Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Homemade Oreo's- so worth it

For the Fourth of July this year I knew I wanted to bake something, I just wasn't sure what. After a little thought I realized that this would be the perfect occasion to attempt the homemade Oreo's in Joanne Chang's cookbook (I have been on a bit of a kick, obviously!)

After some issues with not fully reviewing the Coconut Cream Pie recipe all the way through, I made sure to look this one over very carefully! So, I knew that the first step did require some refrigeration, but also there was a helpful overnight hint from Joanne to take advantage of.

Setting off, I gathered all the ingredients for the Oreo crust.


The necessities....

Flour
Sugar
Chocolate chips
Salt
Egg
Cocoa powder
Vanilla
Butter
Baking soda

I first mixed together all the dry ingredients and set aside the bowl for later.


Next I melted the butter and whisked it with the sugar. Once that was combined I added the vanilla.


Meanwhile, I was melting the chocolate chips in the microwave, and once they were fully melted and cooled, I added the melted chocolate to the other wet ingredients.


Once all added, I gave everything a good whisk to make sure it was thoroughly combined.


Slowly, I started to added the flour mixture to the melted chocolate and other wet ingredients.


Once all added I used a wooden spoon to ensure that the flour mixture was fully incorporated.


At which point I dumped the batter onto a large sheet of wax paper.


I formed the batter into a long log by rolling the dough in the wax paper.


Once the log was formed I put it in the fridge and allowed it to cool for about 15 minutes and then rolled it up again, preventing it from settling. After repeating this process for the next two hours, the log of dough was nicely rounded and fully chilled, so I let it sit in the fridge overnight rather than continuing onto the next step.


With a good night's sleep behind me, I set out the next morning onto the next stage of the Oreo process. First I took the chilled log out of the fridge and began slicing it into quarter inch thick pieces.


I laid each piece onto a parchment lined cookie sheet and baked them until they were firm to the touch. Since they are dark it is hard to tell just by looking!


While these cookie shells were cooling, I started on the cream filling.


The cream was fairly straight forward. I added the butter to the mixer and started to whip it a bit. Then I added the sugar and vanilla. Once smooth, in went the milk and a pinch of salt.


Once completely smooth it was done! Next time I make this I would double the cream filling just to be able to add a little extra to each cookie (I guess this would turn this recipe into "Homemade Double-Stuffed Oreos"?).


When the cookie was cool I spread about a tablespoon onto each cooked, mushed it around a bit and sandwiched two rounds together.


These cookies looked and tasted so good! They were such a great treat for the group coming that evening, and needless to say they were VERY well received!

Once we finished preparing everything we headed out to the roof deck to enjoy the sunshine. Anyone who was in Boston that day knows it was a beautiful day for a get-together on the roof deck, but knowing it was the Fourth made it even better.


The hill was looking lovely, but Holly was also taking in the sunshine!



Usually each year someone always manages to snag a photo of the fly-over. Managing to do so is pretty amazing because they are so quite on approach you hardly expect it, but once overhead a COMPLETELY different story.



After enjoying some lovely treats and drinks, it was time for the show.



The fireworks were once again fantastic! And, this year I was finally able to get some decent pictures of them!









After a while I wanted to enjoy the fireworks without the lens and put down the camera. Needless to say it was a great show! This year someone was kind enough to bring a radio, so we were able to hear the Boston Pops, which only added to the fun.

It was another successful Fourth of July! I cannot wait for the next one - hopefully the weather holds out just like this year!

4 comments:

  1. The oreos look awesome! And I love your fireworks pictures.

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  2. awesome job on the oreos. great firework shots. someone brought a radio up to my deck too, it makes all the difference to have the soundtrack!

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  3. These Oreos look so good and, if they're anything like those sold at Flour, really addictive!

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  4. Nice job on the oreos! You're right- a perfect treat for the 4th!

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