homemade oreos
It was the best thing I ate for days. What followed were stale, overly-sweet muffins falsely advertised as bran, potato chips I’d found myself eating because they were “free!” with my choking-dry turkey sandwich purchase, a banana days before my idea of what it’s prime should be, a tomato slice that was actually chewy, a fat-free yogurt so loaded with fake flavorings and artificial sugar that it took me half a bottle of water to get the taste of a single spoonful out of my mouth, and trauma induced by a room service menu boasting a “fried cheese collage,” although frankly not half as gross as the “mixed vegetable pasta” that arrived at my room an hour later. Pushing translucent, brown-edged lettuce around on a plastic tray in the Nashville airport Wednesday night, I up and dumped the whole thing in the garbage, deciding that life is too short to eat food that horrifies you in every way. Of course I had the luxury of doing that because I’d be home later, though the last laugh was still on me as my flight was delayed and I got in at about 1:30 a.m. so tired that my husband waiting up for me with that “I’m awake! I didn’t nod off!” harried look on his face almost brought me to tears. Also, because he is cute.
Thursday was understandably canceled due to lack of interest, and aside from yet another perfect-in-every-way turkey sandwich, I did nothing close to cooking until 8 p.m. when I realized that between a baby shower this weekend and a party tonight, something home-baked would be just what the doctor ordered. But exhaustion and a still-fried brain quickly told me that this was no time to try something new, not when all people ever ask for anyway is those Oreos I made last year.
Oh, they’re good. Awesome, even. But they absolutely fall within the category of “you’ve been warned.” If you make these once, prepare to make them a dozen more times, because I’ve yet to meet many people who don’t have a soft spot for iconic sweets. (The icebox cake also falls firmly within this category, as did the graham crackers I once made from the same book.) Any fatigue you may feel from being forced to repeat a recipe when you only want to try new things can be consoled, however, by the fact that these cookies are unbelievably easy to make, and have an infinitely forgiving batter. It’s really impossible to mess these up, and the part that you’re probably certain will be an unholy p.i.t.a.–filling and assembling the cookies–with a piping bag takes less than five minutes.
And when finished? I may not have ever been an Oreo fanatic in my life, not like my husband, at least, but one swoosh of it through an ice-cold glass of milk and my blurred head and imagined glass bubble lifted off. And that was milk, people–imagine their effect coupled with a good glass of wine.
Hey, Look! Someone made a celiac version of the Oreos! Thank you, Jill for the helpful adaptation.
Homemade Oreos
Adapted from Retro Desserts, Wayne Brachman
Let’s talk about the sugar for a minute, shall we? This is a sweet cookie. A good, sweet cookie. Yet, if you think of an actual Oreos, the wafers are fairly un-sweet and actually on the slightly salty side, which contrasts with the super-sweetness of the filling bringing harmony, happiness, yada yada. If you want your cookie closer to that original, you can take out a full half-cup of the sugar. If you want to make the cookie by itself (as I did a while back for ice cream sandwiches), go ahead and use the full amount.
Makes 25 to 30 sandwich cookies
For the chocolate wafers:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 to 1 1/2 cups sugar [see recipe note]
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) room-temperature, unsalted butter
1 large egg
For the filling:
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) room-temperature, unsalted butter
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Set two racks in the middle of the oven. Preheat to 375°F.
- In a food processor, or bowl of an electric mixer, thoroughly mix the flour, cocoa, baking soda and powder, salt, and sugar. While pulsing, or on low speed, add the butter, and then the egg. Continue processing or mixing until dough comes together in a mass.
- Take rounded teaspoons of batter and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet approximately two inches apart. With moistened hands, slightly flatten the dough. Bake for 9 minutes, rotating once for even baking. Set baking sheets on a rack to cool.
- To make the cream, place butter and shortening in a mixing bowl, and at low speed, gradually beat in the sugar and vanilla. Turn the mixer on high and beat for 2 to 3 minutes until filling is light and fluffy.
- To assemble the cookies, in a pastry bag with a 1/2 inch, round tip, pipe teaspoon-size blobs of cream into the center of one cookie. Place another cookie, equal in size to the first, on top of the cream. Lightly press, to work the filling evenly to the outsides of the cookie. Continue this process until all the cookies have been sandwiched with cream. Dunk generously in a large glass of milk.
How well do these cookies store? I am looking for some things that can be baked for gifts and still be good to hand out 2 or maybe 3 days later if stored in an air-tight tin.
These look just wonderful, though!
you are killing me.
Hi Celeste — They store surprisingly well. I’ve even shipped them to people. I’d consider them safe for a week.
Oh my, this is fabulous. I’m thinking a peanut butter filling is on order, ummm. My aunt took my to opryland once when I was little to see the petting zoo, that’s all I remember. Too bad you missed out on the good parts of Nashville, next time bbq and collard greens are on order!
I was tempted to lick the screen. But I resisted, because I don’t think my coworkers would understand. Did it crack you up that the resort’s name is Gaylord? I mean, seriously, that and the fried cheese collage (wtf?) the trip alone is worth for the stories you brought back!
I can totally and wholeheartedly endorse these cookies. They are as good as the pictures Deb posted. The pictures that make you want to lick your monitor and not care if your co-worker just walked by and saw you licking said monitor. Hey! I’m not saying I licked the monitor. But, these cookies, yeah they are THAT good.
The other great thing is that the icing can be used for other things: Vanilla Wafers Sandwiches, Graham Cracker Sandwiches and just eating it right out of the bowl with a spoon and an episode of Sex and the City. Can you tell I haven’t made this since before my Weight Watchers days?
Let’s pretend you’re spending a year in Israel, and all (ok, most) of your beloved kitchen tools are in storage for the year in CA. Would you go out and buy a pastry bag for the filling, or would you acknowledge that you’re really sick of spending money on things you own at home, and spread the filling with a knife? Would that work?
Brilliant! This falls right into my “why buy it when i can make it for twice the cost and 20 times the work” ethic.
Everything tastes better when you put a little time, love and effort into it. Oh, and when you leave out chemicals, preservatives and weird industrial fats!
Vegetable shortening substitute ideas? Can I get by using all butter?
Courtney — You certainly could. The first time I made them, I skipped the piping bag. (Though, a corner snipped off a thick freezer bag will work, as well as rolling a piece of parchement paper into a cone, which is how we did it at a bakery where I used to work but takes some practice). The second time, I used one and found it faster and neater. But last night, for some reason, my filling came out REALLY thick (which is good and more like the original, though not how it usually happens) and too hard to pipe, so I had to spread it.
Marta — I agree. I was completely horrified by it, but the thing is, you can try with all butter but the filling needs a thickness at room temperature that I don’t think butter can give you. I have the trans-fat free Crisco, but the Spectrum brand shortening (as Molly had once suggested) is an even better alternative. If you try all-butter and have success with it, let us know, though. I don’t like using shortening any more than the next cook wholesome enough to make their own Oreos!
Poor dear, business travel totally sucks. I love the image of you dumping your salad in the garbage, been there. These cookies (and maybe that whole book) are going on the list ASAP. Thanks for posting so soon after your glass bubble trauma.
ya i gotta agree here, these cookies are kick-ass good. I thought id be easy 1 night and bought some oreos.. they sat there with 3 cookies missing..
a week later, in the trash they went.
as she said.. you’ve been warned people, you’ve been warned.
I’ve made these cookies, oh, a bazillion and 2 times.
These look superb! Cannot wait to try them. I have been looking for a good recipe!
Deb – are these cookies meant to be crisp when they come out of the oven? Whst level of ‘doneness’ is best?
Sarah — Fear not if they look underbaked. They’re the kind of cookies that puff and look wet after 9 minutes (really, no more time is needed, even a minute less if your oven runs hot), then as you sit them on their tray for three minutes after baking, they all deflate and firm up, making them easy to shift to a cooling rack. They end up firmer than many chocolate chip cookies, but softer than your typical Oreo.
Dear sweet Lord, save me! Incredible looking, I can barely wait to run to the store to get what I need to bake them.
Looks like weight watchers isn’t gonna happen this month either! LOL
Yes, it’s official. The Jenn’s are taking over your comment section!
Sorry to hear about the trip to Nashville. Never been a fan of that place to begin with. I suspect it’s because I loathe country music. Road food is always a challenge for me when I travel. For me, it’s not only the thought of over cooked, no flavor dishes… but the thought of all those toxic, processed over cooked, no flavor dishes. It turns my stomach I tell ya. Bryan and I went to DC for an inline skate event last weekend and eating was a serious challenge for both of us. That fat free yogurt I forced down, only because I was famished and exhausted from 16 miles of road skating, was packed full of artificial nastiness. I feel ya girl, I really do.
I’m glad I didn’t see the recipe for these cookies until after my bran muffins were in the oven. Otherwise, I would have had a huge change of plans. My waistline thanks you! Although, they are next on the list of yummy stuff to bake this summer while I’m out of school! Thanks!
Regarding the Crisco/shortening… since I live in Australia (supposedly living an American dream) I’m not sure exactly how to tell people what I want… I’ve asked my husband and he has absolutely no idea what I’m talking about. How would you describe Crisco? Would it be lard?
Hi Deb, sorry bout the bad road food. When my husband and I travel we sometimes pop into what ever the local grocery store is in the area. We’ll buy the fixins for a sandwich or whatever and snack away in the hotel room. Besides the fact we like grocery stores we usually end up with something healthier and a lot tastier then say something from a casino buffet.
Hmmm… Oreos! The perfect thing to come back to after the three horrifying weeks of a broken computer and various problems with the manufacturer. I think making Oreos would be as much of a triumph as the morning I decided to make pasta or the day after I found your blog and baked (my first) loaf of bread. I can’t wait to make it, especially since there’s a long weekend coming up.
I thought travel was all glitz & glamour.
Now you us there’s “Fried Cheese Collages” out there. Hopefully there was wine to make it all go away.
What? No wine?
*shudder*
What kind of savages are those people? Get thee back to civilization!
Oh boy — oreos! I have absolutely no self-control when it comes to oreos. They take me right back to childhood. But I have to say that your homemade ones look even better than the real thing…..I must try them!
Are the cookies soft or crunchy?
I whipped up a batch of these yesterday for my hubby to take to the boys at the fire hall. I am now cookie goddess to a house full of equally delicious fire fighters. Sorry to hear about your crappy trip to Nashville. Not one decent culinary experience comes to mind that is located at or in the vicinity of the Opryland hotel however if you ever have to go back, hop a river taxi if they still run and actually go to downtown Nashville. Just a few short blocks from from the riverfront you will find The Palm. Absolutely delish.
Oh wow, those look so fabulously yummy. Thanks for the recipe! (Morgan, I wonder if I could just make some for the local firehouse for no reason at all. OK, well, for entirely self-serving reasons. ;-) )
I just called your mother at the baby shower and told her she better bring home one of those OREOs!
Oh my god. I’m RUINED!!! These were so fabulous. Does Nabisco know you stole the recipe for their Oreo filling?!! Tasted exactly like an Oreo. I will never go back. I bow down to you!!!
I am Spain and have never seen vegetable shortening here. the butter is different than the US so I don’t think a one to one substitute woul dwork. Any other ideas?
So lovely!
Deb, I made these yesterday during a rainy day bake a thon (though that rain they promised NYC did not come for quite a while…). I. Love. Them. After I ate more than I should admit, I froze some, broke them up, and tossed them in the ice cream maker with the coffee ice cream I was making… it was delicious (in fact, I had it for breakfast with a cup of coffee. I don’t believe in overkill when it comes to coffee). Thanks, as always, for the delicious recipe!
Yummy!! These are so good. I’m Jocelyn’s sister-in-law. She brought some to CT to sample. I thought I went to heaven.
I always liked the inside better than the outside of the oreos, yours look infinitely better than store bought.
Hmm, I live in Denmark and am also at a loss about the whole shortening thing. I think I’ll try this recipe while substituting Palmin for the shortening. Palmin is a hard brick of coconut oil often used in baking here. Doesn’t taste like coconut though, so I hope it’ll do the trick. I’ll get back if it’s a success.
Hi Jennie — I also cannot be sure, but Palmin sounds about right. Shortening is a flavorless fat that stays solid at room temperature. I think it at one point, it was a intended lard replacement for cooking (liquefies when it heats, too). Let me know if it works–I’m sure it will help a lot of folks.
oh i’m so sorry u had to g through all that …i have those experiences my self everytime i travel…always keep handy a big bag of dry fruits in my bag and believe it or not when i travel i carry a couple of extra cup noodle packets …u never know what kinda crap u’re gonna get outside…this way atleast u wont go hungry ! BTW your cookie looks” to die for” ! could be easily published in a very fancy cookbook..!
I stumbled across while your website while procrastinating. I was totally ready to go to bed… and now all I can think about is where can I get a hold of the ingredients at this time to try this recipe out! It looks absolutely delicious, though I have to admit that the shortening does scare me a tad.
Don’t forget the sweet tea and fried green tomatoes–lol.
I love Oreo cookies and am gonna try this.
Shame you weren’t in Memphis TN, they had their Memphis in May down by the river. It is a huge BBQ cooking contest.
Crisco is definately not lard. Lard is animal fat. Crisco is a vegatable “fat”. Yes vegatable shortening was to take the place of lard. However, my dad (passed away last September) had a cookbook from the 1920’s that had a donut recipe that called for cooking them in lard. One year he subbed veg shortening for the lard and they didn’t taste the same. They were less fat though.
Not all veg shortenings are created equal either. I use Crisco and only Crisco for my icing when I am making cakes or anything else that requires a decorator icing. I subbed a regular veg shortening for Crisco once (1st and last time) and the icing had a greasy after taste. I now know why I was told in that cake decorating class to use Criso and not the other veg shortening.
Some people tell me they have not had that problem but I won’t sub again and the Crisco seems to come out whiter and the dyes for the colored icing seem to be a nicer color also.
Just had to toss in my 2 cents.
This is just impossible to live with – I
And just to make everyone seeth with jealously, I had about 4 of these at the party Friday night and they were SO EFFIN GOOD.
joce
Is the recipe for the graham crackers posted somewhere?
Try organic shortening made my Spectrum. It works and it’s less scary!
these cookies sound like heaven! i’ll try these soon! What about vegan shortening – would that work as well?
gaylord’s! i hate that place! i stayed there for a conference and it was quite the experience! nothing worse than seriously overpriced bad breakfast food. definitely need to try those oreos.
I am so jealous of all who had these!
For those folks who are worried about shortening and trans fats – Smart Balance makes a great trans fat free shortening that bakes and whips very well. Health Food stores sell it under the “Earth Balance” label.
I may have to test this recipe with it : )
Oh god. I’m stuck at work for the rest of the day with the taste of these cookies filling my mouth. And I can’t go home and cook them.
Sometimes I hate you
(but I love you!)
hey deb!
I made these last night (oh my god so so good) but made the cookies too big, so they looked more like whoopie pies. would rolling the dough out make it easier, or would it make the cookies crack when baking?
thanks for the fantastic recipe! it was a hit at work and for the 24 finale gathering:)
Hi Deepa — What a great idea. I would definitely give rolling-out a shot. I’ve seen some pictures from people who have made these (including yours) over the weekend and am surprised that everyone else’s are so much puffier than mine. Now, there’s still a bit of baking powder/soda in it, so they’ll still puff, but perhaps less so. Otherwise, you can always flatten them even more with your fingers (water will keep them from sticking) to encourage a more Oreo-like shape.
One of these days, I’m going to try these again with a chocolate shortbread recipe and compare the results.
So sorry you didn’t enjoy the Gaylord. We spent a weekend down there a couple of years ago and there was the best little Irish Pub in the basement. I guess I can see where a food goddess such as yourself would be lost downt there, though.
I’m not a food goddess, promise. I didn’t enjoy the Gaylord because I was there for work, working all of the time, and only had access to the food they served at the event I attended. I know Nashville has a lot to offer–I just didn’t see a lick of it.
Now when you are making these cookies, a rounded teaspoon of dough just doesn’t seem like very much to make the size of cookies pictured… I am going to make these for a bridal shower on Saturday and want them to be little – should I stick to the teaspoon guideline?
Good point! I’d use closer to a tablespoon. Make one, see how they look (it’s more filling than a regular Oreo, of course, but the cookies are much thicker. I’m always aiming for a 1:1:1 ratio, like the originals), go from there. Even with generous filling, I always have an eensy bit leftover, so don’t worry about being too generous.
Oh my word these look AMAZING. I need to make some Oreos. Except we’re “dieting”.
omg… I made these today. They were heavenly. I don’t even like Oreo cookies that much, but these… These were just “wow”. I made them with a little bit less sugar, and I love them so much. Thank you!!
I made these last night for my boss’s birthday, and although they are delicious, they look nothing like yours! Mine are not nearly as flat, and cracked at the edges and top. Perhaps I didn’t flatten them enough…
Aesthetics aside, they are perfectly crunchy and the filling is amazing.
Oh my…I am so making these this weekend. What a delicious looking cookie and they don’t look like they’d stain your teeth black like real Oreos do! Delicious!
Just wondering…can I use regular cocoa? If I can’t find one that specifies “Duch Process”? Will they turn out ok or am I condemning myself to bad cookies and tears?
Kristen — I just learned that Oreos use an ingredient called black cocoa, which I know nothing about but am now fascinated. I will report back when I learn more. I am certain this is to blame for the “blacktooth.”
Ruby — Either will work. From JoyofBaking.com: “Dutch-Processed or Alkalized Unsweetened Cocoa Powder is treated with an alkali to neutralize its acids. Because it is neutral and does not react with baking soda, it must be used in recipes calling for baking powder, unless there are other acidic ingredients in sufficient quantities used… Its delicate flavor makes it ideal in baked goods like European cakes and pastries where its subtle flavor complements other ingredients. Droste, Lindt, Valrhona, Poulain and Pernigotti are some popular brands.”
Because this recipe has both baking powder and baking soda, it seems protected against error. However, I am wondering–because this has bugged me for a while–if this is the reason that my cookies come out flat while many others are far puffier and more like a “whoopie pie.” I use Dutch process, but if I didn’t, I might end up with two types of leavening in the cookies, making them uber-puffy. No effect on the final taste (nobody has complained) but it might explain the differences in height.
Oh, sorry, crisis averted…Williams Sonoma has one last container and it is on hold for me! :)
Thanks Deb!
Absolute food porn!! I can NOT wait to bake these for my 11-year-old this weekend! I’m sure he will LOVE them.. I’ll just have one to “test”… lol!
I made these cookies and they were delicious! I had to change the filling since, in the middle of the preparation process, I found out that my cabinets were free of vegetable shortening and confectioners’ sugarthat day… So I made a cream cheese filling instead. Still, delicious! Thanks!
When I saw this I remembered the “Almost Oreos” recipe that I marked in Nancy Silverton’s Sandwich Book. Her recipe calls for black super-alkalized cocoa powder in addition to the regular cocoa powder to get the deep almost-black dark color. She says you can get it at the King Arthur Flour website. Also, her filling recipe uses no shortening.
I think I know what my Dad is getting for Father’s Day!
wow! i’m loving it!
After reading this recipe, I went directly to Whole Foods to find the Dutch cocoa- found it there!
I made them last night for my coworkers (I love to bake… they love to eat) and they are a HUGE hit!! Everyone is so excited.
They’re a little bigger than the original cookies- they spread out a little more than I expected- but I don’t think anyone is complaining!!! :) I rolled the bits of dough between my palms before placing them on the baking sheet- and I use the bottom of a measuring cup to flatten them. This worked out great- they’re all perfectly round and the same thickness.
I share the need to try NEW recipes constantly, but I am positive that I will be making these again!
Thanks!!
you can get black cocoa through king arthur flour’s catalog called ‘the baker’s catalog’ – it is in my pantry & I use it to make DARK chocolate almond mousse….the hubby is a HUGE oreo fan so I think I will be baking these very soon! thanks for this great website, my first visit & I’m enjoying!
So, after two batches of these things, I’m in love. However, mine are decidedly not puffy. They are flat and lovely. I made the recipe exactly as called for but used Hershey’s cocoa powder for the cocoa. The first ones I made using my tablespoon cookie scoop ended up the size of whoopie pies, so I’m now using the tbs cookie scoop, cutting them in half and then rolling them into balls – they still turn out larger than an oreo. Using the bottom of a glass and a square of parchment works great for delicate flattening. I so CANNOT wait to make filling for them when I get off work…
I had read an Australian article about what can be substituted for shortening… turns out you can use Palmi, Copha, or Coconut Butter.
For shortening, I would think you could substitute a good margarine. Do they have margarine/oleo in other lands? I made these this week and they are superb! I rolled them in 2 logs for slice and bake and put them in the refrigerator and sliced them about 1/2 inch thick the next day and baked. Worked beautifully. Took about a minute more to bake because they were cold. I can see why these are requested over and over.
i made these today-i made the cookies way too large, but oh boy. best thing i’ve baked all year!! thank you!
Mine came out flat like yours, but enormous – they spread to fill the whole baking sheet! My dough was sticky and not stiff – perhaps the hot weather made the butter too soft.
I made these yesterday, using Cadbury’s cocoa powder, absolutely delish. I blogged it, and linked to you, hope that’s ok?
E
OMG these are BEYOND amazing! I made mine smaller than yours and they weren’t as flat, a little higher. YUM YUM YUM!
this recipe rocks! the flavor is scary accurate. i will never buy oreos again. thank you!
Lovely lovely lovely! My husband has a serious weakness for Oreos & I have a serious issue with the corn syrup soaked originals. These are on my “to make” list!
I made these for Memorial Day weekend. I must say they are to die for. I prefer them without the cream in the middle! SO yummy. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
How fun! I just finished reading this post, and lo and behold, I get an email from The Baker’s Catalogue with a similar recipe and links to all the products needed. It is my destiny to make these cookies.
Oh,my….I’ve been staring at the pics of these cookies for 2 weeks waiting, waiting, waiting for the right time to make them (well, is there really a WRONG time?). Just finished making them for a family bbq tomorrow, and of course had to taste the final product. Forgive me for repeating myself, but…Oh, my. Quite possibly the best cookie I’ve ever made. The only problem is trying not to eat them ALL before tomorrow! Wonderful recipe, Deb. Thanks!
I cannot tell you how much I wish I had those cookies right now.
I just tagged your site on StumbleUpon because it is so nice, hope you don’t mind.
they were/are 100% amazing.
Looking forward to making these for a weekend party. question: could i make them tonight (wednesday) for a party on saturday or will they go downhill fast? just wondering if anyone out there has experience with these cookies over time… ;-)
Hi Jim — You can definitely make the cookies, and even the frosting–perhaps just assemble them before your party? It will keep them the best-tasting. Keep the frosting in the fridge. You can warm it up to room temp before you use it. Keep the cookies at room temp in an air-tight container. Good luck!
Deb, what do you think of Wayne Harley Brachman’s book in general? Have you done any of the other recipes? I’ve heard mixed things about it, and some complaints that there are several recipes that have mistakes or just don’t work.
Hi Faycat–Definitely mixed. I made the graham crackers, too, and found them tasty but not authentic. I’ve since found a better recipe, which I promise to get to one of these days. I tend not to like these gimmicky cookbooks, anyhow, but when it fell into my lap, I weakened.
I love you. Seriously. I was so depressed a couple of months ago, when my beloved oreos recipe was messed with (to remove trans fats). It’s been rough, because the “new and improved” oreos suck, and that’s what I used to use as PMS medicine. Now I have your recipe to try… home made.. even better.Thank you.
…and when you are a good cook, or in the restaurant business (at a fantastic restaurant) for years, you are forever spoiled. I am so picky now… everyone around me is perfectly happy to eat crap, and I am miserable (and hungry). So I completely understand about your hideous food choices while traveling.
I love your blog and have been following it for some time now. Everything you cook looks delicious. I was recently inspired to bake these cookies and would like to link back to your post for the recipe from my own blog if you wouldn’t mind. Happy cooking.
I made these last weekend. LOVED them. Thanks so much for the recipe – I’m sure I’ll be making them a lot now. :)
Love your blog!
made these for the gazillionth time this week, still amazing, still in love, must make more
Hi! Thanks for posting the recipe. I made a batch yesterday and they were great (some “regular” sized, and some mini ones). I used the Spectrum veggie shortening for the filling, giving me a texture very close to the original Oreos. I also used a freezer bag cut at the end to pipe in the filling, and that worked just fine. I only had Hershey’s cocoa in my pantry, but next time I’ll upgrade to a better Dutch process cocoa. I think a better cocoa will give this an even better chocolate flavor. Lastly, I think I’ll try a flavored filling next time. Perhaps orange with some orange zest and a tiny splash of orange extract. Thanks again!
Okay, I finally made these and WOW!
I did the half cup less sugar and it was perfect, that nice salty edge that oreos have.
And I made the filling, was dubious and then when I tasted it – I laughed. Laughed! Because it was such a joyous surprise – it WAS the classic filling! Only, even, a bit better.
Thanks for making and sharing the magic, Ohiogirl.
P.S. Made the filling with the Smart Balance trans fat free shortening (and butter) and it was fab. Not greasy at all.
Oh and the cookie dough is Amazing. It’s so easy to work with – like fluffy play dough.
I did a little research about the Dutch process coco vs. regular Hershey’s. If you use Hershey’s (which I did because people in Oklahoma City obviously don’t need Dutch process coco since I couldn’t find any), add an additional 2 tsp of baking soda for this recipe. That amount is for a single batch. That will keep them from rising and winding up like whoopie pies.
I made these wonderful cookies after I read a review of them over at Pietown’s blog.
I enjoyed these marvelous creations! They were definitely sweet! You can read my full review here:
TableBread bakes cookies
Ciao,
Lewis
TableBread
I am so making these Oreos tomorrow for a friend who loved Martha Stewart’s Chocolate Malt Sandwich Cookies. Have you tried them? They’re irresistible. Recipe here: http://greedygoose.blogspot.com/2005/12/holiday-cookie-exchange-3-chocolate.html
deb, no matter who you have kill to acheive this, next time your in Nashville, you have to go to Hog Heaven, just adjacent to centennial park. It is a positively frightening walk up, and walk up you must. get some pulled pork, and some chicken with their white bar-b-que sauce and ask if they have any of their pickled carrots.
I am going to have to make so many of these cookies till the end of time I fear.
I just now made these– they’re still cooling as I type, but oh, delicious. Great recipe, and easy, as cookies go; I used my food processor, which I’ve never used for cookies before, and the bake quickly, frost without a lot of pain– nice. I won’t be buying Oreos anymore.
And thanks for linking to the gluten-free version; my niece has celiac and I’m always looking for things I can bake with/for her.
I just made these again (finally! it’s been months!) but went the holiday themed direction and added peppermint extract to the filling. They’re delish! http://www.flickr.com/photos/bbenjamins/2126337244/
Your blog is an inspiration.
So I found your site around the beginning of the year and I have to say that your food is so impressive!! I’ve made a number of your recipes, but my husband said I had to post after making this one for him tonight. It was awesome and it came out great with my Hershey’s cocoa and an extra 2 tsp of baking soda. I look forward to all of your posts so much, I can’t wait to keep trying them!
Well, I don’t know what I did wrong but the filling was WAY too sweet. Even my 15 yr old couldn’t finish one. I used two cups sifted of confectioner’s sugar and everything else called for in the filling recipe, but it is cloyingly sweet. And I guess I made the cookies too thin as they are quite crispy/crunchy, though they look to be the same thickness as the ones pictured above. I only used the one cup of sugar as suggested and Hershey’s cocoa with 2 extra tsp of baking soda. Sorry, but I don’t think I would make these again or I will try to find a less sweet filling.
Oh my god! These were so fantastic. I did a test run last night (for tonight’s BBQ) and will make them again Sunday for a book club and next Thursday for a visit with my parents.
My only problem (which was totally by fault) is that I didn’t smoosh them down enough – they are a little whoopie pieish, but i’ll make the cookie dough balls smaller and flatten them a little more next time.
Delicious!
Can not wait to try this gorgeous cookie and the gluten free recipe for a friend. I just returned from my 6th visit to Opryland Hotel. We had a lovely time and ate the most fantastic foods in the hotel. Sorry you did not get to go try those-Chicken Piccaatta and Chop Salad to die for~~~
Long time reader, first time commenter here :o)
I just made these as my lazy Sunday project and I have to say that they are absolutely wonderful. I used my mini ice cream scoop to scoop out the dough, flattened out each mound with my fingertips and then rounded out all the edges. Size and thickness wise, they came out exactly like yours and are perfect. I cut down on the confectioner’s sugar by about 1/2 a cup b/c it was sweet enough for my liking.
Thanks again for the great recipe!
Ditto above. Also made these yesterday… weird. I didn’t realize they would spread so much so mine came out kinda square. I will remember this next time because there definitely will be a next time. Everyone agreed this is what Oreos aspire to be.
Thanks much!
I just baked these with natural cocoa (as opposed to dutch process) and added the 2 extra teaspoons of baking soda like was suggested in some of the comments.
They came out very, VERY chemical tasting with the extra soda so when I make them again – it will be with dutch process or just as the recipe is written. They may puff up more, but they will probably have a much better flavor!
I made the wafers with Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa, which purports to be a “blend of natural and Dutched cocoas,” and they came out great. The Special Dark may be more widely available than pure Dutched cocoa. I found it at my local grocery store.
I know it was a while ago but regarding Jenni’s post about vegetable shortening in Australia – of course we have it :) You need it to make White Christmas and Chocolate Peppermint Slice – and Australia would not be Australia without Chocolate Peppermint Slice ;) Its just called Shortening – it is near the butter in the fridge section with a white paper wrapper with brightly coloured circles decorating it.
wow…i’m making these! right away!
look delicious!
Deb,
Just discovered your gem last week. Love it. I made these over the weekend using a pastry knife (no food processor) and a mini scoop to keep the cookies uniform. Unreal. A huge hit. Thanks!
Mel
I made these a couple of days ago and added mint flavoring to the filling, as we like the mint regular Oreos quite a lot. I thought they were pretty good, my husband and his best friend thought they were fantastic.
adorable! but in the end, the supersweet filling with a sweet cookie (i did take out the 1/2 sugar) was too much. but they are as cute as buttons…
i loved these even if they sent me and about 20 of my closest friends into sugar shock. milk was a must! they’re so darned cute, and high on kitsch value. results here:
http://www.figandplum.com/archives/000850.html
thanks, deb!
Ok, I made these with the mint filling and the oatmeal white chocolate chip cookies for a cookout we had this weekend and the guest tore through them. I anticipate new readership this week.
Living in the UK, you can get two kinds of oreos – the terrible EU made ones or expensive imported US ones. When I saw a recipe to make oreos I just had to try it! I am so glad I did, these came out great! Thank you for posting it – I’ll be making it again and again.
Here’s a link to how mine turned out :) http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2345/2520108093_4a5c250192_o.jpg
It must be the archaic piece of junk I use to access the internet, because for some reason there are capital A’s with makrs on top in the ingredient’s measurements. How can I read the amounts? Love your site Deb! You’re my culinary hero for sure!
I just made these tonight and they taste spot on – delicious. Plus, I could make them as doubled stuffed as I wanted. However, my white creme center doesn’t look as nearly as tidy and professional. How did you do that? (I’m a novice when it comes to fancy kitchen tricks)
I’m not on an archaic computer, but I AM using Firefox… I have the same problem as natalie, with  instead of the numbers in amounts. Oddly, the fractions come across just fine… it’s the number in front of the fraction that’s missing. Help! I came over from an LJ food_porn post, and I’d love to try making these cookies. I want to try experimenting with lard in the filling. Back in the ’70s when I was growing up, that’s what they were made of, and nevermind the recent changes, they’ve never been the same since the anti-lard movement in the ’80s. =)
Nope, it’s not a computer error. Those terrible bits of gibberish (that we are currently unable to edit out, grr) are the result of a botched Wordpress upgrade that, much to our frustration, we have not been able to undo yet. The good news, however, is that if you remove all instances of those wacky “A”s, the recipe is still entirely correct, like so:
For the chocolate wafers:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 to 1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) room-temperature, unsalted butter
1 large egg
For the filling:
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) room-temperature, unsalted butter
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Enjoy!
I bought the indegredients last night (after going to 3 stores to find Dutch processed cocoa) and I can’t wait for the day to be over so I can go home and make them!
Dear god these are delicious. And deceptively easy! Big YAY on both counts.
My results here:
http://www.fauren.org/fauren/2008/06/happiness-is-a-cookie-sandwich.html
(I hope it’s OK that I reprinted the recipe — let me know if not and I’ll repost…)
I am very excited about this. I will be making these tomorrow, hopefully heart shaped-ish and perhaps with pinkish filling for my boyfriend because it is our anniversary, and I’m really really lame. I live in Mexico City right now and I can’t find dutch process so I’m going to use the normal recipe with just perhaps a little more baking soda.. I hope they turn out as good as everyone says **crossing fingers** I’m always so upset when recipes don’t turn out. I’m so excited I can’t sit still. I linger on your site for hours making excuses to why I need to bake something else.
Thanks!
Well they did turn out perfect! but not heart shaped, its a sticky irritating dough and I didn’t have the heart [haha] to shape them any more than into rough circles. I did dye the filling pink with food coloring which is very cute. In case anyone else can’t find dutch process cocoa, I used regular Hershey’s cocoa with just an extra half tsp of baking soda, and they look just like the pictures!
Thanks for the recipe!
I don’t like shortening so I use this for the filling and just spread it with a knife.
Cream Cheese Filling
8 oz pkg cream cheese
1/4 C butter
1 tsp vanilla
3 1/2 C Powdered Sugar.
these. are. AWESOME.
i made these yesterday, and they were so good that i started a second batch while the first tray was baking. rouse’s (our local grocery) didn’t have dutch-processed cocoa, so i grabbed that and some earth balance from whole foods.
i made one of the batches peanut butter- whipped about half a cup of natural creamy peanut butter into the filling, and then added a little more powdered sugar to fix the consistency. was a little gooier than the regular filling, but nothing ten minutes in the fridge couldn’t fix, and the payoff was SO worth it, especially with a freezer-cold glass of brandied milk.
my boyfriend has already requested a double batch to take with him when he leaves town on saturday… smashing success i would say!
These are incredible!! I made a batch on Thursday (all gone by Friday morning) and I’m getting ready to make another batch right now. For me the 9 min cook time gave me burnt cookies. 6 minutes gives a slightly soft/slightly crunchy cookie. I’m going to try 5 minutes today and see what happens. Thanks so much!
What is the symbol Capital-A stand for in the ingredients list? Thanks!
For the chocolate wafers:
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
Bailey, the Capital-As in the ingredient list are an error. See comment #117 above where Deb explains. Basically, just ignore the As and the recipe is correct.
Oh! and i forgot to mention, i use Tropical Traditions “Organic Palm Shortening” instead of the Crisco – a MUCH healthier substitute, with no one the wiser!
Jessica
Deb – someone metioned a while back that if you use regular cocoa powder, the cookies get puffy. Should you leave out the baking powder and/or baking soda if you aren’t using dutch press?
I haven’t tested this recipe with regular cocoa powder. I think I hypothesized that because the recipe has both baking powder and baking soda in it–Dutched doesn’t react with baking soda–they might get over-puffed with regular cocoa, but judging from the comments, that doesn’t seem to be what causes it.
Thanks! I’ll stick to the recipe. I’m doing a girls weekend and Friday night we’re doing a real sleepover. But since we’re all adults, I want to take the classic foods (cookies, popcorn, and pizza) and reinvent them. This recipe is perfect!
I made these with Hershey’s cocoa and had no problems with puffy cookies. I used King Arthur’s White Wheat flour, adding some texture to the cookie and they taste great. Matter of fact my family inhaled them and they are gone! Going to have to make more and hide them away from those scavengers! Thanks for a great recipe.
I made these a couple of days ago and they turned out great. (And disappeared fast!) :) Thanks!
My family doesn’t eat shortening, so I made a filling out of 3 oz. of cream cheese, 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract, and 2 1/2 cups of confectioner’s sugar. I just added the sugar slowly and beat it until I got a creamy texture I liked (and until the brown from the vanilla disappeared). I ran out of filling (and the filling had a slight extract-y taste before I put the finished cookies in the fridge), so I’ll add another 3 oz. of cream cheese and less vanilla next time.
Lol, mouse. You just did what I was going to suggest ;}.
I’ll get a recipe sometime, but I think this will work. Do the above, make the creamcheese filling like mouse suggests, and then cover them in chocolate ganache. Lunar tarts!
(Moonpies to the uninitiated ;}.)
OMG. These are fantastic. I just discovered your blog about 2 months ago when a friend forwarded me the recipe for the blueberry crumb square thingys – YUM. And now, I (a self-proclaimed non-baker) have made the peach hand pies and discovered these and made them today. WONDERFUL.
I ended up using regular cocoa instead of the Dutch processed stuff, not even thinking there would be a difference. They turned out fabulous. My husband came to sneak a bite (before I had even tasted them, while I was still piping) and casually said, “they taste like Oreos” – and then promptly came back for seconds (always a good sign)!
I’m planning on making these for a baby shower next weekend. Any suggestions (besides food coloring) to make a light pink and light blue filling?
These are fantastic, although my first batch were too thick which sort of ruined them. Therese, pureed raspberries and blueberries could work for the filling. although raspberry seeds may be annoying.
Wow, these are good! They taste exactly like the store bought kind! I almost wrote the “real” kind, but now, these are the “real” kind! My whole family thanks you so much! And if you underbake them a little, they’re nce and soft and chewy like cakesters! Yum…..
So I made these last night for a casual dinner party dessert. They were a hit, but I personally was less crazy about them than I thought I would be. I think my oven runs hot and the cookies came out crispier than expected. I did take Deb’s advice on lessening the sugar and I liked the fact that the cookie wasn’t super sweet. I looked for trans-fat free Crisco (as I also was horrified by the idea of cooking with shortening for the first time in my life) but couldn’t find it. If I try these again I think I will bake the cookies for only 7 minutes.
I just came across a recipe today for cheesecake bars that require an Oreo cookie crust. I try my best to avoid foods with hydrogenated junk in them, so I thought why not make oreos at home? Kinda crispy and not too sweet – and I hoped a quick internet search would bring up a recipe. Yours sounds wonderful and i am surely going to try them. They will make an excellent crust for the cheesecake bars I am sure, and no hydrogenation!! Thank you so much for posting!
can’t wait to make these! Can these be frozen? I’m guessing no as they
will probably soften but then again, maybe not!
Great recipe! Many thanks for posting it and the gorgeous pictures.
Mine turned out huge because my rounded teaspoons are obviously a little too “rounded”. I made a note on the printed recipe to go smaller next time.
I also flattened mine more than I probably should have. I went back and looked at the recipe text while they were baking and noticed “flatten slightly” not “flatter as completely as an OCD baker can manage”.
A co-worker asked me where I got the filling. He was disappointed when I told him I made it because he wanted to go to the store, get a jar and eat it straight from the jar. I thought that was a good compliment for both of us. :o)
i made the cookies today and have no idea what i could have done wrong, but
the filling never could have gone in a pipping bag, i really had to struggle to
spread it with a knife……Anyone else have that problem or any idea what to
do to make it more fluffy. i beat it for a good long time and didn’t make a
difference.
I’ve made these at least 10 times since someone mentioned the recipe at the Cooks Illustrated blog several months ago. Virtually every time I take them somewhere, they are a HUGE hit. I’ve not frozen the entire cookies, but I’ve frozen both the cookies and the filling separately, and they tasted the same as always. In fact, because the recipe makes more filling than cookies, sometimes I freeze the remaining filling once it’s in the pastry bag, so it’s ready to thaw and pipe right onto the cookies next time. One tip that was on the CI blog was to use black cocoa from the King Arthur website, which I do. It makes them look/taste even more like the real thing. Try them — you’ll be glad you did!
I am sooo in trouble!! These look better than the cookies I made and have photographed on my blog. Anything with dutch cocoa … YUM!!
I made these for the first time today, and am soooo happy with them. I did change them a bit by adding crushed candy canes and peppermint extract to the filling, which worked perfectly.
They were so easy to make, and everyone that has tried them, loves them. My own picture is here: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=40973558&l=beb10&id=10133080
Thanks for the great recipe. I experimented and used 1 1/2 tsp of peppermint extract instead of vanilla (it’s the holidays!!). Turned out great. Obviously w/ the taste change they are not authentic Oreos, but they are darn good. I’m excited to have a yummy sandwich cookie recipe now – this will be great with ice cream!
Gah! You’re killing me here. Every time I visit your blog, I gain 5 pounds just from looking at the pictures. I’ll have to try these. I suspect they’ll be going in the Christmas goodie bags, along with the pumpkin butter, gingerbread, and homemade English muffins. Thanks for the great recipies!
I just made these for the first time and I’m about to start on batch number two. They are amazing! So much better than real oreos. I’m gonna have to give them away quickly before I finish off the whole batch! I used Hershey Special Dark Cocoa because it was the closest thing I could get to dutch process cocoa. Turned out perfectly!!
thanks again for this great recipe. I’ve made it many times and just today decided to copy Trader Joe’s Candy Cane Joe Joe’s. I used peppermint extract instead of vanilla and crushed up some candy canes for the mixture. DELISH!!!
I made these yesterday with lard instead of shortening and they turned out great!
These have got to be 10x better than the store bought kind. Any kind of cookiet hat I can dunk into a cold glass of milk has my vote!
Hi – I just wanted to let you know that I found a link to this recipe at Cooking After Five, was inspired to try them, and just blogged about them. I linked back to you, please come check it out if you’re up for it.
Thanks for the recipe! — Joh
Just sampled the first of my batch…delicious!! And if you really want to make them look authentic, you can order black cocoa here: http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/detail.jsp?id=1297
I just LOVE your site and was inspired this weekend to try a bunch of new recipes, including this one. I was also a little hesitant about the shortening, and I read a comment on the celiac version that said to substitute marshmallow fluff – that tasted great to me!
I made these this weekend very easy and yummy one of my hubby’s favs. Thanks love the site
this is my second time making these. they’re like my official christmas cookies this year. wow. =)
I’m doing red and green fillings on this batch, and the green have a 1/2 tsp of peppermint extract. mmmmm!!
I made these yesterday for Christmas and the kids loved them! I had to hide the rest of them because my family would have eaten the whole batch if I’d let them.
Thanks for a great recipe. These will definitely become a “staple” in our household. I can bake them while the kids are at school and have them ready for afternoon snack when they get off the bus.
Hope you had a great holiday!
~ Annie
I’m allergic to soy so real oreos are a definite no-no. I’ll have to make some of these (and hide them from the kids). Great idea for ice cream sandwiches too – another thing I miss. As for a vegetable shortening replacement, try palm oil shortening. The one I have is by spectrum, it says organic, non-hydrogenated all-vegetable shortening and it’s all Palm oil. It’s still all fat but it’s 0 trans-fats for the little bit that it helps.
Oh, so good! Thanks for the recipe — it was totally perfect for the office cookie exchange. And yes — use organic, trans-fat-free shortening. It’s awesome (in that weird shortening way). More blog and photos from ‘em here
These were AWESOME! A huge hit with friends and family. These are now on my must bake more often list. Thanks for the recommendation on the sugar reduction … that definitely helped. I will try these with chocolate filling and the trans-fat organic shortening. Love your recipes Deb! Thanks again.
I have to tell you this is my favorite recipe site. I enjoy how simple & detailed your pictures are and your food looks amazing!
Thanks for taking the time to share all of these great recipes!
Cheers,
Charl
Those look amazing
Can I use just regular unsweet. hersheys cocoa powder instead of the Dutch process cocoa…?
Sameera-
I made these for Christmas this year using just plain old Hershey’s cocoa and they were fantastic.
Oh and I didn’t have enough powdered sugar for the filling so I used about half superfine. When I made them again using all powdered sugar I didn’t like it as well. I think the slight grittyness of the superfine sugar reminds me of the actual Oreo filling. And it was not as jaw achingly sweet.
Oh. Oh. And then Oh, again – these were fabulous! Everything an Oreo-lover like me dreams of: easy, impressive, satisfyingly succesful, and even better than the real thing (which I have to admit, I was doubtful was possible). If anyone could take a near-perfect things (you know, if you ignore all the preservatives and hydrogenated oils and that) and improve it, it would be Deb here at Smitten Kitchen. And as usual, I was impressed, as were all the guests. “You MADE Oreos? You can do that?” and then further impressed after having one. And, yes, they are better after days 2 and 3 when they need to be dipped in the milk… it was nearly nirvana.
Thank you for linking these on your newer posts or I might have missed them!
Oh – Samerra – I used regular (non Dutch) because I prefer it. It is just a taste thing, so you can use whichever you prefer.
Oh! And I meant to mention, I use the Spetrum shortening, which is the Palm oil – a few other posters have mentioned it. It works perfect and has the added health benefit of being truly trans fat free (no matter how many of these you eat at a time) and the moral benefit of supporting organic farming. Who can say that about Crisco?! Good stuff -look for it in your health food section.
Wow! we made these tonight and are so hooked. Thanks for posting this.
Made them as is and they were delicious. Some of the cookies never really “dried out” enough to squish the filling between the cookies (I spread the filling on those ones), but I have to say that made them kind of like the new “Oreo Cakesters” and…YUMMO. I fed them to a bunch of seniors (some of whom probably shouldn’t be eating sugar and lard…sigh) and they gobbled them up. Thanks for another great recipe.
I made them today finally, as all 4 kids have been asking for them since I showed them the recipe. Turned out perfect! I made the first batch kind of big–ended up being 2 1/2 inches across. The next batches I did I used only slightly bigger than a thumbnail of dough and squished it down on the cooky sheet. They ended up being the size of an oreo.
I used the piping bag for the creamy filling and that worked out great. I’m tellin’ ya, I will use that frosting recipe again for cookies. Yum!
Even the cookies by themselves are really good. TOTALLY WORTH MAKING! :)
Mmmm, these were delicious. Made them tonight, with regular cocoa and an extra half-teaspoon of baking soda, plus the spectrum shortening for the filling. They turned out great and were a huge hit with everyone. One person liked this filling better than the store-bought oreo version.
Plus I dazzled everyone with the trivia about how they are so delicious because the cookie is on the salty side.
Thanks again!
I’m almost sorry that I found this recipe. I have made these WAY too many times, because they are just wonderful. Thank you!
These are super yummy. I’ve made them four times, and have never gotten them to look quite like yours, but they still taste divine and my hubby is very, very happy whenever I make a batch. They’ve been a hit with friends, too.
I loved Oreos growing up, and they were one of the foods I missed when I moved to Australia. A few years back they started selling them here, but we much prefer these now!
Make the frosting with all butter. And add peppermint extract to taste. so good. so very very good.
Hello! I’ve bookmarked this page for MONTHS knowing I had to make these. My husband is a HUGE fan of oreos. These are certainly a labor of love, but so incredibly worth it. When I made the cookie I erred on less sugar for the cookie part (1 cup).
I served 1 rather large cookie on a plate with a glass of milk, and I asked him how it was. He bit into it and said “Mmmm.” He chewed, took another bite and a gulp of milk. “These aren’t exactly oreos. They’re BETTER than oreos.”
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe with us. :)
WOW! these look amazing! I’m going to make some tonight for my hubby and little ones. As for the Nashville bashers…I live in Music City, I love it here…I’m not a fan of country music, but there is sooo much more to see than the Grand’Ol Opry. Maybe the city just has to grow on you, I’ve moved out of state 3 times and have always made my way back home. Look me up if you are ever here again, and I’ll show you the REAL Nashville!
My God, Deb. I’ve never seen my roommate’s eyes pop open that wide. I cannot believe how AMAZING FANTASTIC DELICIOUS OUTRAGEOUS PHENOMENAL .. (ran out of words) .. these cookies are. I’m convinced you broke into Oreo HQ and stole their recipe for the filling. Amazing. I’m going to be the hit of the party tonight. You are my HERO! =)
These sound so good! I can’t wait to make them! We bake every week and these sound like they will be wonderful! But I was wondering if any one has a recipe for dutch almond butter cookies? I have been craving these and really really want them! Does any one have a recipe? If so please let me know! Thanks!
I made these for a bake sale and not only did I get more $ for them than anything else sold that day, but these were the only cookies to sell out – and in less than like 4 hours. **I WIN!** Thanks Smitten Kitchen – this recipe rocks :)
Great site! I made these with the regular ol’ Hershey’s because it’s what I had on hand and they turned out just fine!
In order to get them nice and perfect and even, yes I’m a perfectionist, I used my cookie scoop to get one perfect ball and cut that in half, reshaped a little bit to make circles and they turned out looking just like yours. I also did the same thing with the frosting, cookie scoop, cut in half, divide between two cookies.
vegetable shortening KILLS my stomach, is there a substitute instead of useing veg. shortening?
good recipe, and story haha.
You can use all butter for the filling, or look out for the Spectrum coconut shortening (I link to it in comment #11).
this is such a good recipe. I made it for the first time and i didnt think i would like it, because i hate oreos. But they were so yummy:-]
thank you for the cookies. ALL the cookies. they are so wonderful and make us both (and all our friends and relations) smile ALOT. thank you
by the way, if anyone is going to make homemade oreos, try adding a few spoons of shredded coconut to the filling mmmmmmmmMMMMmmmmmm.
thanks again for all the cookie recipies. thank you!
OUTSTANDING! In my first attempt (of many, I hope), the cookies came out very thick and cake-like. I used Hershey’s Special Dark coco, which is only part Dutch process, and only 1c of sugar. The cookies spread very little, but are still delicious. I actually like that they’re soft; I don’t like that Ores are so crispy. The engineer in me likes the idea of 1:1:1 ratio, so I need to get the cookies thinner. Next time I’ll smash them down farther, and I need to find a scoop that gives me consistent portions of dough. I’m thinking maybe a melon baller?
You can also use an actual “cookie scoop”, which makes it easier to get the cookie dough out. The one linked above is a standard size cookie scoop — good for all of your chocolate chip and oatmeal drop cookies. However, if you are looking to be particularly exacting, I can tell you on good authority that this tinier scoop makes the Oreos come out almost the exact size of the original, when spread out (as you can see, mine always do).
I love to have recipes like this on hand when my grandsons come to visit. Summer will be here before I know it.
THESE. ARE. SO. GOOD!!! Thank you for posting this yummy recipe and for the tips!! You’re awesome! I was about to buy some Oreos for a cupcake recipe and decided to make them myself. I knew to go directly to your site for the recipe. Thanks again, Deb! I will posting my less-than-stellar photos of them on my blog soon.
To scoop out the dough, I just used my teaspoon. They came out perfectly. Just don’t forget to smoosh them down like I did on one of the batches!
I love to have recipes like this on hand when my grandsons come to visit. Summer will be here before I know it.
Deb, these cookies are AWESOME! I love the “surprise me” feature on your blog, that is how i found these…what a simple recipe to make…and I always have those ingredients on hand, and they are wonderful!!!! YUMMMM!!!!
Thank you for all your yummy posts!
Considering I haven’t seen one other person mention this problem, it may just be me, but each time I’ve made these, the dough has ended up WAY too dry to form. I’ve tried different temps of butter and have always used the lower sugar amount–no luck. This last time I threw in an extra egg and voila! normal looking dough and the cookies turned out great. They might’ve been a bit puffier than normal but at least they kept their shape. (And these cookies really are SUCH a hit with everyone).
I can’t think of any reason why mine would be any more dry (I’m in Seattle so you’d think the humidity might even help) but I thought I’d pass this on in case someone else has the same odd issues as I. Thanks for the fabulous recipe, Deb!
mine look just like the pic and were delicious but were really crunchy. how do you tell when they are done, because, obviously ours were overbaked. =)
Your oven might run a little hot. Try dialing back the baking time next time. In the long run, it’s useful to get an oven thermometer (they’re cheap) so you know if your oven is really at the temperature it says it is.
oh golly. i just printed this lovely recipe out!
will give it a shot the soonest i can :]
cheerios
These oreos were amazing! After making them, I used a few to mix into homemade vanilla ice cream and it made the most delicious and fresh cookies and cream ice cream I’ve ever had. Thanks for the great recipe!
My friend Alexis and I made these today and they turned out great. I was expecting them to be crispy like the traditional Oreos in a bag, but ours were soft and chewy (after baking for the recommended 9 minutes). Alexis’ husband commented that they were more like those new Oreo Cakesters. Next time I might trying flattening the cookies a little more, or adding a few minutes to the baking time to see if I can get a crispier cookie.
I made these tonight & ohmygod they are delicious! My boyfriend [a diehard Oreo lover] was extremely skeptical, especially after I told him that the cookies wouldn’t be crunchy like the storebought Oreos [he was worried that they would have a texture akin to "stale" Oreos] but after one bite, he was moaning & eyeing the rest of the plate… He even proclaimed them BETTER than storebought ones! I will definitely be making more of these! Plus, they were super easy [not sure if that's really a good thing... for my waistline that is...]! Thanks Deb! :)
PS: I forgot to flatten the second batch that I put in the oven [because I only have one baking sheet...] so they were very puffy but I just smooshed ‘em down a bit with a spatula right after I took them out of the oven & that worked out just fine.
I’ve been thinking about these for about a week and made them tonight.
Because the amount of shortening freaked me out a little, I used the cream cheese filling recipe someone suggested.
The dough alone smelled divine. I used the 1c sugar option and the cookies were wonderful. I used Fry’s cocoa and the cookies turned out just like in the pictures without adjusting the baking soda.They spread out a bit more than i expected and I only ended up with 16 sandwiched cookies (ok, 15, because I ate two cookies by themselves). I also have more filling left over, so I guess I have to make more cookies!
For being a very good homemade version of a commercial cookie, they were really simple to make, and of course better than the commercial cookie with the fresh crispy-chewy texture and you know what all the ingredients are.
Yummy! Round 2 coming up!
I think you’re right about the non dutch-processed cocoa making the cookies puff up. I used hershey’s and someone said that they looked like oreo cakesters, so that’s probably it. They were delicious nonetheless, and just a heads up- you can skip the shortening completely, just put a little less of everything else in the filling.
I made these cookies last night. What kind of texture should the cookies have? They were good but the cookie came out really crisp and brittle. Like sugar crisp as opposed to a crisp cookie. They spread out really, really thin and did not look as thick and your cookies. I think I followed the recipe correctly any clue?
Hi there, I made these today and I’m really enjoying them! Thanks for posting the recipe! I also want to let everyone know that I made these with regular natural cocoa, not Dutch-process, with no other changes, and they turned out just fine. Here’s a photo of mine: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamieanne/3641947970/ :)
Hi, I made these for guests (who have not yet arrived), but here are a few comments: I rolled little balls of about 1.5 inches, and it worked perfectly (for those of us who don’t have cookie scoopers). The cookies are perfectly round, and there was no need to smoosh the dough. They’re going to be a hit!
I made these today and thought they were awesome!
Oh my, I’m on my way home to make these!!!
I’ve made these twice now, and they are great! A few notes for anyone who is interested: I use all butter for the frosting. I’ve never tried it with butter/shortening so I can’t really comment how good or bad it is, but the all-butter is really good. I also don’t use 2 whole cups of powdered sugar in the frosting. Closer to 1.5c and it’s still plenty sweet. I made these for July 4th and put mint extract in the frosting (as well as vanilla) and they turned out great. Other flavors would probably be good too (I’m thinking almond!) Also, I made a pie crust out of these by crushing approx. 1 recipe worth of cookies in a food processor with 6tbs melted butter and pressing it into a pie plate. Baked at 375F for about 10 minutes. It puffed up a little on me, so next time I’ll try blind baking the crust with parchment paper and beans. Anyway, after the crust was cooled, I filled it with homemade chocolate pudding and topped with peppermint whipped cream. It was divine! A great way to make homemade oreo pie crusts.
Dear smitten kitchen-
after reading your lengthy anecdote, my sister and i were compelled to try out this enticing recipe. To our great dismay, we only had 1/4 a cup of cocoa.. and being that it was close to 11pm, we had to make due. so we found some hot cocoa instant mix and used that, and just eyeballed (or tasted ;) ) the batter until it seemed just right. they turned out wonderfully. they are not as flat as your cookies but the glass of ice cold lactaid milk was necessary. (yes, i am lactose intolerant) the porous, choclately, sponge-like texture, of the cookie soaked up the cold, creamy milk wonderfully. as i popped one into my mouth, my heart craved more. you are right, i will make this over and over again.. perhaps with the cocoa instead of swiss miss instant mix… yet i love adding my own twist to things- i am a sort of rebel.
I’ve been enjoying your blog for the last couple of weeks – but this…truly has made you my hero.
Where were you able to find dutch process cocoa? I have looked at all of the stores in my area and no one has it. Can you substitute regular cocoa with a recipe variation for the same effect?
OMG. These are my new favorite cookies! They turned out absolutely perfect. Someone else said even the dough smelled delicious…and it really did. When I took the first batch of cookies out, there was a little crumb left-over so I snuck a taste and was blown away. I left out the 1/2 cup of sugar and I’m so happy that I did – they were a little less sweet and the perfect amount of crisp. Just like a “real” Oreo. Amazing! I also used the Spectrum shortening but I might try butter next time for the filling. Keep up the great work! :)
I was wondering if the filling will harden just the same as an oreo? I’m trying to achieve the look of a cake by stacking 3 cookies…2 1/2″, 1 1/2″ 3/4″. I need to make sure that each cookie won’t slide off the other!! Any idea?
Also….How far in advance can I make and prepare these. If the weddinig is on a Saturday can they be done 2 days before and put into their boxes. I won’t be able to refrigerate them…will that be alright?
In comment 3, I respond that these cookies are good for at least a week. If you’re looking for a cake that looks like an oreo, you might want to consider an Icebox Cake.
I made these with my kids tonight and I used a 1 tablespoon ice cream scoop to scoop the cookies to make them the exact same size and they turned out perfect. I think I will cut back on the powdered suger in the filling to about 1 cup and then taste and add more as needed due to the sweetness was a bit much, even for my kids. This is a easy recipe for kids, my 9 and 10 year old could do it all on there on with just my supervision. We all loved them!
Great instructions! Really easy to follow. Short cleaning up time and easy to make. Thank you for sharing this!! :)
Wow. Just wow. I made these last week and while I felt they were too sweet, everyone who tried them *loved* them. Someone at work ate the baggy of filling with a spoon! (I didn’t assemble them so people could control the sweetness). I can’t wait to make them again, and they will definitely be a part of my christmas goodies baking!
Omigosh. My lovely boyfriend was over today, and we decided to make these instead of braving the rain storming around outside.
Only the best things ever.
Wanting to make slightly larger cookies, some extra dough was spooned out. We both weren’t expecting them to widen out as much as they did, and ended up with around face-sized Oreos. But really, who wouldn’t love face-sized Oreos?
This is one of my fAVORITE recipes ever. I’ve made it almost a dozen times for friends, bbqs, etc. Everyone LOVES them! I usually put a tsp of raspberry in instead of vanilla to add a little flavor..and also one time used peppermint icing.
I know in one comment you said they store for almost a week…do you know of any ways to make them last a little longer? (any recipe variations, packing tips that aren’t posted everywhere, etch) I need to ship them in a care package overseas…
Please let me know!
I had to try these, despite protest from my husband that I’m better off buying Nabisco’s Oreos (my first love). However, I’ve been trying to cut sugar from our diet where ever possible and still use natural ingredients. I made the cookies with xylitol* (a natural sweetener with a low glycemic index) and whole wheat flour. For the icing I still used confectioner’s sugar (would try “powdering” the xylitol if I had a better food processor) but used coconut oil for shortening substitue. Overwhelming response (from family, coworkers, non-healthfood and healthfood junkies alike) was that these cookies are delicious. Thank you so much for the recipe!!!
*if you are going to try it I recommend melting the butter to get more of a dough vs the dough granules that I had to form into dough balls with moist hands on my first try.
OH MY GOODNESS…I just made these tonight and they are amazing!!! I subsituted margarine for the butter AND shortening and it worked just fine (we are poor college students who are too lazy to go to the store when we need shortening and don’t have any…) I halved the recipe for the cookies and now I need to make more because we have eaten them all already! THANK YOU!
This is fantastic! I discovered this recipe a couple of weeks ago and have been meaning to try it out. As an advocate of anything made from scratch (I like knowing what’s in my food…), I am super stoked to turn out a batch of these babies!
*runs to the kitchen to fire up the oven*
Hi – Just made these…the cookie was delicious. However, The filling was a bit too sweet…shall i reduce the powdered sugar by 1/2 a cup next time?
Hello- love your site- made these last week and they were great- do you have any ideas/suggestions as to how to make the filling without vegetable shortening? I would like to do without the hydrogenated fats- they’d probably end up like Newman-O’s? Hope everything is going well with your baby :-)
If you skim through the comments, you’ll see that many people have made them with just butter and/or with coconut oil shortening, successfully. I have yet to try it with either.
Hello,
Intrigued at the prospect of making one of my favorite cookies at home, I had to try and bake these. Since it is fall, I am inclined to add pumpkin pie spice or nutmeg and cinnamon to many of my favorite food and drinks. I add pumpkin pie spice to the cream filling for some extra flavoring and it is delicious!
Thank you for all the great recipes and blogs, I really enjoy following it!
Mikaelyn
THIS RECIPE WORKED OUT GREAT!!!!! LOVE LOVE LOVE
Okay, so I used 1/2 cup margarine instead of shortening and it worked out fine! The filling is delicious and everyone in my house loves them!
These are great! Much better than the non-homemade version and feel much better about giving them to the kids. I didn’t have shortening and used all butter instead. Will these need to be refrigerated or will they be fine left out for a few days?
These cookies are amazing. I have made them a few times, and I am trying out a variation for Halloween tonight. I’m going to dye the icing orange and also maybe line it with reese’s pieces to make the colors more Halloween-y. Maybe for Christmas I’ll do red and green with peppermint extract in the icing….
just tried these straight from a western pennsylvania cookie table (if you have never experienced one, you MUST) and came home to search for the recipe – lo and behold it’s from the Smitten Kitchen! What more could I want? Plus, it addresses the fact that the husband (a previously devote Oreo fan) and I have never been able to stomache purchasing a box once Nabisco closed their Pittsburgh factory … Thank you! The boy will be very very happy to be reunited with his favorite treat after a harsh 10 year hiatus…!
What an honor! I’d only read about these cookie tables recently, and I’m fascinated. I would so love to take part in one.
Ok, I made these last week and oh my god, they are amazing. So good. Thank you for posting this and all of your other wonderful recipes!!
D-E-L-I-S-H spells just what these cookies are! My four brothers and their friends devoured these bad boys! I love the thin cookie, and I did skip out on the 1/2 cup of sugar and they tasted just fine and dandy!
Has anyone tried to make a Jumbo version of this cookie? No, i’m not over-indulging in my fantasies! I want to make them as party favors and I thought that they might be nice as one large cookie wrapped in parchment paper with twine instead of a couple small ones. I’m making them tomorrow! I’ll let you know what happens. There are 38 guests, so I was thinking of just doubling the recipe.