'OREO' Cookies

After a night out with the girls, getting dinner at Homeroom Mac & Cheese Restaurant in Oakland, I was left wanting another one, or two or three, of their homemade Oreo cookies. So, with the help of Martha Stewart (and my husband), I whipped up my first batch of homemade chocolate cream-filled sandwiches. Perhaps the sandwiches I like best.

The original recipe comes from Martha Stewart's Cookies Cookbook, with some of my adaptations based on the versions from Homeroom. With my cookie scoop, they made exactly 2 dozen.

What's in them

For Cookies:

1 1/4 C flour (unbleached of course)

3/4 C unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 C sugar

1 1/4 sticks butter (10 Tbl), unsalted, room temperature

1 large egg, room temperature

sea salt for sprinkling

For Cream Filling:

1/2 C (1 stick) butter, room temperature

1/2 C solid vegetable shortening

3 1/2 C powder sugar

1 Tbl pure vanilla extract

How they are made:

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Line cookies sheets with parchment paper, or silicone mat (I highly recommend the investment).

Sift together dry ingredients (flour, baking soda and powder, salt, cocoa). Set aside.

In a large bowl cream together sugar and butter for about 2 minutes until fluffy. Add egg and mix to combine. On low speed, gradually add dry ingredients until well combined.

Using a 1 1/4 inch ice cream scoop (also known as a cookie scoop), drop dough on sheets at least 2 inches apart, they will double in size. Dip the bottom of a glass (with a flat bottom at least 2 inches wide) in sugar, moistening with water first. Press glass down on cookies to flatten to 1/8 inch thick. Repeat for the rest of the cookies. Sprinkle all the cookies with a tiny bit of sea salt. Bake 8 minutes (or 10 for slightly crispier cookies), rotating halfway through. Let the cookies cool on the rack. Tip: if you want your cookies to come out with clean edges, roll the dough in a ball after you scoop it out with the cookie scoop.

In the meantime, as the cookies bake, make the cream filling. Cream butter and shortening together with an electric mixer (or stand mixer) on low until well combined. Gradually add sugar until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and mix to combine. Set aside.

When cookies are finished baking, using your cookie scoop, scoop out filling onto the bottom of one cookie, then press another cookie onto it, to make a sandwich. You may need to twist them slightly to get even coverage. Repeat for the rest of the cookies. Store in an airtight container for up to two days.

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with White Chocolate Mascarpone Filling

As I first flipped through my copy of Martha Stewart's Cookies and came across a recipe for whoopie pies, my first thought was, "huh?" I'd never heard of such a thing. Apparently they are more of an East Coast cookie. (Rumor has it they started when left over cake batter was baked into cookie size snacks and filled with the extra frosting.) They sure looked good, but I figured that sandwich cookies took too long to make. Amber, on the other hand, gave them a try early on. She seemed to be easily converted to the whoopie pie camp, and she soon posted her experience here.
Ok, I knew I should try them, but it still took me almost a year to bake some myself. I stumbled upon a pumpkin whoopie pie recipe on allrecipes.com that had me at "pumpkin*." I added nutmeg to the spice combination, because freshly grated nutmeg is my new favorite thing. I happened to have some mascarpone cheese on hand and decided to pair it with white chocolate for the filling. The filling ended up being very rich and delicious, but it was a little too subtle for my taste when compared to the spices in the pumpkin cookies. Next time I will try these cookies with a cream cheese filling--I think would stand up to the cookies better. (And because, well, you know how I feel about cream cheese frosting.)

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

~Print Recipe~

• 2 cups packed brown sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups solid pack pumpkin puree
• 2 eggs
• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tablespoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (preferably freshly grated)
• White chocolate mascarpone filling (recipe below) or cream cheese frosting
• Cinnamon powdered sugar (powdered sugar with a little cinnamon stirred in)

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment (or lightly grease them).
2. Combine the oil, brown sugar and vanilla extract. Mix in the pumpkin puree and eggs, beating until combined. 
3. Sift or whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and spices. Stir flour mixture into pumpkin mixture until just combined.
4. Pour batter into a large Ziplock bag. Cut off one corner, so you have a small tip. Swirl batter into desired size onto prepared baking sheets. (Cookies will puff up, but do not spread much at all.) OR, you can drop cookies by heaping tablespoons if you prefer that. 
5. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the cookies are set and golden. Do not under-bake or the final sandwiches will be too sticky. Cool completely on wire racks before filling cookies.
6. Frost the flat side of a cookie and set another cookie on top. Dust serving plate and tops of cookies with cinnamon powdered sugar. (This looks cool and tastes delicious, but it also helps the cookies not stick to each other or the serving plate.)

White Chocolate Mascarpone Filling

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 4 oz. finely chopped white chocolate (or more to taste)
• 8 oz. mascarpone 

1. In a small pan, warm the cream over medium heat. Stir occasionally until cream is hot, but not simmering. 
2. Place chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Pour heated cream over the chocolate. Whisk until the chocolate melts. 
3. Place in an ice bath until chilled, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 4 hours, or up to overnight. 
4. With an electric mixer, combine the mascarpone with half of the white chocolate mixture and whip for 2 minutes. Add remaining chocolate mixture and mix on high until frosting holds a peak.

*In my world, pumpkin never goes out of style or out of season. Don't let pumpkin get relegated to just October and November!

Peanut Butter Whoopie Pies (with traditional filling option)

I have been on a whoopie pie spree lately, and thought I would update this post with some new found wisdom. Everyone seems to love them because they are so silly and different. I included the traditional filling option at the end of this post. This peanut butter chocolate version comes from "Martha Stewart's Cookies" book, thanks for the recommendation, Alexis! Plus, who can resist the name?

These tasty treats are two chocolatey, fluffy cookies with peanut butter cream sandwiched between them. Yum.

Peanut Butter Whoopie Pies

~Print Recipe~

What's in it

For the cookies:

3 1/2 C flour

1 1/2 C unsweetened cocoa powder

1 Tbl baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 sticks (1 C) unsalted butter, room temperature

2 C sugar

2 large eggs

2 C buttermilk, room temperature

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

for the filling:

1 1/3 C natural, creamy peanut butter

1 C (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 1/4 C confectioners sugar

coarse salt

How it's made

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, salt. In a separate large bowl, with an electric mixer beat butter and sugar on med speed until fluffy. Add eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla. Beat until well combined. On low speed, gradually add the dry ingredients. Mix until combined.

2. Drop 1 1/2 Tablespoons of batter onto prepared baking sheets, spacing 2 in. apart. Bake until set, about 8 minutes, rotating halfway through. Cool completely on a wire rack. (I have found using a pastry bag and larger tip makes it much easier to handle the batter, and and makes much more uniform cookie sizes. It's also easier putting the filling on the cookies. See first picture up top versus second picture here.)

3. For filling, beat peanut butter and butter on high speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Reduce speed to low and add confectioners sugar. Mix until combined. Raise speed to high, and mix until fluffy and smooth, about 3 minutes. Season with salt, if desired.

4. Assemble the cookies: Spread 1 heaping Tablespoon filling on the flat side of one cookie,. Sandwich with another cookie. Repeat for all cookies.

Enjoy!

Whoopie Filling Alternative

Traditionally whoopie pies have a marshmallow-y filling, and often are rolled in sprinkles for decoration. I found a recipe and tried it for a bbq, but the filling melted in the 100 degree heat. It would be great for Bay Area weather!

Beat together until smooth:

1/2 C butter softened

1 1/4 C powdered sugar

2 C marshmallow fluff/cream

1 tsp vanilla

Roll in sprinkles for a fun spin.

Molasses Cookie and Pumpkin Ice Cream Sandwiches

Exactly three years ago, I was in Gearhart, a small town on the Oregon coast. (Really small, of maybe a thousand people.) I happened to find a wonderful ice cream shop that served Tillamook ice cream. (Tillamook ice cream is right up there with the best. You've probably heard of Tillamook cheese---their ice cream has a more limited distribution.) I ordered a homemade ice cream sandwich. This was new to me, the idea of homemade ice cream sandwiches---I thought they were limited to the packaged kind with vanilla ice cream. But, of course not! What an easy idea, homemade cookies with ice cream in the middle! What could be better? These particular sandwiches were made with gingersnaps and pumpkin ice cream. I've dreamed about them ever since.

Well, Mark had a coupon for a free pint of ice cream (Dreyer's, not Tillamook, sadly) and we stumbled upon their seasonally available pumpkin ice cream. I knew exactly what to do! After much deliberation, I decided to make Chewy Molasses cookies, from Martha Stewart's Cookies, for my ice cream sandwiches.

Martha Stewart's Cookies, what can I say? I've made dozens of different cookies from this book and they are all delicious. I'm really looking forward to making the Iced Oatmeal Applesauce cookies, Cashew Caramel cookies, Honey Florentines, Lemon Madeleines, Chocolate Waffles, Rugelach...OK, I could go on and on. That's one of the nice things about this book, there are more recipes that I want to make than I have time to make! I have a lot of cookbooks that end up having more recipes that I'm not interested in than the ones I am. Not the case with Cookies.

As you know, I am not a huge fan of the Martha Stewart empire or what she stands for. But, when you make a Martha Stewart recipe, you know it will turn out and it will taste good.

And these Chewy Molasses cookies really did pair well with pumpkin ice cream.

Molasses Cookies
~PRINT RECIPE~

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar.
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar, plus 1/4 cup for rolling
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup unsulfured molasses
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

1. Beat butter, brown sugar and 1/2 cup granulated sugar on medium speed until smooth, about 3 minutes. Mix in the eggs one at a time, followed by the molasses and oil.
2. Reduce speed to low and gradually mix in flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, allspice and salt. Cover dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm---1 hour or up to overnight.
3. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Put remaining 1/4 cup granulated sugar in a bowl. Using an ice cream scoop or a spoon, form balls of dough. (Caution--the dough is extremely sticky!) Roll balls in sugar to coat and space 3 inches apart on parchment lined baking sheets. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until cookies are flat and the centers are set---about 17 minutes. Cool completely on sheets on wire racks.
   

Sandwiches

• Homemade cookies
• Ice cream of your choice

1. Take ice cream out of freezer for a few minutes, until it is soft enough to work with but not melt-y.
   
2. Grab 2 cookies. Place them upside down on a plate. Scoop ice cream on to one cookie until it is thick enough for your liking. Spread the ice cream around so it is level and all the way to the edges.
3. Place second cookie right side up on top of the ice cream and voila! Easy.
   

Carrot Cake Cookie Sandwiches with Cream Cheese Frosting

I came late to carrot cake. As a child, I was of the mind that anything with carrots in it had to be healthy, and therefore not as good as chocolate. I don't remember a specific moment when I realized how wrong I was (about both things), rather it must have been a slow awakening. I'm pretty sure it was the cream cheese frosting that really won me over.

My favorite carrot cake used to be the little personal cakes from The Upper Crust Bakery in Chico, California. After moving to Portland, my favorite happened to be the vegan carrot cake from Sweet Pea bakery that they sell at New Seasons market. (Go on Friday to make sure they still have some.)
Now, I'd rather just bake my own, whether from my vegan cupcakes to these scrumptious Martha Stewart sandwich cookies. The vegan carrot cake definitely works, but the cream cheese frosting in these cookies happens to be waaay better--the real deal. I present you with my evidence:

The Cookies

• 1 cup unsalted butter, room temp.
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs, room temp.
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour (plus a little more for flattening cookies)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1 1/2 cups finely grated carrots
• 1 cup raisins
• Cream cheese frosting! (recipe below)

1. Beat butter and both sugars in a medium bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy--3 to 4 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until well combined.
2. Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger together. Stir to combine. Add the flour mixture a little at a time to the butter mixture. Mix on low until just blended. Stir in oats, carrots and raisins. Chill until firm, minimum 1 hour.
3. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment. Scoop out dough into balls using a tablespoon. Place two inches apart on the baking sheets (these spread a lot as they bake). Using the lightly floured bottom of a glass, flatten cookies into circles. Try to keep them uniform so your sandwiches will match up.
4. Bake until browned and crisp-- around 12-15 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Spread cream cheese frosting onto the flat sides of half of the cookies, then make sandwiches with the remaining halves.
   

The Frosting

• 8 ounces cream cheese, room temp.
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temp.
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Place cream cheese in a mixing bow. Beat until smooth. Gradually add the butter and beat until well blended. Sift in the powdered sugar and beat until smooth. Stir in vanilla.

* The first batch of frosting I made with my electric mixer, the second with my spoonula. Both worked fine.
* I think these cookies are best the first day when the cookies are a bit crunchy. If you store them, the cookies absorb some of the moisture from the frosting and become softer, more like actual carrot cake.They are delicious both ways.
* I used much more frosting than was called for, since that's the best part.