The Best Sandwich Cookies Are Homemade - My Faux-reo Recipe Share

There is something about a chocolate sandwich cookie filled with sweet vanilla cream.... it just begs for a glass of ice-cold milk.

I know. I always feel guilty buying cookies in the store. So full of preservatives it kinda sucks the fun right out of the pleasure of dunking a cookie. I don't buy things like chocolate chip cookies because they are just so easy to make, but I have never taken the time to make a good sandwich cookie substitute. Being pregnant I have been taken by a few of these odd food challenges lately.

I have to admit they weren't that bad to make.

Yes, there is a bit more baking involved. Twice the cookies for half the satisfaction. But, I love knowing what is in each cookie. And fresh and homemade just tastes better.

The best part was definitely spending some time baking with my daughter. Mixing is her favorite part. At almost 4, she is pretty good at keeping all the dry ingredients in the bowl. I don't mind a kitchen mess, I make plenty of my own, but it does affect the recipe outcome if you loose too much.

This is a very soft and tender cookie dough. It needs to be well chilled and even then I had sticking issues. Now, adding more flour would just make them tougher so instead I rolled them out on a piece of wax paper with another sheet on top. Worked like a dream.

Pair these little beauties with your favorite vanilla buttercream recipe, I go with a traditional butter, milk, vanilla and powdered sugar one, and fill to your heart's content. I like mine really full. What about you?

Chocolate Sandwich Cookies (Faux-reos!)
adapted from My Kitchen Addiction

You Will Need:

• 1 c. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 c. sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 tsp. real vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp. chocolate extract
• 2 c. all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
• 3/4 c. unsweetened dutch process cocoa
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 3/4 tsp. salt

For the filling:

• 1/2 c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 Tbsp. milk
• a pinch of salt
• 1 tsp. real vanilla extract
• 3 1/2 c. powdered sugar, sifted

Start with the cookie dough. In a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar till fluffy. Add the egg and extracts till just incorporated.

In a large bowl whisk together the dry ingredients. Add to the mixer all at once and on low, incorporate the wet and dry mixtures. Scrape down the bowl once or twice while mixing.

Chill the dough in disks in the refrigerator. This is a pretty soft dough so I chose to split the dough into fourths and chill thin disks that would require very little rolling. Chill for an hour or overnight.

When the dough is ready, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

On two floured sheets of wax paper roll out the dough in between to about 1/4" thickness. Work quickly with one disc at a time so the dough doesn't get too warm. Cut out cookies with a cookie or biscuit cutter. I chose a 2 1/8" rippled biscuit cutter and my baking times reflect that size cookie.

Bake for 10-11 minutes. Cool slightly on the baking sheet and then transfer to a cooling rack till they are completely cool.

Make the filling when your cookies are completely cool so it doesn't melt. Place the butter, milk, salt and vanilla extract in a stand mixer and beat till fluffy. Slowly add the powdered sugar till you reach a desired consistency for your filling. I like mine to be firm, but still spreadable. You can always soften it with more milk if necessary. I used a cake decorating small offset spatula to spread filling between my cookies. Enjoy with a big glass of milk!

Have a great week!