Oreos are by far my favourite store-bought cookie. I am a fan of prying them apart and licking the cream insides out (if they're fresh, I lift the cream out and eat it all by itself), but there are a hundred ways to eat them. But Oreos are one of those things that you just feel completely guilty eating: what's in them except processed sugar?

So I decided I was going to make my own. Forget double-stuff Oreos, I'm going quadruple. I found a recipe for chocolate wafers on Smitten Kitchen and then just made basic butter icing for the cream filling. The wafers are crispy and delicious, but if you leave them with the icing over night they will soften a little bit. Apparently they work very well as ice cream sandwiches, too!

Chocolate Wafers

1 ½ cups (6.75 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
¾ cup (2.4 ounces) unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon baking soda
14 tablespoons (1 ¾ sticks) unsalted butter, slightly softened
3 tablespoons whole milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Method

1. Combine the flour, cocoa, sugar, salt, and baking soda in the bowl of food processor and pulse several times to mix thoroughly. Cut the butter into about 12 chunks and add them to the bowl. Pulse several times.


2. Combine the milk and vanilla in a small cup. With the processor running, add the milk mixture and continue to process until the mixture clumps around the blade or the sides of the bowl. Transfer the dough to a large bowl or a cutting board and knead a few times to make sure it is evenly blended.


3. Form the dough into a log about 14 inches long and 1 ¾ inches in diameter. Wrap the log in wax paper or foil and refrigerate until firm, at least one hour, or until needed.


4. Position the racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Cut the log of dough into slices a scant ¼-inch thick and place them one inch apart on the sheets (cookies will spread). Bake, rotating the baking sheet from top to bottom and back to front about halfway through baking, for a total of 12 to 15 minutes. The cookies will puff up and deflate; they are done about 1 ½ minutes after they deflate.


5. Cool the cookies on racks. These cookies may be stored in an airtight container for up to two weeks or be frozen for up to two months.

Note: These cookies should crisp as they cool. If they don't, you're not baking them long enough — in which case, return them to the oven to reheat and bake a little longer, then cool again.

Buttercream Icing

1 cup softened butter
Approximately 1 pound icing sugar
1 tablespoon of milk (more as needed)

1. Put the softened butter in a bowl. Sift about a cup of icing sugar into the bowl. Add milk. Mix with a fork until smooth, then continue sifting icing sugar, a cup or so at a time, until the icing reaches the desired consistency. The icing should be very firm in order to hold its shape in the Oreos. If it is too firm or the sugar is not mixing in properly, add a splash of milk as needed. If you find that your icing is lumpy, it's possible that the butter was not soft enough, or you've been adding too much sugar at a time. Continued mixing should smooth it out.


2. Smear a dollop of icing onto cooled cookies with a knife, placing another cookie on top. Place any extra icing in a sealed container and refrigerate. Then try not to eat it.

This icing is also great on cakes and cupcakes, though it should probably be a little softer for those — it should hold peaks and not fall off a knife, but still be very easy to smear.

From the website Smitten Kitchen.

Difficulty Level: Easy