I had never really considered making my own Worcestershire
sauce, corn chips, Ritz crackers, or Oreo cookies until the people at America’s
Test Kitchen sent me their D.I.Y
Cookbook. Ever since it arrived, I've been enamored with the recipes
inside. Imagine, I can make my own Nutella, wine vinegar, and American cheese. Who knew!
Recipes from America’s
Test Kitchen are wonderful to use. They are researched and tested to find just
the right steps and ingredients for a positive outcome. I don’t always follow what is written (we
food writers are always changing something), but the recipes are a great place
to start cooking.
I've posted before about the book’s
giardiniera recipe. This time I decided to try making homemade Oreo cookies.
The original recipe calls for using 1/4 cup of black cocoa
powder and 2 tablespoons of Dutch-processed cocoa. I tried, but I couldn't find
black cocoa powder in the store and I didn't want to wait for a mail-order
delivery, so I used all of the later. You can get black cocoa powder from the
King Arthur Flour Company or use
Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa powder.
The cookies tasted great and very much like Oreos. Actually
I think they taste even better since they’re made with ingredients in my own
pantry and not with ones would never use.
Now I just have to figure out which recipe to try next!
Chocolate Sandwich Cookies
Adapted from The
America’s Test Kitchen D.I.Y. Cookbook
Makes approximately 40 cookies
For cookies:
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons Dutch-processed cocoa
1/2 teaspoon instant espresso powder
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg yolk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
For filling:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
2 tablespoons vegetable shortening
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

To make the cookies: (Don’t preheat the oven yet. The dough
has to chill first.) In a small bowl, whisk together the melted butter, cocoa powder, and espresso powder until smooth.
Pour the butter-cocoa mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer.
Beat in the softened butter, sugar, and salt until fluffy, occasionally
scraping down the sides of the bowl. Beat in the egg yolk and vanilla until
combined, and then add the flour in three batches, mixing well after each. Mix
until the dough forms a ball.
Divide the dough in half. Roll each half into a 6-inch log
that is about 1 1/2-inches thick. Wrap each log in plastic wrap and chill in
the refrigerator for 1 hour until firm.
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and line two baking sheets
with parchment paper. Remove a log from the refrigerator and, using a sharp
knife, slice into 1/8-inch circles. Place the circles onto the cookie sheets
1/2-inch apart. Repeat for the second log.
Bake the cookies until firm on the edges and only leaving a
slight indentation in the center when gently pressed with a finger, about 14 to
16 minutes. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, and then place
them on a cooling rack to cool completely.
To make the filling: With a mixer, beat together the filling
ingredients until combined. Increase the mixer speed to medium-high and beat
until light and fluffy.
To make the cookies: On a work surface, place half the
cookies upside down. Place 1/2 teaspoon of filling onto each cookie, and then
top with a second right-side-up cookie. Squeeze gently to spread the filling
evenly throughout the cookie. Store in an airtight container.