Cookies & Cream Ice Cream Sandwich

There was a battle in my kitchen. The flour won.

Me: 10 Flour: 162
 

Sometimes the flour jumps out of the measuring cup, trying to save itself from being mixed in with the butter and beaten by the beaters. Yeah. Not because I'm messy or anything...

 

Either way, the last time I made these grapeseed oil chocolate cookies, I don't remember having such a flour problem. But I remember them being super good and that's why I decided to use the recipe while making an ice cream sandwich.

 

For the ice cream, I made a recipe from my Mom's Best Recipes cookbook: Oreo Ice Cream.

 

If you make ice cream sandwiches, I highly suggest freezing the ice cream in a tray and then using the end of a shot glass to make perfect circles for the inside of the cookies. This method worked for me and was rather messy and fun.

I brought these to a picnic in a mini cooler with 4 trays worth of ice cubes and they still melted which was so sad. BUT, they still tasted really good and were like eating cookies with milk. :) 

Use this recipe for the cookies, but only put a little bit of dough on a cookie sheet and press it down so the cookies aren't too fluffy for the sandwich ends: grapeseed oil chocolate cookies adapted from cookies & cups

 

Use this recipe for the ice cream: Oreo Ice Cream

 

Once the cookies are cooled and the ice cream frozen, cut out circular shapes from the ice cream by using the top of a shot glass. Place the cut out ice cream in the middle of two like-shaped cookies and lightly smush the ice cream out to the sides of the cookie.

 

Wrap in Saran wrap if not eating right away and store in freezer.

Bake well and prosper!

Homemade Oreos

I've always wondered what homemade versions of processed cookies would taste like. You know...homemade versions of Samoas, Thin Mints, Graham Crackers, Oreos.

 

Now I know since this weekend I made homemade oreos. My taste-testers (fellow singers) said that they tasted like sophisticated oreos. Maybe that's because I used organic and fair trade dark chocolate chips?

Whatever it was, one thing was the same: they went really well with milk!

 

And guess what! Mixing the dough created a mess. Yay! 

Personally, I wasn't a big fan of the cookie part of this recipe. They DID seem to resemble the texture of an Oreo, but I guess I would have preferred a more fudgey cookie.

 

I loved the creamy middle though. Maybe I'll make a whoopie pie with the ingredients from the middle. Mmmm...fudgey cookie whoopie pies...

Homemade Oreos (adapted from Bakerella)
Cookies
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips, melted and slightly cooled
        (Erika's Extras: I used organic, fair trade, dark chocolate chips)
1 egg
1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
        (Erika's Extras: I used Ghiradelli cocoa)
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp baking soda

Filling
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 2/3 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tablespoon milk
Pinch of kosher salt
Food color, optional

• In a large bowl, whisk together the butter and sugar until well combined. Whisk in the vanilla and chocolate. Whisk in the egg until combined.
• In a medium bowl, whisk flour, cocoa, salt and soda until combined. Stir flour mixture into the chocolate mixture. Mixing dough with your hands helps solidify it faster. Let the dough sit for 30 minutes to an hour to firm up.
• Transfer the dough to a sheet of wax paper. Shape into a log about 2 1/2 inches in diameter. Place log along the edge of wax paper and roll. Shape as you roll to maintain a smooth cylinder. (Erika Extras: I found that rolling back and forth quickly in little segments was the most effective.) Refrigerate at least two hours or until firm. (Erika's Extras: I froze mine for 45 minutes since I was in a little bit of a rush. This worked fine.) If log settles and flattens on one side, rotate every 15 minutes or so to maintain a round shape.
• Heat oven to 325 degrees and line baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Cut dough in quarter inch thick slices and place on prepared baking sheet. (Erika's Extras: My cookies baked better without parchment paper.) Bake for about 20 minutes or until cookies are firm to the touch.
• While cookies are cooling, prepare the filling. In a mixer, beat the butter until smooth and creamy. Add sugar and vanilla and beat until smooth. Add milk and salt and continue beating until smooth again. Place about a tablespoon of filling on the bottom of one cookie and sandwich with a second.

Bake well and prosper!

Oreo Brownies

I've seen a lot of Oreo brownies on the web recently. So much so that I had to make them too, naturally! (With double stuffed Oreos of course!)

I decided to go with the Oreo stuffed brownie technique. They were the perfect finger food for a picnic dessert. They also look really cool before cutting into squares.

I hope every one's summer is going well! PS These brownies go well with vanilla ice cream!

Supernatural Brownies (basic brownie recipe from the NY Times - oreo addition from my mind)

2 sticks (16 tablespoons) butter

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate

4 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup dark brown sugar, such as muscovado (Erika's Extra Note: light brown sugar works fine as well)
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup flour
1 bag of double stuffed Oreos

1. Butter a 13-by-9-inch baking pan and line with buttered parchment paper. (Erika's note: This recipe is so buttery I've never needed to use parchment paper.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In top of a double boiler set over barely simmering water, or on low power in a microwave, melt butter and chocolate together. Cool slightly. In a large bowl or mixer, whisk eggs. Whisk in salt, sugars and vanilla.

2. Whisk in chocolate mixture. Fold in flour just until combined.

3. Pour in HALF of the batter into prepared pan. Line batter with Oreos. Pour rest of batter over Oreos and make sure they are completely covered.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until shiny and beginning to crack on top. Cool in pan on rack.

Note: For best flavor, bake 1 day before serving, let cool and store, tightly wrapped.

Bake well and prosper!

Cookies and Cream Fudge

The last time I made fudge (2008) it was kind of a let down.

This recipe was NOT a let down. If you like good tasting and super sweet fudge, THIS is the fudge for you. And since it's super sweet, it's easy to serve tiny pieces which is great for sharing at a party or at the office. (Speaking of which, these were a big hit at my office. People loved them!) 

Cookies and Cream Fudge (from the always lovely cookies and cups) 

3/4 cup butter

2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 cup Marshmallow Fluff
1 t. vanilla
2 cups white chocolate chips
2 cups crushed Oreos (about 30)
1 cup coarsely crushed Oreos (about 15)

Line 9x9 square pan with foil and spray with cooking spray evenly
In a medium saucepan combine butter and sweetened condensed milk.
Heat over medium heat until mixture is boiling, stirring constantly.
Continue to stir while boiling for 2 minutes.
Remove from heat and stir in Fluff, white chocolate chips, vanilla and 2 cups crushed Oreos.
Spread into prepared pan.
Now sprinkle 1 cup coarsely crushed Oreos on top and press gently into fudge.
Chill for 1 hour and cut into squares!

Erika's Extras: I only used a little more than a cup of crushed Oreos in the recipe. Also, to make these less sweet next time, I think I would use a little less sweetened condensed milk. But only a LITTLE less. I also used marshmallows (which I heated in the microwave for 20 seconds) instead of fluff and they still turned out fine.

Bake well and prosper!

It's Fall, Y'all!

Some of you might not realize that it's fall, but it is! (Some of you = people in southern areas...TX, AZ, southern hemisphere...)

Here in NY the trees in Central Park are having a conference on whether to change colors or just drop. Last year they decided to change colors. I hope they vote on that again.

For my friend's birthday party this past weekend I decided to make some treats, but adjust them slightly to incorporate fall colors.

I took out my humble little food processor that says, "Now you see it (the Oreos)..."

"Now you don't."

Hurray for the Humble Little Food Processor That Could!

Those chopped up Oreos were used in this awesome recipe:

Oreo Cheesecake Pretzel Sandwiches (adapted from Rather Be Baking)

Makes 12 pretzel bites

Ingredients:

7 Oreo cookies

1 ounce cream cheese (I used reduced-fat)

24 pretzels (square or tied, it doesn't matter)

Candy coating - melted (your choice of colors. I used red, yellow, and then mixed some red and yellow with orange to make a delightful fall orange.)

Place Oreos into a food processor and process until finely ground. Mix Oreo crumbs and cream cheese until dough forms. (Erika's Extra: I found it easier to mix with hands.) Pinch about half a tablespoon of dough and form into a little square. Place onto pretzel then gently press top pretzel to close. Top with melted candy coating. (Add toppings like white sprinkles or coconut, if desired.) Chill until chocolate has hardened and serve. Store any leftovers in the refrigerator or freezer.

Bake well and prosper!