homemade oreos

Oreos are the quintessential childhood cookie. My childhood affair with this bittersweet chocolate sandwich started in Rockport, Texas at my grandparents' house. My grandfather, the sugar tooth of all sugar tooths (he's responsible for me considering ice cream its own food group!), would buy oreos by the case from Sam's. Wrapped up in "individual servings," each package held a whopping six cookies, and of course, I was never one to complain.

After a long, sunny afternoon of swimming in the canal, we would anxiously open those oversized packages of oreos and dig in with our wet, salty fingers. No milk required. (We drank Big Red, after all!)

I am too many miles from my grandparents and their generously stocked pantry of king sized treats from Sam's, but I can relive those memories all the same and please my grown up tastes buds as well with these homemade oreos.

Recipe: Retro Desserts, Wayne Brachman via Smitten Kitchen.


My notes on the recipe:

-I only used 1 cup of sugar (as opposed to 1 1/2). Regardless if using these cookies with the listed icing or instead for something like ice cream sandwiches, I would not add the additional 1/2 cup of sugar. They were plenty sweet.

-I didn't find that I needed to turn the cookie sheet half-way through the baking time to "ensure even baking." Mine came out perfect without turning.

-Do not overbake! The cookies looked very undercooked at the recommended 9 minutes cooking time, so I left them in an extra 3. I had to throw that batch out! They tasted only the slightest bit burned, but the cookies were easily broken and crumbly, problematic when it comes to icing!

-The batter is slightly crumbly (but sticks together) so I took a teaspoon's worth and rolled it in a ball, then flattened with the bottom of a small glass. Not only did it get the dough to stick, it made all of the cookies uniform in size.

-Let the cookies cool completely on the parchment paper. They will seem underbaked, but will harden up within about 5 minutes. It's not a soft cookie, but more of a shortbread texture.

-The icing was thick and did not need to be piped. I was able to use an off-set spatula with ease.

-No Big Red in Seattle, so milk was a must! :-)