black cocoa

a classic chocolate slice and bake cookie made with plenty of caramelised white chocolate, black cocoa and rye flour (optional)

Salted Black Cocoa Sables with Caramelised White Chocolate Chunks

plain flour

wholemeal rye flour

black cocoa powder

tsp baking soda

sea salt

unsalted butter

caster sugar

light brown sugar

tsp vanilla extract

caramelised white chocolate

To make the cookie dough sieve the flours, cocoa powder and baking soda into a large bowl, pushing any lumps of cocoa powder through the sieve. I avoid sieving unless necessary and this is one of those time. Cocoa powder often forms little lumps so it’s always important to sieve it unless you want little dry pockets throughout your recipe. Add the salt and whisk everything together.

Place the butter and sugars into the bowl of an electric stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, and on medium speed beat tother for about 2-3 minutes just until smooth and creamy (you can do this with an electric hand mixer too if you want). We don’t want to beat lots of air into the butter we just want to make it soft enough that the flour mixture combines easily so don’t overdo it at this stage. Add the vanilla and mix briefly to combine.

Turn the mixer off and pour in the flour mixture. We don’t want to make a huge mess and have a cloud of flour and cocoa powder cover every surface in your kitchen so cover the bowl of the mixer with a kitchen towel and then gently pulse the mixer on and off just to get the flour combined a little before turning the mixer to low to mix it in properly. We want to mix in the flour just until it disappears into the butter but before the mixture forms a ball of dough, it should still look a little crumbly.

Add the chunks of caramelised white chocolate and mix briefly just to distribute. Tip the dough out onto the worksurface and use your hands to briefly bring together as a uniform dough. Cut the dough into two roughly equally sized pieces and set one aside for the moment. Form each ball of dough into a log that is roughly ??cm thick. Roll the log of dough in parchment or clingfilm and refrigerate until firm, about 3-4 hours. Repeat with the second piece of dough.

When ready to bake preheat the oven to 160ºC (140ºC Fan) 325ºF and line a couple baking trays with parchment paper. Unwrap one of the logs of dough and use a sharp knife to cut into slices about 1/2 an inch, just over a cm, thick. Place them onto the prepared baking trays leaving just a little space between. The cookies will spread but not significantly. Sprinkle each with a little extra flaked sea salt, unless you are one of those people that have sent me angry emails about your hatred of salt being sprinkled onto cookies you guys can leave it off and stop emailing me. Bake in the preheated oven for 14 minutes. The cookies wont look done, they’ll be incredibly dark so you cant use visual clues and if you press them they’ll feel too soft but trust the process, as the cookies cool they crisp up leaving you with a wonderful sable texture. Sable is French for sand and these cookies should have a slightly crumbly, almost shortbread like texture.

Kept in a sealed container these cookies will keep for about 4-5 days.

Almost Oreos™ - Home Made Oreo Cookies are just the cookie for Halloween.  Black cocoa is the ingredient that takes these to  a higher level of chocolate and makes them taste just like Oreos!

Almost Oreos™ with Black Onyx Cocoa

all-purpose flour (175 grams)

black cocoa* (65 grams)

salt

granulated sugar (225 grams)

vanilla extract

sugar

coca

sugar (285 grams)

unsalted butter (114 grams)

vanilla

gel food coloring

Line several half sheet pans with parchment paper and set aside.

Sift the flour, cocoa, and salt together.  Set aside.

Beat the butter and granulated sugar together until light. Add the egg and vanilla, beating to combine. If it curdles, increase the speed of the mixer and continue beating.  Don&#39;t worry if remains curdled. See my post  How to Avoid Curdled Batter.

Add the flour mixture and beat to combine, scraping down the sides of the bowl several times.

Refrigerate the dough for about 1 1/2 hours or up to 3 days.  If hard, let it sit at room temperature to make it scoopable.

Preheat the oven to 325°F.

Using a #60 disher/scooper or a tablespoon of dough per cookie, scoop the dough about 3 cookies at a time. Roll between your hands into balls and place them 3 across and 5 down on the prepared baking pans.

Do not shape too many balls at once or they will soften to the point of not being able to be embossed. To emboss them, dip the end of a food processor plunger into granulated sugar and flatten the balls to about 1/8&quot; thickness.The first couple of cookies may stick to the plunger. Just carefully peel them away. Chill briefly to firm them if necessary. As the plunger gets sticky the sugar will adhere to it and not to the cookie; simply wipe, re-dip, and continue embossing. If you are not embossing them, flatten them with the bottom of a glass, dipping it in sugar as above.

If the balls are too cold they will splay at the edges. Let them sit for a minute or so and they will be fine. It doesn&#39;t matter if they splay because they will taste just as good.

Place the cookies 3 across and 5 down on the sheet pans.

Double pan and bake for 20 to 22 minutes until completely set with no soft spots. It is very important to double pan or the cookies will burn on the bottom.

Yield:  About 60 cookies.

Almost Oreos™ Chocolate Cookies

Place the sugar, butter, and vanilla in the bowl of a mixer and beat until combined. Continue beating to increase the volume and make it fluffy. If tinting more than one color, divide the filling and stir in the color. If tinting the entire batch, add it at the end of beating.

Match the cookies by size and shape and turn 30 upside down. Put the less attractive cookies on the bottom. Using a #60 disher/scooper or 1 tablespoon measure, drop a ball of buttercream in the middle of one cookie.

Place another cookie, right side up, on top of the buttercream and gently press down to bring the butter cream to the edge of the cookie. If the buttercream is too stiff to move out, add a bit of milk to loosen it and test on another cookie. If too loose, add powdered sugar to tighten it. Continue with all of the cookies.

Let them sit at room temperature so the buttercream can set up. Store them in an airtight container where they will last for a week.

Yield:  30 sandwiched cookies.

Filling for the Cookies

I’ve made this recipe multiple times.  It is really a wonderful cookie.   I’ve used the filling recipe in numerous other cookies as well.

This homemade oreo cookie recipe is my version of the classic treat. With dense, dark cocoa cookies and a thick vanilla creme filling, these cookies capture all the familiar flavor with a fresher, richer taste. I set out to match the ingredients of the originals as closely as possible, so these are also egg-free, dairy-free, and completely vegan. Satisfy your urge for these iconic cookies with this straightforward version, created entirely from scratch using familiar ingredients.

Oreo Cookies

all purpose flour (sifted)

corn starch (sifted)

cocoa powder (Dutch process, sifted)

black cocoa powder (sifted (*see notes below))

½ teaspoon baking soda (sifted)

½ teaspoon kosher salt (Diamond Crystal)

½ teaspoon cream of tartar (sifted)

palm shortening (room temperature (I use Spectrum brand))

granulated sugar

(20 mL) corn syrup (light)

vanilla extract (for authentic Oreo flavor)

(10 mL) corn syrup (light)

2.5 mL imitation vanilla extract (for authentic Oreo flavor)

powdered sugar (sifted)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (177° Celsius, Gas mark 4) with a rack in the center of the oven.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, corn starch, cocoa powders, baking soda, salt and cream of tartar. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat palm shortening and sugar together on medium-low until well combined. Scrape bowl down several times between mixing to fully incorporate ingredients.

Add corn syrup and vanilla. Mix on medium speed until fully incorporated. Scrape bowl.

Add dry ingredients and mix on low speed for about 1 minute. Scrape bowl and paddle well, and mix on low until dough comes together, about 30 seconds to 1 minute.If your dough doesn&#39;t come together when it&#39;s fully mixed, use your hands to squeeze it together into clumps. Working the dough just a bit will help warm up the palm shortening enough for the dough to bind into one large ball.

Gather dough together and divide into 2 equal portions. Working with smaller portions of dough means you’ll extract more usable cutouts from each roll. This reduces re-rolling, which can activate more gluten and make the dough tougher. It can also lead to air in the dough, which creates bubbles when baked.

Roll one portion between two sheets of parchment paper until ⅛ inch (3 mm) thick. I use pastry guides to ensure precise thickness. Remove top layer of parchment.

Use a round cookie cutter to cut cookies into 1¾ inch (4.5 cm) circles. Use a small offset spatula to transfer cutouts to parchment lined baking sheet.The cookies will not spread - they can be placed quite close together. I can fit about 30-35 cookies on a half sheet pan.

Bake one pan at a time for 11 minutes. Fully cool cookies on baking sheet.If a few of the cookies have bubbly tops, gently press them down with the bottom of a measuring cup. Press gently, don&#39;t compress the cookies. They should flatten back out.

Gather scraps into a ball and roll again until all dough has been used.

Repeat with second portion of dough.

To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add shortening, corn syrup, vanilla and salt.

Mix on medium speed until fully incorporated, scraping bowl as needed to ensure ingredients are well combined.

Add powdered sugar and corn starch. Begin mixing at low speed, then increase speed to medium and mix until filling begins to form small clumps.

Scrape bowl and paddle well. Continue mixing on low speed until filling pulls together into a ball.

Oreo Filling

Using a #110 scoop or a teaspoon, scoop a leveled amount of filling out of the bowl. Using your hands, roll it into a small ball. It should weigh 5 grams. Standard Oreo cookies have about 4 grams of filling per cookie. I prefer a bit more filling, so I&#39;ve bumped it up to 5 grams per cookie.

Turn a cookie upside down and place the ball of filling in the center. Place another cookie right-side-up on top of the filling and press gently.

Pick the cookie up and turn it sideways so you can see the filling (this will help you press the filling evenly.) Gently press using both hands until the filling is the same thickness as one of the cookies. It won&#39;t quite extend to the edges.

Repeat process until all cookies are filled.

Assembly

Help, Kathleen! My dough is not coming together.  It's more like cookie crumbs.  I carefully measured EVERYTHING according to the recipe.  Any suggestions? Should I add more Palm shortening or will that make them spread?
Thanks!
Kim

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