The Oreos
Two very dark cocoa cookies with vanilla cream in the middle. The most recognizable cookie in the world, made at home.
This time we take on a true monument of the cookie aisle: the famous Oreo.
With its two intensely cocoa-dark cookies and its characteristic vanilla cream, the Oreo has become a fixture, recognizable among a thousand.
You will tell me that classic Oreos are already vegan in their formulation, even if some versions carry a risk of milk traces. But making them yourself, in a fully plant-based and above all gluten-free version, is quite another story.
And believe me, it was far from a given.
To create this recipe I had to call on my taste memory, on the imprint the Oreo left on me when I could still eat them. I went back into the flavors and textures I remembered, with one precise idea in mind: to recover that very particular pleasure, but with ingredients suited to my baking.
Because reproducing a gluten-free shortbread cookie, with the right balance of crunch, crumble and cocoa intensity, takes some adjusting. Not to mention that vanilla cream, which has to soften the character of the cookie and create that delicious contrast.
And I have to admit I am particularly proud of the result.
All the markers of the Oreo are genuinely there: two deliciously cocoa-rich cookies, a sandy, crunchy texture, and at the heart a sweet, generous cream delicately scented with vanilla.
This is a recipe I had dreamed of making for a very long time. First for the pleasure of finding again, myself, a treat I could no longer enjoy because of the gluten, but also to be able to share it with guests, over coffee, at teatime, or simply for the pleasure of offering something homemade.
And in the end, that too is what fascinates me about plant-based, gluten-free pastry: recovering the flavors that marked our memories, without the feeling of giving anything up.
Ingredients
Cookies
- 100 g white rice flour
- 90 g cocoa powder
- 1 pinch salt
- 120 g margarine, 80% fat
- 160 g sugar
- 8 g chia seeds
- 52 g lukewarm water
Cream
- 120 g margarine, 80% fat, fairly firm
- 120 g powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Method
- 1
Mix the chia seeds with the lukewarm water until they come together into a ball.
- 2
Whip the margarine with the sugar for 5 minutes.
- 3
Add the chia gel, then the dry ingredients. Wrap the dough and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Roll it out between two sheets of parchment paper and freeze for 1 hour. Cut out disks, space them well apart and bake for 15 minutes at 170 °C (340 °F). Cool on the sheet.
- 4
Whip the cream ingredients and transfer to a piping bag.
- 5
Pipe onto one cookie and close it with another. Refrigerate in an airtight container for at least 1 hour, ideally overnight.
Across my recipes you will certainly have gathered that what drives me above all is this urge to create, to experiment and, most of all, to share with you a pastry that is different but no less generous.
Each new attempt is a small adventure, with its trials, its doubts, its adjustments and, sometimes, that immense satisfaction when you finally find exactly what you were looking for.
I sincerely hope these Oreo-style cookies give you as much pleasure to make as to eat.
And above all, I would love to see what you make and hear what you thought. Do share your photos and your comments with me on social media, or write to me directly by email. It is always an immense pleasure to see my recipes come alive in your kitchens.
I wish you a wonderful tasting — with family, with friends, over a good coffee or simply during a small break.
Because after all, the best treats are often the ones we share.
With all my love of good food,
Les Secrets d’une Cheffe
Emmanuelle Grillet-Aubert
Original post: see it on Instagram
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