I became obsessed with Oreos a couple weeks ago. Mindlessly eating them without any enjoyment. When suddenly I remembered my little theory: people tend to over-eat because they’re not cherishing the food on their plate. For example: All it took for me to get the Oreos was a short walk to Target. There was no “work.” On the other hand, we’ll treasure the food we cook because we know the hard work that went into it. And therefore, eat it slower and savor what we put into our body.

I decided to make my own cookies to get over my Oreo fixation. I flipped through online cookbooks and recipes, but nothing really sparked. It was only after hours of research when I realized the answer was right in front of me (literally), in Chang’s Flour Cookbook. For those of you outside of Boston, Flour is a local bakery with the most unbelievable pastries. The owner and original chef, Joanne Chang, has created a wonderful and inspirational company. Plus, they’re slogan, “make life sweeter…eat dessert first,” is just spot on!

Anyways, the recipe is quite easy, but it’s a pretty long process (which might be a good thing, according to my theory). So I got started one amazingly lazy afternoon. Slowly mixing and melting everything so it would come out perfect.

And the did! I was over my Oreo obsession within a small bite! The next day, I brought them to work and they vanished within minutes!

Bring in some homemade Oreos to work one of these days or bake them with a couple friends on a rainy day. Shoot me a comment if you happen to try these out.

Here’s the recipe as it appears in the book!

Cookies

• 1 cup  unsalted butter, melted
• 3⁄4cup  sugar
• 1 teaspoon  vanilla extract
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted
• 1 egg
• 1 1⁄2cups  flour
• 3⁄4cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1⁄2teaspoon  baking soda
• 1 teaspoon  salt

1. In a medium bowl, whisk the butter and the sugar until combined. Whisk in the vanilla and melted chocolate. Add the egg and stir until well blended.
2. In another bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir to blend them. Using a wooden spoon, stir the flour mixture into the chocolate mixture. The finished dough should feel like Play-Doh. Cover the dough with plastic, and set aside for 1 hour or until firm.
3. Place the dough on a long sheet of parchment paper. Use your hands to shape it into a rough log, about 10 inches long and 2 1/2 inches in diameter. Place the log at the edge of the parchment. Roll the parchment around the log. With your hands on the paper, roll the dough into a tighter log, keeping the diameter the same.
4. Refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours, or until it is firm enough to slice without crumbling.
5. Set the oven at 325 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
6. Remove the dough from the paper. Cut the log into 32 slices, each a quarter-inch. Set them on the baking sheets 1 inch apart.
7. Bake the cookies for 20 to 25 minutes, checking them often after 15 minutes, or until they are firm when touched in the center.
8. Cool completely on the sheets.

Filling

• 1⁄2cup  unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon  vanilla extract
• 1 2⁄3cups  confectioners’ sugar, sifted
• 1 tablespoon  milk
• 1 pinch  salt

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter on low speed for half a minute. Add the vanilla and confectioners sugar and beat until smooth.
2. Beat in the milk and salt. The filling will look and feel like spackle.
3. Place 1 tablespoon of filling on the flat side of 16 cookies. Press the remaining 16 cookies on the filling, flat sides against the cream, to evenly distribute the filling.
4. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.