Tonight, we made homeade peppermint oreo cookies. Ramona, my four-year old daughter, and partner in this blog, has been a bit obsessed with candy canes and so we decided to add a "twist" to the classic oreo recipe from Retro Desserts cookbook written by Wayne Harley Brachman.
Oreos have been around since 1912, when Nabisco created them. They never seem to get old and while everyone has a different way of eating them, most can agree that they are a delightful cookie. Ramona's grandma loves them, her parents are fond of them, and Ramona and her friends go a little crazy for the chocolate cookie with the delightfully creamy center.
I love this recipe because of its simplicity: It's easy to make. It's good. It's made from scratch. And most importantly, my family can all join in and help.
Ramona and I have been baking together for a while and she has become quite adept at cracking eggs and putting in the ingredients to our dishes. She, like almost all 4 year-olds, loves to help and always wants to have a job alongside the adults. While we were making this recipe, she got really involved in crushing the peppermint, cracking the egg, and rolling the dough into balls and supervising her brother in helping. He's only two, but he really felt like he was a part of the cookie making excitement!
Julia Child started learning to cook in preschool, and there is no doubt in my mind that teaching my kids to cook helps them feel good about themselves while teaching them a skill that they will use the rest of their lives! And we have so much fun in the kitchen; sharing jobs, working together and laughing. Ramona gets so excited when something comes out well and she has started asking "Mommy, what's in this?" when she tries a new recipe she has never had before.
Some tips for this recipe:
Use real vanilla. Imitation just is not the same.
Measure out the ingredients ahead of time and ask your child to throw them (well, not really "throw" them -- they would probably take you literally!) into the mixer or the food processor. You can be cleaning up while they are putting the ingredients together!
Recipe makes approximately 12 cookie sandwiches.
For the chocolate wafers:
1 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch processed cocoa
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 plus two tbsp. cup unsalted butter at room temperature
1 large egg
1) Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2) In a food processor, or bowl of mixer, thoroughly mix together the dry ingredients.
3) While on low speed, add the butter.
4) Add the egg.
5) Mix until dough is thoroughly blended.
6) Drop rounded teaspoons of batter onto nonstick cookie sheets.
7) With moistened hands, gently flatten the balls of dough slightly.
8) Bake for 9 minutes and cool on oven rack.
For the Vanilla Cream Center:
2 cups confectioner's sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/3 cup vegetable shortening
2 teaspoons vanilla, preferrably not imitation
1/3 cup crushed peppermint for peppermint cookies, leave out for plain oreo cookies
1) Combine the butter and shortening on low speed.
2) Slowly add the powdered sugar.
3) Once you have added the sugar, beat on high until light and fluffy.
These are fun to assemble and you can let your child help make them.
Ramona says, "These cookies are great!".
