Wheat Free & Dairy Free Oreos

Though I no longer live in America, I fondly recall the iconic Oreos. The best part, was that they always seemed to be coming out with new ways to fill those iconic little wafers. Neon Swirl, Double Stuffed, Igloo, Reversed, Batman, and of course Mini Oreos. I abandoned the Oreo when my family moved to Canada and inexplicably took up an unfortunate relationship with Viva Puff Cookies that my parent's shamelessly indulged. 

While I certainly won't call my tastes refined, I can no longer stomach Viva Puffs and have taken up with the Oreo once again. I don't think I ever would have tried to make these from scratch had I not become allergic to wheat and dairy. There is something quite annoying about making a batch of cookies and then ending up with only half, because you really need two cookies to make each sandwich. To be honest, if I bake these for myself, I usually just make a little more filling and ice each one instead of making a proper Oreo. I've made the ones shown here for an event, so I stuck to form, but in the spirit of innovation at the Mr. Christie factories, replaced the dairy and wheat. 

INGREDIENTS:

makes aprox. 24 sandwiches.

For the Cookie:

1 1/2 cup cocoa powder

1 tsp. baking soda

pinch of salt

2 1/2 cup of non wheat flour (I used a wheat free all purpose baking flour that was a mix of fava bean, rice, and tapioca, but I've made these with all rice flour and had no problem!)

6 tbs. margarine

4 tbs. vegetable oil or coconut oil

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

For the Filling:

3/4 cup margarine

1/2 cup vegetable shortening

2 tsps. vanilla

3 cups icing sugar

DIRECTIONS:

In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, cocoa, salt, and baking soda. Using a mixer, blend the margarine, oil, and sugar. When combined add in the eggs and vanilla. Slowly add the flour mixture. The dough will be stiff. Roll the dough out to 1/4 inch onto cutting boards using some parchment paper to prevent sticking. Let the dough chill for a bit while you tidy up (about 20 minutes) and then cut them out into small circles and bake at 350 degrees for about 12 minutes, a few minutes longer if you want them to be crunchier. Cool on a rack. 

For the filling, beat the margarine and shortening together with the vanilla and then add the icing sugar until it is spreadable and sweet to your liking. 

Then spread a tablespoon of filling onto a wafer and press another cookie on top. I like my filling to spread to the edge, a point of frustration with the originals, but purists will use less icing and no doubt have cleaner, nicer looking cookies for it. These will last out for a few days, but pop them in the fridge to keep up to a week.