I guess technically I should call these “Chocolate Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies” as not to upset the Nabisco Corporation, but you know … they are homemade oreos (wink wink). Anyway, I’ve had the Oreo Jingle going through my head for some inexplicable reason for a week now. Strange how the brain works, eh? So, I was enticed to make these here peanut butter versions of the classic oreo. Using the Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa makes them even more oreo-like (even though I guess I normally wouldn’t use Hershey’s cocoa powder for baking). At any rate, great for packing in a lunch box for the kiddos towards the end of the school year or for camp this summer. Make all the other kids jealous.
Ingredients
for the cookies
2/3 cup Hershey’s Special Dark unsweetened cocoa powder
(you can use regular unsweetened but they won’t be as “Oreo” like)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup butter, softened to room temperature
1 1/3 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 large egg
for the filling
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2-3 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
Directions
Preheat oven to 350F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper or silpat.
In a medium bowl, whisk together cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, and flour. Set aside.
In the work bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and both sugars. Mix in egg and vanilla and mix until smooth. Add dry ingredients and mix until combined.
Scoop tablespoon sized balls of dough onto the cookie sheets, leaving a few inches of space between each cookie. Bake for 7-8 minutes until they just lose their glossy sheen. Err on the side of underdone for these cookies; they taste better that way. Remove to cooling racks and let cool completely before filling and making sandwiches.
To make the filling: beat butter and peanut butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix in salt, then slowly beat in powdered sugar. Add vanilla, then 2 tablespoons of cream. Add a third tablespoon of cream as needed for the consistency you want.
Once cookies are cooled, frost half with the frosting and sandwich with the other half. The best way to do this is to place your frosting in a gallon size zip-top bag and cut off one tip. Place a very large squeeze of frosting in the center of the bottom of a cookie, then press the top cookie on top, causing the frosting to spread to the edges.
