Homemade Double Stuf Oreos

I went to see the movie, The Vow, last night and I woke up this morning feeling like I just went through a break-up. Post-movie, my friend Miranda and I were wondering why, as girls, we put ourselves through such heart-wrenching films. But on the bright side, Channing Tatum is pretty damn perfect in it, and we had some Homemade Double Stuf Oreos and a large popcorn to cry into.

This is one of my favorite recipes from Smitten Kitchen. I learned from the first time I made this recipe, that the chocolate wafers do get quite big in the over, so you want to make the dough balls quite small when you put them onto the sheet. I also add a cup more icing sugar to the cream recipe, so I can make my oreos, double stuf. I was planning to make a variation and create a peanut butter filling for my oreos, but realised too late that I didn't have enough smooth peanut butter at home, so next time! The recipe makes quite a lot of cookies, so I even have enough left-over to take to share with one of my classes for Valentine's Day tomorrow :)

Homemade Oreos (from Smitten Kitchen, with variation to make them Double Stuf)
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 [see recipe note]
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 (plus one more cup if you want to make the oreos a double)
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 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. Dunk generously in a large glass of milk.