Peppermint Oreos
Looking back over the years, I’ve tried to make Oreos a few times. When I first moved into my apartment in Boston after law school, I gave them a go with this recipe. Then, a couple months later, I tried to recreate the Trader Joe’s candy cane Oreos with this recipe for my Christmas cookie boxes. Both seem to have been successes at the time, but they also both pale in comparison to the ones I made for my cookie boxes this year, a much more impressive looking and subtly peppermint variety out of BraveTart’s cookbook, of course.
Christmas for us (as I’m sure it was for all of you) was obviously a little different this year. Erik and I stayed down in DC and zoomed in to a bunch of family calls over the course of the day. I was very grateful for everyone making such an effort to be together in the safest way we could, and also very grateful to have a boyfriend who tried his hardest to make Christmas feel as special and perfect as possible. But I’m definitely looking forward to the holidays next year when we can travel again, and I can be making cookies for a crowd instead of eating far too many cookies ourselves over the course of a couple weeks.
Here’s a picture from the Pickett family Zoom:
Anyways, peppermint Oreos.
I made these over the course of a few days to save time, but it can definitely all be done in one. Start by making the dough. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, sugar corn syrup, baking soda, salt and coconut extract on medium speed until light and fluffy.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour and cocoa powder.
Add to the stand mixer with the mixer running on low a little at a time, beating until dough comes together.
Turn the dough out onto the counter and knead a few times. Then, divide in two and wrap each ball in plastic wrap, flatten into disks, and refrigerate for up to 1 week. Instead of refrigerating, you could just use immediately. If you do refrigerate, be sure to bring to room temperature for 30 minutes before moving to the next step.
When you’re ready to bake, roll the dough out, about 1/4 of it at a time, into a square about 1/4-inch thick. Dust the counter and dough generously with cocoa powder while rolling out. Then, using an embossed rolling pin, roll dough one more time to about 1/8-inch thick (pressing down hard while using the embossed pin will get you there).
I decided I needed a Christmas embossed rolling pin, because my other one is elephants and hearts, which, while adorable, didn’t feel like it belonged in my Christmas cookie box. I used it for Valentines Day cookies a couple of years ago.
Cut the dough into 1-1/2 inch circles (with fluted edges if you have that cookie cutter) and place about 1/4-inch apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. You can gather up the scrap dough and re-roll once, but I wouldn’t use it more than that.
Bake at 350°F for about 15 minutes, until the cookies are firm and dry. Cool completely on the baking sheet.
Once totally cool, make the filling. In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the butter hisses and pops. Then, continue cooking and stirring until the butter falls silent. This may feel like a weird way to cook, but it actually worked well. Strain butter into a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.
Add the vanilla extract, peppermint extract and salt and beat to combine.
Next, add the powdered sugar and beat on low, increasing to medium, and beating until creamy and soft. BraveTart swears you need to use organic powdered sugar for this, given it’s different consistency (which I usually try to avoid using in baking). I tried it here, and can confirm the filling was the right texture at the end.
Transfer the filling into a pastry bag with a 1/2-inch plain tip and use immediately. Pipe the filling onto the plain side of half the wafers. Take a second wafer and press onto the top, twisting while doing so.
Let them set for about 30 minutes. Then, they’ll keep fine at room temperature for about a week.
These are definitely the most true-to-store-bought Oreos I’ve made. The wafers are the perfect texture and the filling is the right kind of creamy, and the cookies themselves even lend themselves to twisting apart. If you want to make them less-Christmassy, just omit the peppermint extract and you’ll have regular Oreos.
Enjoy!
Peppermint Oreos
Ingredients:
Cookies
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup (3.5 ounces) sugar
- 3 tablespoons (2 ounces) light corn syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon coconut extract
- 1 1/4 cups (5.75 ounces) flour
- 1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon (1.25 ounces) Dutch-process cocoa powder
Filling
- 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups (8.5 ounces) organic powdered sugar, sifted
Directions:
Cookies
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, sugar, corn syrup, baking soda, salt and coconut extract on medium speed until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides with a rubber spatula as necessary.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour and cocoa powder. Add mixture slowly to stand mixer running on low speed. Beat until dough comes together.
- Knead dough a few times before dividing into two portions, flattening into disks, wrapping with plastic wrap, and refrigerating for up to a week.
- Prior to rolling out, remove dough from refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature for 30 minutes.
- Roll about 1/4 of the dough out at a time on a surface dusted with cocoa powder until 1/4 inch thick. Use an embossed rolling pin to roll to 1/8 inch thick.
- Cut dough into 1 1/2 inch circles using a fluted round cookie cutter. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper about 1/4 inch apart.
- Bake at 350°F for 15 minutes, until firm and dry. Allow to cool completely on baking sheet.
Filling
- Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until butter begins to his and pop.
- Once it hisses and pops, continue cooking and stirring until it quiets down. Strain into a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.
- Add the vanilla extract, peppermint extract and salt and beat to combine.
- Add the organic powdered sugar and beat on medium speed until creamy and soft.
- Transfer into a piping bag fitted with a plain 1/2 inch tip. Pipe onto flat side of cookies. Sandwich a second cookie on top, twisting while doing so.
- Allow to set for 30 minutes.
