Wednesday, November 19, 2008

...on how to deal with a problem


Finland's answer to Oreos are Domino cookies. Dominos are as well known and classic in Finland as their American cousins are in their homeland. I find the taste of Oreos a bit deeper and somehow saltyer than Dominos, and depending on the day and my mood, prefer the original ones more than the crunchyer finnish equivalent.
Because I live in Germany at the moment, access to either one of these cookies doesn't exist. There for the big question is: what do I do when I desperately begin craving for sandwich cookies?
The first thing to do: Breath. The second part: neglect my high demands and thoughts on what kind of consistency they must have and settle for compromise. Number three: Proceed from whining to action, scan for sandwich cookie recipes in the internet and take out my blue bowl and whisk. And finally: Set my mind and heart open for a creation that might not be a Domino, nor an Oreo, but something even better that I could never even imagine putting in my mouth. A cookie that gives a new meaning to the saying 'melt in your mouth' and brings juicyness to the vocabulary of describing a cookie.
The teaching of this story? Next time you want something good, consider this recipe.





Sandwich Cookies


3 dl flour
(1 1/4 cups)
1,2 dl dark cocoa powder (1/2 cup)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3,4 dl sugar
(1 1/2cups)
10 tablespoons butter (room temperature)
1 egg


filling:


100 g cream cheese
powder sugar (depending on how sweet you like them. I used 3 tablespoons)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract



Preheat oven to 190 °C (375 F). In a bowl combine together flour, cocoa powder, soda, baking powder, salt and sugar. Mix with an electric mixer and add the butter and then the egg. Blend until you have one solid mass of dough.

Take small pieces of dough and roll them in your hands into balls. I made 2 cm thick balls, but you can decide yourself depending on the size of the cookies you want. I propose you try out with a few and then you will see how much they spread in the oven. Also try to make them about the same size, so that it it easier to pair them in the end.
Remember to leave some space between them on the baking sheet.
Press the balls of dough with your fingers to flatten them slightly. And bake for 9 minutes.
Don't be confused when taking them out of the oven. In the beginning they may seem raw and too soft. The cookies will settle after letting them cool on a rack for some time, nevertheless they do maintain a soft and juicy consistence.

When you've baked the cookies and they have cooled down, it is time to make the filling.
It's simple, just whisk together all the ingredients. Then put a teaspoonful of filling on a cookie and press another cookie lightly on top. And there you have it! The first homemade, oreo/domino-like sandwich cookie. Now, do the same to the rest of the stuff.


P.s They taste even better the next day!




Adapted from: http://bread-and-honey.blogspot.com
and allrecipes.com




15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nice to see a fine finnish food blog, because they are so hard to find. I don't like dominos so this one looks ike a better option for me. And it seems to be easy to make gluten free with almond flour because it has that moist thing going on.

Julia @ crazyaboutbretzels said...

Ida, nice that you found the blog! Yes. Dominos are a bit dry compared to these ones:) Tell me how it went with the gluten free version, if you get to make them!

Marcie said...

These look so delicious! Thank you for the comment on my blog!

From Finland to Germany, eh? Und was machst Du jetzt in Deutschland?!

Schoene Gruesse aus Amerika!

Brilynn said...

Those look awesome!

I've been meaning to try an oreo like cookie for a while now.

Julia @ crazyaboutbretzels said...

Danke Marcie! Ja, ich mache eine Ausbildung hier.. und lerne Deutsch!:)Und du? Was bringt dich nach Amerika?
Der Flammkuchen die du gemacht hast sieht wirklich gut aus! Muss mir eins holen (oder einfach machen).


Brilynn, thanks! There's something nice about making them yourself instead of just opening a packet! :)

Jael said...

Yummy! Mä olen ollut sellainen joka syö sisuksen keskeltä ja sit ehkä yhden keksipuolen...kamalaa tuhlausta.Mutta varmaan jos itse näitä hommaisi niin sitten söisin kokonaan. Namilta näyttää:)

Julia @ crazyaboutbretzels said...

Yaelian, tiedän mistä puhut. Omatekemistä ei ehkä raaskisi jättää toista puolta syömättä :D

Unknown said...

These look fantastic! I want to try making them soon- any idea how many cookies does it make (before you put the filling in)?

Julia @ crazyaboutbretzels said...

Hello Tia! Nice to hear that!
Yeah, it depends a lot on what size you want to make. Mine were about two inches diameter when they came out... so... I think I ended up with about 40 cookies (20 sandwiches). Do tell me how they turned out! (and how many!)

Anonymous said...

haha these remind me of oreos but obviously they're going to be SOO much better! i'd love to settle in with a plate of these and a cold glass of milk :)

Anonymous said...

Miten herkullisen näkösiä! Tosi hienot valokuvat! Voiskohan tota taikinaa käyttää jädekekseihin...

Julia @ crazyaboutbretzels said...

Hello Megan! Yes, please do that! You'll never forget that moment... :)

Kiitos, Rossana! Kävi mullakin mielessä! Ja uunituoreina ihan varmasti täydellinen yhdistelmä vaikka vanilja jäätelön kanssa.

Unknown said...

Hi Julia! Me again! :) I made these tonight, with a filling of my own, and they are AMAZING. I think I made mine a little bigger than your's because I only got 13 cookies (26 total). lol Oh well, they're still fantastic! I hope you don't mind if I link to you on my own blog. Need to give credit where it's due! :)

Julia @ crazyaboutbretzels said...

Hi Tia! Oh how great!! I'm happy to hear you like them! and no, I don't mind at all, can't wait to see the picture! :)

Anonymous said...

Your blog has so many tasty-looking recipes and beautiful photos. Your cookies looks amazing... wish I had some right now!! Yum!

I would love to write about your recipe on our blog! If you are interested send me an email at haley@keyingredient.com

Thanks!
Haley, KI Blogger