Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

I have a tutorial planned for today, but I'm a little behind on that particular project. Here is a little teaser:



I will explain more on Thursday, but in the meantime, let's make some cookies!

During the summer months, when I finally have my kids at home. I try to do lots of mommy stuff...including baking lots of cookies. There is plenty of snacking going on with 3 boys home all day, and I refuse to let them eat Oreos and chips all day long. Why not sneak in some fiber while I'm at it?

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

* 1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening
* 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
* 3/4 cup sugar
* 3/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
* 2 eggs
* 1 3.4-ounce package vanilla instant pudding mix (secret ingredient!)
* 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 teaspoon water
* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1 cup old-fashioned oats
* 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
* 1 12-ounce package semisweet chocolate chips (I used 6 oz. chips and 6 oz. grated semi-sweet chocolate to get lots of little flecks throughout the cookie)
* 1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts (I did not add nuts)


Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter heavy large cookie sheets. Beat vegetable shortening and unsalted butter in large bowl until light. Gradually add white and brown sugars and beat mixture until fluffy. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla pudding mix, vanilla extract, baking soda, water, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg and salt and mix until well blended. Mix in oats, then flour. Stir in chocolate chips and walnuts.

Drop cookie dough by large rounded spoonfuls (about 3 tablespoons each) onto prepared cookie sheets, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake until cookies appear dry and tops are lightly cracked and soft when pressed, about 12 minutes (do not overbake). Cool cookies 5 minutes on cookie sheets. Transfer cookies to racks and cool. (Store cookies in airtight container.) **Recipe: Bon Appetit, March 1992**



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Homemade Oreos!

I found this recipe on Smitten Kitchen and they are delicious! I used the full amount of sugar and thought they were overly sweet, though. I noted in the recipe to reduce the sugar.

Homemade Oreos
Retro Desserts, Wayne Brachman

Makes 25 to 30 sandwich cookies

For the chocolate wafers:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 to 1 1/2 cups sugar [I recommend going with 1 cup)
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) room-temperature, unsalted butter
1 large egg

For the filling:

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) room-temperature, unsalted butter
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Set two racks in the middle of the oven. Preheat to 375°F.

2. In a food processor, or bowl of an electric mixer, thoroughly mix the flour, cocoa, baking soda and powder, salt, and sugar. While pulsing, or on low speed, add the butter, and then the egg. Continue processing or mixing until dough comes together in a mass.

3. Take rounded teaspoons of batter and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet approximately two inches apart. With moistened hands, slightly flatten the dough. Bake for 9 minutes, rotating once for even baking. Set baking sheets on a rack to cool.

4. To make the cream, place butter and shortening in a mixing bowl, and at low speed, gradually beat in the sugar and vanilla. Turn the mixer on high and beat for 2 to 3 minutes until filling is light and fluffy.

5. To assemble the cookies, in a pastry bag (or squeeze it through the snipped corner of a ziploc baggie) with a 1/2 inch, round tip, pipe teaspoon-size blobs of cream into the center of one cookie. Place another cookie, equal in size to the first, on top of the cream. Lightly press, to work the filling evenly to the outsides of the cookie. Continue this process until all the cookies have been sandwiched with cream.

Mmmmm, just begging for a glass of milk...