Oreo cookies.. my homemade :)

It was all started when I found a jar of dark cocoa powder in my kitchen cupboard. Actually I haven't used it, because I bought it accidently. I asked for crunched oreo biscuit but the shop employee gave me a bag of dark cocoa powder. Then I asked my friends what kind of cocoa it is.
After a nice discussion, mba Arfi, challenged us to make for our own homemade oreo. What a great idea. We searching for the recipes, and then tried one of them.

Just a glympse about cocoa powder from Wikipedia.

Cocoa powder : There are two types of unsweetened baking cocoa available: natural cocoa (like the sort produced by Hershey's and Nestlé using the Broma process), and Dutch-process cocoa (such as the Hershey's European Style Cocoa and the Droste brand). Both are made by pulverising partially defatted chocolate liquor and removing nearly all the cocoa butter. Natural cocoa is light in colour and somewhat acidic with a strong chocolate flavour. Natural cocoa is commonly used in recipes which call for baking soda. Because baking soda is an alkali, combining it with natural cocoa creates a leavening action that allows the batter to rise during baking. Dutch-process cocoa is processed with alkali to neutralise its natural acidity. Dutch cocoa is slightly milder in taste, with a deeper and warmer colour than natural cocoa. Dutch-process cocoa is frequently used for chocolate drinks such as hot chocolate due to its ease in blending with liquids. Unfortunately, Dutch processing destroys most of the flavonoids present in cocoa.

I used recipe from Smitten Kitchen. Go to the link, so you can read all the comments and more discussion about the cookies.

Here is the recipe :

Homemade Oreos

Adapted from Retro Desserts, Wayne Brachman

Makes 25 to 30 sandwich cookies

For the chocolate wafers:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa (I mix : 1/4 van houten cocoa + 1/4 dark cocoa)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt (I don't use it)

1 to 1 1/2 cups sugar (I only use 1 cup)

1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) room-temperature, unsalted butter (I use salted butter)

1 large egg

For the filling:

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) room-temperature, unsalted butter

1/4 cup vegetable shortening2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Set two racks in the middle of the oven. Preheat to 375°F.
2. In a food processor, or bowl of an electric mixer, thoroughly mix the flour, cocoa, baking soda and powder, salt, and sugar. While pulsing, or on low speed, add the butter, and then the egg. Continue processing or mixing until dough comes together in a mass.
3. Take rounded teaspoons of batter and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet approximately two inches apart. With moistened hands, slightly flatten the dough. Bake for 9 minutes, rotating once for even baking. Set baking sheets on a rack to cool.
4. To make the cream, place butter and shortening in a mixing bowl, and at low speed, gradually beat in the sugar and vanilla. Turn the mixer on high and beat for 2 to 3 minutes until filling is light and fluffy.
5. To assemble the cookies, in a pastry bag with a 1/2 inch, round tip, pipe teaspoon-size blobs of cream into the center of one cookie. Place another cookie, equal in size to the first, on top of the cream. Lightly press, to work the filling evenly to the outsides of the cookie. Continue this process until all the cookies have been sandwiched with cream. Dunk generously in a large glass of milk.

The texture quite different from original oreo. This one is crunchy and sweet, even I reduced the sugar. Then I go back to the smitten kitchen blog, read it carefully and slowly. That's it! I miss some information there. She said that it is a sweet cookie. If we imagine the taste of original one, the wafers are fairly un-sweet and actually on the slightly salty side, which contrasts with the super-sweetness of the filling.

If we just eat without the filling, the taste is amazing. The flavour of cocoa powder, a little bitter and slightly salty. But according to my taste, if we eat a whole biscuit with a filling, it's still a little bit too sweet. Next time I will reduce much sugar.

Wanna try this by yourself? Come on.. Enjoy the cookie :D

This photo is also my entry for this month theme in Click event organized by Bee and Jai at Jugalbandi. To join the event, this is the LINK.