Oreo Cookies

Oreo cookies,yes..yes..you read it ryt,friends !! This month Baking Partners opted for a theme challenge and the theme was cookies.There were three recipes in this list; wherein you can try either of the three or all three.I just tried Oreo cookies as its my kids favorite and  as u know  am tightly packed up this month with many activities at home.Thanx to Swathi @ Zesty South Indian Kitchen & Reeni @ Cinnamon Spice & Everything Else for the wonderful chocolaty sandwich cookies .The cookies were just perfect except the sugar content in the dough can be increased slightly  to 1/4 cup more.Otherwise the sandwich was just perfect and delicious.

The texture was similar to the store brought oreo cookies but slightly bittery in taste.I think you can reduce the amount of cocoa to 3/4 th cup and increase the sugar to 1/4 cup more.If you would like to join baking partners,see details here.In the mean time,check this out & enjoy making these at home !! 

Ingredients

For cookie dough    
unsalted butter (room temperature)  85g/ 6 tablespoon  
sugar  106.3g / ½ cup (refer notes)
brown sugar  42.52g/ 3 tablespoon 
salt  3/4 teaspoon  
baking powder   1/4 plus 1/8 teaspoons 
baking soda  1/4 teaspoon 
instant coffee powder  1/2 teaspoon (refer notes)
vanilla extract  1 1/2 teaspoons 
egg yolks 2
all purpose flour (or rice flour), sifted  113.4g / ¾ cup 
cocoa powder, sifted  85g / 1 cup  (refer notes)
     
For the filling:
shortening or unsalted butter at room temperature  56.7g/ 4 tablespoon  
powdered sugar, sifted  141.7 / 1 ¼  cup 
vanilla extract  1 teaspoon 
a pinch of salt

Method

To make the cookies: 
-Using a hand or stand mixer set to medium speed, cream together butter, both sugars, salt, baking powder, baking soda, espresso powder, and vanilla extract until combined. With mixer still running, add in egg yolks one at a time. Once incorporated, shut off mixer and scrape bowl down with a rubber spatula.
-Turn mixer to its lowest setting. Dump in flour and cocoa all at once. The mixture will be stiff. Continue mixing until uniform. Shut off mixer. Use a spatula to scrape the dough from the bowl and knead lightly to form a smooth ball. Use your hands to flatten into a disc.(You may begin rolling the dough right away, or you may wrap it with plastic and refrigerate for up to a week. If you've kept the dough refrigerated, let it sit at room temperature to soften before starting to roll.)

- Preheat oven to 350°. Sift some cocoa powder onto the counter (using cocoa instead of flour gives the Fauxreos their uniquely dark color). Use a rolling pin to roll the dough to 1/8" thickness.(When finished, slide a metal spatula between the dough and counter to loosen. This will prevent the cookies from sticking.)
-A 2" round cutter makes perfect "Oreos" but use any cutter you like. Cut out the cookies and use a metal spatula to lift and transfer to cookie sheet.(I used a bottle cap to cut out the cookies)
-Arrange cookies on ungreased cookie sheet. (If the cookie sheet is dinged up or uneven, line with parchment paper first.) The cookies will not spread during baking, so they may be arranged quite close together. Set the sheets aside.
-Gather up, knead, and re-roll the remaining dough scraps, likewise cutting and arranging on a cookie sheet.
-This is an added step,you can directly place the rolled cookies in the oven.If you wish to add texture to the cookies, place any remaining dough in a mixing bowl. Mix with a hand or stand mixer and add about 1 tsp of hot water or coffee. Continue adding hot water/coffee, a teaspoon at a time, until the dough has thinned into a paste. You can always add more liquid, but you can't take it away. Add slowly and let each addition mix in fully before adding more. When the mixture reaches a frosting-like consistency, use a spatula to scrape it out. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a very small tip, or a heavy duty Ziploc bag with a tiny hole poked in the corner.Pipe some sort of design atop each cookie. A tight cornelli design gives the impression of an Oreo. But anything will do, have fun with your designs!
- Once the cookies have been decorated, bake for 10 - 12 minutes, or until firm to the touch in the pre heated oven. If your oven has an uneven heating element, rotate the cookie sheets after six minutes. Once the cookies have baked, cool thoroughly, directly on the cooling rack.

To make the filling: 
-With a hand or stand mixer, cream together shortening/butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt. Cream on medium speed for five minutes; use a rubber spatula to scrape the bowl down periodically. The long mixing time aerates the filling, making it especially white and less gritty.
Using a spatula, transfer the filling to a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip. Alternately, portion with a melon-baller sized ice cream scoop, or by using Ziploc bag with the corner snipped off as a makeshift pastry bag.

 -To assemble the cookies: Flip half the wafers upside down. Onto each, pipe or scoop 1 teaspoon of filling (specifically: 1/4 oz for Double Stuf, 1/8 ounce for regular) directly into the center. To finish, top with remaining wafers and press down with your fingers, applying very even pressure so the filling will spread uniformly across the cookie.

  -Transfer cookies to an airtight container and refrigerate for several hours. This is crucial. After whipping the filling, it will be quite soft. Refrigerating it (especially if you're using butter) will solidify the filling, restoring its proper texture, and bonding it with the wafers. Serve with tea or coffee !!

Servings~ 16 sandwich cookies or 32 single cookies

NOTES
* You can increase the sugar to upto 3/4 th cup instead of 1/2 cup in the dough as the cookies were bittery sweet.
* You can also reduce the instant coffee powder to 1/4 th tsp.

Sending this to Baking Partners hosted by Swathi @ Zesty South Indian Kitchen (If u wish to be part of our team and would love to develop your baking skills,then this group is the right one for you-Baking Partners an effort by Swathi @ Zesty South Indian Kitchen :-))



Sending this to Bake fest # 11 guest hosted by Archana @The Mad Scientist Kitchen


Sending this to Shema 's Cookie Party event hosted @ Life Scoops