My Madison Bistro

For a few weeks now, I’ve had a craving for Oreos.

I thought about buying some, but I remembered seeing a recipe for the homemade version, and with the Super Bowl coming up, I thought, why not make them for the game?

I could make them a day ahead, leaving gameday for things that had to be done day-of… perfect. These were very easy to make, taste quite a bit like the real deal, and best yet, I could make some with a smaller amount of frosting to make someone else happy, as well as a few overly stuffed with frosting to replicate my beloved Double Stuf.

During the scary moments of last night’s game, these came in handy. They brought with them the comfort of a familiar cookie in a more grown-up version.

You could dunk the cookie or twist it apart. Either way, it made a nice escape from hiding out in the kitchen with your ears plugged and eyes closed (um, that was me) because you couldn’t bear to see or hear something bad happen.

I restrained myself from ducking into my mock turtleneck until the Steelers’ final four downs. I couldn’t sit still long enough during the game to hide under a blanket, so I resorted to imitating a turtle at the end of the game.

I’m very happy with the outcome of the game, terrifying though it was.

What did you think of the commercials? I’m used to tuning out during commercials, so I had to be reminded during most breaks to pay attention.

My absolute favorite was the little Darth Vader. It was cute without resorting to gimmicks, launching it to the top of my list.

I also loved the chimps in the careerbuilder commercial – that was probably my favorite of their commercials thus far. It started out funny with him being parked in, but when the second car crashed into him, I completely lost it.

I thought the Budweiser/Bud Light commercials were disappointing this year, with the exception of the product placement ad; that I found amusing.

And finally, I did enjoy the old-fashioned jail breakout. Well, except for B humming Kenny G for the next five minutes; that I could have done without!

Without trying to rub it in to anyone who is disappointed, I still can’t believe we won!

Homemade Oreos
Adapted from Retro Desserts via Smitten Kitchen

Print Recipe

for the chocolate cookies
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 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar*
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 large egg

for the frosting
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room-temperature
1/4 cup non-hydrogenated vegetable shortening
2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Place oven racks in the middle two racks. Preheat oven to 375*F and line two baking sheets with parchment.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda and powder, salt, and sugar; stir to combine. Using a mixer (hand or stand) on low speed, add the butter in tablespoons, then add the egg until the dough comes together.

Form small balls of dough with a teaspoon and flatten them a bit with the palms of your hands. Place on the baking sheets (about 16-20 per sheet, depending on the size of your cookies). Bake for 9 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Set sheets on a rack to cool. When cool.

To make the filling, beat butter and shortening to combine. Add sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, until blended. Add vanilla, mix to blend. Increase speed to high and whip for 3 minutes until fluffy.

Transfer frosting to piping bag fitted with round tip. Pipe filling onto middle of the flat side of a cookie and match it up with a same-size cookie; press together slightly to distribute the frosting.

Store in airtight container up to a week.

*After reading Deb’s comments, I decreased the amount of sugar used to better replicate the balance of the traditional Oreo. I knew I would be making a few sandwich cookies with a lot of filling (I’m a frosting junkie), so the more bitter chocolate cookie was important to me. I’m happy with the balance I struck.

Tags: chocolate, cookies

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