Chocolate Sugar Cookies - Homemade Oreos

Chocolate Sugar Cookies

• • 1 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

  • 1 cup granulated sugar

  • 1 egg

  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour

  • 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I prefer Hershey's Special Dark)

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Notes:

• 1. These cookies bake up soft and chewy, just be sure not to over-bake them - this can be difficult with a chocolate cookie, since you can't watch the color for browning. Instead, look at the texture of the dough; when done, it should no longer look wet.

  2. Be sure to read Sweetopia's post - she discusses tips and methods used in this recipe which helps the cookies keep their shape and not spread.

  3. I used Hershey's Special Dark cocoa powder, as that's what I usually have on hand since it's my preferred cocoa powder for both chocolate cakes and buttercream, and it gives these cookies the classic black color of Oreos, but you can use your favorite unsweetened cocoa powder.

  4. I filled them with about a cup of my Perfect Buttercream. Because the consistency is what I use for frosting cakes, it will squish out a little when you bite into the cookies. If you want a stiffer filling, just beat in more powdered sugar, which of course will result in a sweeter filling.

  5. For Oreos, an embossed rolling pin dusted in cocoa powder and rolled over the dough before cutting the shapes gives the tops of the cookies a beautiful finish. If you don't have one, don't worry, they'll still look great.

In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar for about a minute, until fully incorporated, scraping the bowl down several times. Beat in the egg and vanilla and scrape the bowl down again. Add the flour, cocoa powder and salt; mix on low, just to combine. If any dry ingredients remain, dump the dough out onto a piece of parchment paper and bring it together with your hands to incorporate the rest of the dry ingredients.

Lay another piece of parchment paper over the top of the dough, and roll it out to between 1/4 and 1/8 inch thick, trying to keep the dough an even thickness everywhere. Place on a baking sheet and refrigerate for about an hour.

After chilling the rolled dough, cut out your shapes, and place on a parchment lined baking sheet, 1-2 inches apart. Re-roll and cut all the scraps. Refrigerate the cut cookies for another hour before baking.

Bake at 350, anywhere from 7-12 minutes, depending on the size of your cookies (mine are two inches, and I baked them for 7 minutes). Cool on the pan for one minute before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely before filling.

Yields 44 2-inch cookies (22 Oreos)

Filling piped with #199 tip

Cookie Recipe from Sweetopia