Tuna Toast

"Oreo" Cookies


Oh, I do love to bake. For someone without much of a sweet tooth, I just adore baking and I love piping icing, rolling dough or forming a tart shell.....it's somehow so rewarding. I think, if I remember correctly, that I've been baking longer than I've been cooking. My dad used to request chocolate chip cookies, which my sister and I would happily whip together with the recipe on the back of the Nestle Chocolate Chip bag. I remember one Christmas, my parents got us ceramic pie plates that had a lemon meringue pie recipe printed on it (subtle hint, no?)- another "regular" dessert that we'd make, although I hated having to stir the lemon curd until it thickened. It seemed like it took forever in my 10-year old brain!

Ready to make a trip into the oven.....

To keep up with my love of baking, I'm always looking for new recipes to try. I read on bakingsheet that Land O Lakes has quite the recipe archive on their website, so, while bored at work (or just NOT working, haha) I clicked onto it and discovered the literally hundreds of recipes they offer. Cookies, bar cookies, cakes, tarts, muffins- you name it, they have it. With photos!!! I think most food bloggers would agree that we're all suckers for recipes accompanied by a big 'ol color photo.

Icing piped onto each half........

After a few minutes (well ok, HOURS) perusing the site, I came across Chocolate Sandwich Cookies. Although I was never a huge Oreo fan, I thought it'd be a fun thing to make for my co-workers. I do like Oreos, but when I think of cookies from my childhood, I have fond memories of Fig Newtons (my mom always packed them in our lunches), Fudge Stripes and Iced Oatmeal. Anyway, I loved the idea of trying to make a more gourmet version of such a beloved cookie, so I set to work on making these homemade "Oreos."



Now I have to confess, I did not use Land O Lakes butter since I usually buy my butter at Trader Joe's. The dough was a cinch to put together- I used good, bittersweet chocolate instead of the semisweet chips that the recipe called for. I wanted all of the cookies to be the same size so I used a level teaspoon to drop the dough onto the cookie sheets. The melted butter on the dough makes it nice and slick so the dough doesn't stick to the inside of the spoon- it pops right out in perfect domes. A quick bake in the oven (6 minutes) later, they came out perfectly round, bumpy and smelling of sweet chocolate.



The icing is a simple mixture of confectioners sugar, milk and softened butter. I simply piped it onto a cookie and pressed down with another cookie to form the sandwich. One batch of this dough made 77 sandwich cookies!! Even though I wasn't the biggest Oreo fan, I have to say this version made the most scrumptious, chewy and chocolately cookies!!! They were a hit at work, and I have to say these are the type of cookies that taste even better the next day- the richness and chewiness increase over time....if you can keep them around long enough to find that out.

Cookies