'OREO' Cookies

After a night out with the girls, getting dinner at Homeroom Mac & Cheese Restaurant in Oakland, I was left wanting another one, or two or three, of their homemade Oreo cookies. So, with the help of Martha Stewart (and my husband), I whipped up my first batch of homemade chocolate cream-filled sandwiches. Perhaps the sandwiches I like best.

The original recipe comes from Martha Stewart's Cookies Cookbook, with some of my adaptations based on the versions from Homeroom. With my cookie scoop, they made exactly 2 dozen.

What's in them

For Cookies:

1 1/4 C flour (unbleached of course)

3/4 C unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 C sugar

1 1/4 sticks butter (10 Tbl), unsalted, room temperature

1 large egg, room temperature

sea salt for sprinkling

For Cream Filling:

1/2 C (1 stick) butter, room temperature

1/2 C solid vegetable shortening

3 1/2 C powder sugar

1 Tbl pure vanilla extract

How they are made:

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Line cookies sheets with parchment paper, or silicone mat (I highly recommend the investment).

Sift together dry ingredients (flour, baking soda and powder, salt, cocoa). Set aside.

In a large bowl cream together sugar and butter for about 2 minutes until fluffy. Add egg and mix to combine. On low speed, gradually add dry ingredients until well combined.

Using a 1 1/4 inch ice cream scoop (also known as a cookie scoop), drop dough on sheets at least 2 inches apart, they will double in size. Dip the bottom of a glass (with a flat bottom at least 2 inches wide) in sugar, moistening with water first. Press glass down on cookies to flatten to 1/8 inch thick. Repeat for the rest of the cookies. Sprinkle all the cookies with a tiny bit of sea salt. Bake 8 minutes (or 10 for slightly crispier cookies), rotating halfway through. Let the cookies cool on the rack. Tip: if you want your cookies to come out with clean edges, roll the dough in a ball after you scoop it out with the cookie scoop.

In the meantime, as the cookies bake, make the cream filling. Cream butter and shortening together with an electric mixer (or stand mixer) on low until well combined. Gradually add sugar until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and mix to combine. Set aside.

When cookies are finished baking, using your cookie scoop, scoop out filling onto the bottom of one cookie, then press another cookie onto it, to make a sandwich. You may need to twist them slightly to get even coverage. Repeat for the rest of the cookies. Store in an airtight container for up to two days.