medium bowl, whisk the butter and the sugar until combined. Whisk in the vanilla and melted chocolate. Add the egg and stir until well blended.
2. In another bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir to blend them. Using a wooden spoon, stir the flour mixture into the chocolate mixture. The finished dough should feel like Play-Doh. 

3. Cover the dough with plastic, and set aside for 1 hour or until firm.
4. Place the dough on a long sheet of parchment paper. Use your hands to shape it into a rough log, about 10 inches long and 2 1/2 inches in diameter. Place the log at the edge of the parchment. Roll the parchment around the log. With your hands on the paper, roll the dough into a tighter log, keeping the diameter the same. Refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours, or until it is firm enough to slice without crumbling.
   
5. Set the oven at 325 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
6. Remove the dough from the paper. Cut the log into 32 slices, each a quarter-inch. Set them on the baking sheets 1 inch apart.
   
   
7. Bake the cookies for 20 to 25 minutes, checking them often after 15 minutes, or until they are firm when touched in the center.
8. Cool completely on the sheets.

FILLING

Ingredients

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted

1 tablespoon milk

Pinch salt

Preparation

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter on low speed for half a minute. Add the vanilla and confectioners sugar and beat until smooth.
2. Beat in the milk and salt. The filling will look and feel like spackle.
3. Place 1 tablespoon of filling on the flat side of 16 cookies. Press the remaining 16 cookies on the filling, flat sides against the cream, to evenly distribute the filling.
4. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days. 

Adapted from Flour Bakery + Cafe