Onboard Oreos
Scott Clark
As featured on Recipe Club's Picnic episode, from Scott Clark’s Coastal.
Time: 45 minutes active; 1 hour 45 minutes total
Special Gear: 2 piping bags and tips
Makes 12 to 16 cookies
Scott's notes/adjustments appear in italics.
Oreos are such a delicious snack, but they’re not big enough. If you make them yourself, they can be twice as large. Baking, creaming, and piping are fun, hands-on techniques, and you get to create something nostalgic, but also give it more beauty and class. Plus, I like recipes that take the mystique out of packaged goods. You’d think you could never make them yourself, and then it turns out to be incredibly straightforward. If you’re boarding a boat, bake the cookies ahead of time and tuck them into a snug airtight container where they won’t jostle and break. Bring the two pastry creams along in piping bags. Dessert is ready onboard as fast as you can cut the bags’ tips and fill your cookies.
Cookies
1½ C [185g] all-purpose flour
¾ C [150g] granulated sugar
½ C [40g] cocoa powder
1½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp baking powder
1¼ tsp kosher salt
10 Tbsp [150g] unsalted butter, cool room temperature, cut into small pieces
1 large egg, room temperature
Pan spray, if needed
1. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, a food processor, or a large bowl with a whisk, mix the flour, granulated sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together until they’re well combined.
2. Add the butter and egg and mix the dough until it just comes together, about 5 minutes.
3. Place a big piece of plastic wrap on a work surface, drop the dough onto it, and form it into a log about 2 in [5 cm] in diameter. Wrap the log, twisting the ends of the plastic to tighten it, and chill the dough for at least 1 hour.
4. Preheat the oven to 375°F [190°C]. Line a sheet pan with a silicone mat or parchment paper; if using parchment, lightly coat it with pan spray.
5. Slice the log into ⅛ in [3 mm] thick cookies and arrange them on the prepared sheet pan 1¾ in [4 cm] apart. Bake them for 8 minutes, then check them by pressing a few with your finger. If the cookies resist denting, they’re done. Repeat with the remaining dough. Cool to room temperature.
Pastry Cream
1 C [226g] unsalted butter, room temperature
2½ tsp vanilla extract
2 C [240g] powdered sugar
½ tsp kosher salt
2 Tbsp black sesame powder*
*Get black sesame powder at a Korean grocery store or online!
1. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, a food processor, or a large bowl with eggbeaters, beat the butter, vanilla, powdered sugar, and salt until light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Do not overmix it. You will see the pastry cream change from glossy to pale, and it will stand up in soft peaks. Stop right then.
2. Place tips inside two uncut piping bags. Transfer half the pastry cream to a piping bag. Transfer the other half to a medium bowl, and with a rubber spatula, fold in the black sesame powder until it’s well incorporated. Transfer the sesame pastry cream to the other piping bag. Holding one piping bag closed at its opening, swing it around to force the pastry cream into the tip end. Twist and tie the bag closed, cut the end of the bag around the tip, and pipe the pastry cream double-stuffed style, about ¼ in [6 mm] thick, onto a quarter of the cookies. Top the cream with another quarter of the cookies. Then repeat with the other piping bag and the remaining cookies.