this recipe for homemade oreos is from chef thomas keller of the french laundry & bouchon bakery in yountville [home of the best pistachio parisian macarons ever!]. these cookies, also known as TKOs [thomas keller oreos], were a process to make, but every step was worth it in the end! the dough was a bit challenging for me [i’m not very good at rolling dough], but i loved cutting out each cookie and eventually sandwiching them together for a gourmet version of the traditional oreo.

the cookies have an intense dark chocolate flavor and a salty bite from the healthy amounts of cocoa powder + salt in the recipe. the wafers are really tasty on their own, but once the filling is squashed in the middle of the two cookies...mmm, perfection!

i loved making these cookies, even with all the steps...now i really want to try one of the real TKOs...

[cubed butter + vanilla beans]

[fluted rounds + cut out dough]

[stacks of wafers + dollop of cream ]

[milk + cookies]

{recipe from essence of chocolate::recipes for baking and cooking with fine chocolate}

::filling::

1/2 cup heavy cream

8 ounces white chocolate, finely chopped

::cookies::

1 1/2 cups + 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup + 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

15 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 3/4 inch cubes, at room temperature

FOR THE FILLING, bring the cream to a boil in a small saucepan. Remove from heat and add the white chocolate. Let stand for a minute, then whisk to melt the chocolate until smooth. Transfer to a small bowl, and let stand for 6 hours to thicken up [can also be put into refrigerator to speed up process].

{note :: i added half a vanilla bean to my filling.}

PREHEAT the oven to 350 degrees. 

LINE two sheet pans with parchment paper.

COMBINE the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in an electric mixer. With the mixer on low, add the butter a few pieces at a time. Let the dough continue mixing until it comes together.

TURN the dough out onto a floured working surface and work into a solid block. Divide the dough into two pieces [I divided mine into four pieces because I didn’t have a huge work space].

ROLL out each piece of dough between two sheets of parchment paper or plastic wrap to 1/8 inch thickness. Using a two-inch cookie cutter, cut out rounds and place on the sheet pans about 1 inch apart [cookies will spread just a bit in the oven].

BAKE the cookies for about 12 to 15 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through the baking time. Remove from the oven and let cool on the pans for a few minutes before transferring to cooling racks [cookies will be too soft to move at first].

TO ASSEMBLE, place half the cookies upside down on a work surface. Mix the filling lightly to fluff it up and make it spreadable. Using a small spoon, scoop a small dollop of filling onto the center of each cookie. Top with another cookie right side up, and press together until the filling spreads out to the edges.