Recipe: Oreo Cookies (Cecily's Moreos) - copycat recipe (1970's)

OREO COOKIES (CECILY'S MOREOS)
(copycat recipe)

COOKIE INGREDIENTS:
2 1/2 cups fork-stirred all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup (two 1/4-pound sticks) butter or margarine, room temperature
1 1/2 cups firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 large egg
Filling (recipe follows)

In a medium bowl stir together until blended with flour, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder.

In a large bowl, cream butter, sugar and vanilla; beat in egg, then flour mixture, until blended. With a rubber spatula scrape the dough together and flatten it across the bowl. Mark in half. (There will be a generous 3 1/2 cups of dough. It will be very soft, but don't worry because it will roll out easily).

With a wide metal spatula lift half the dough onto a well floured pastry cloth. With a well-floured stockingnet-covered rolling pin, roll out to about a 14-inch round - it will be about 1/8-inch thick. With a floured round 1 3/4-inch cookie cutter, cut out. Form the scraps of dough into a ball and, rubbing more flour into pastry cloth if necessary, roll out to the same thickness and cut out as before. Place cutouts at least 1/2-inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.

With the tip of a small sharp knife, carve the letter "M" on half the cookies, but do not cut all the way through.

Bake in a preheated 400 degree F oven until cookies lose their shiny appearance, look dry, but do not brown - 6-minutes. With a wire spatula, remove to wire racks to cool completely. Meanwhile chill remaining portion of dough and treat the same way.

Sandwich each unmarked cookie together with a marked one, using about 1 teaspoon of filling for each pair. To do so, dip the tip of a small metal spatula into the filling (judge the amount with your eye) and with another small metal spatula scrape it onto the bottom center of an unmarked cookie; top with an M-carved cookie; pressing it down so filling shows at sides. Place cookies on racks for filling to dry for several hours. Store loosely covered.

FILLING

2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup chilled churned honey
4 tsp hot water
1 tsp vanilla

With a spoon, beat together until blended, 2 cups confectioners' sugar, 1/4 cup chilled churned honey, 4 teaspoons hot water and 1 teaspoon vanilla; it will be sticky. If necessary, stir in extra confectioners' sugar to make easy to work with.

Makes 5 1/2 dozen sandwich-style cookies
Source: Cecily Brownstone, Associated Press Food Editor;
Press-Courier newspaper, Sep 11, 1979