Oreo crunch birthday cookies

Hopefully by now you've seen my chewy vanilla sugar cookie recipe, and in it I shared that I've been taking a month long baking and recipe development class led by Christina Tosi, founder of Milk Bar! The first section of class is focused on cookies, starting out by making a Milk Bar classic, and then we shifted to creating our own delicious cookie recipe with mix ins. This recipe takes my chewy vanilla sugar cookie as a base (with a few small adjustments) and brings it to a new level of fun and creativity!

Typically, if I'm going to eat a cookie I want it to be something with chocolate chips or chunks, but this recipe brings me back to Birthday celebrations full of sprinkles and packed with a twist on Oreos. Christina Tosi calls this a "sub recipe" and so we will be prepping our Oreo crunch before you make your cookies.

This recipe was my "final project" for the cookie section of my baking and recipe development class, and not only is it delicious but it's a cookie with a beautiful and fun presentation that is sure to be a crowd pleaser.

When finalizing this recipe, I made what I thought was my final batch only to realize that the dough was too dry for my liking. I made some adjustments to the flour, as well as reducing the amount of mix ins, and came to what I feel is a wonderful combination of flavor and texture, keeping in the theme of celebration.

You may notice that this dough doesn't require as much chill time as the chewy vanilla sugar cookie, or other recipes. This is key to keeping the dough the right texture - it's important to allow it to set quickly in the fridge (about 30 minutes) without drying out the dough.

One more thing before we get to baking. If you've read the other recipes inspired by my baking class, you know by now that Christina Tosi swears by her ten minute creaming process, which is why this recipe will call for a stand mixer, but don't be spooked by it. The cookie dough itself takes less than 20 minutes to come together, even less once you've done it once before, and the end result is a taste you won't soon forget. I won't be adopting this creaming method for all of my cookie recipes (don't worry!) but for these recipes inspired directly from class, it only felt right to follow in her footsteps.

Ingredients:

Note: the below ingredients list makes 10 cookies - if you want to double the recipe, I have those quantities at the bottom of this post!

Cookie ingredients:

• 1 stick (half cup) unsalted butter at room temperature

• 3/4 cup granulated sugar

• 1 large egg

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1 cup all purpose flour

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Mix ins:

• 6 oreos (or other chocolate creme sandwich cookies)

• 2 tablespoons melted butter

• 3 tablespoons rainbow sprinkles

Cooking time: Around an hour including chill time.

Cooking instructions:

Remove your butter and egg from the fridge if you haven't already.

First, make your Oreo crunch! Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Melt your two tablespoons of butter in a small bowl and set aside. Place your oreos into a plastic bag. Using a meat tenderizer, mallet, or the back of a pan, crush your oreos (you can see a visual example of the size in the first photo above). The goal isn't to form a powder but to bring the cookies down into very small chunks and some powder. Pour your crushed oreo into your small bowl and mix to combine with your melted butter. Line a small baking sheet with parchment paper and place your oreo mixture onto the sheet. Use a utensil to spread out your mixture. Place the sheet into the oven to start for 5 minutes. If your mixture still looks a little wet, mix it around and then place back into the oven for another minute or two. Remove and set aside to cool.

Place your stick of butter and granulated sugar into your stand mixer with the paddle attachment secured. Note: if your butter is not at room temperature already, you can either place it first into the microwave for 5-10 seconds, or mix your stand mixer at a low speed for 30-60 seconds until your butter is softened.

Bring your stand mixer slowly from a low to high speed and allow it to combine the butter and sugar for 3 minutes. While this is mixing, grab your egg and vanilla extract.

Pause your stand mixer, and if needed, scrape down the sides of your butter and sugar mixture as well as your paddle attachment to ensure that no pockets of butter and sugar go unmixed. Then, pour in your egg and vanilla extract to your butter and sugar. Slowly bring your stand mixer back to a high speed and allow it to combine your mixture for 4 minutes.

Slowly reduce the speed again, scrape down the sides of your mixture and paddle attachment. Bring your mixer back up to a high speed once again, this time for 3-4 minutes. You'll notice already that your mixture is quite light and fluffy, but allow it to continue mixing so that everything is fully combined, and this will also bring some additional air into your butter mixture.

While you're on your last 3-4 minutes of mixing, combine your dry ingredients, flour, baking soda and powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Use a spoon or whisk to combine your ingredients.

When you are done with your final 3-4 minutes, slowly reduce your stand mixer speed and bring it to a pause. Scrape down your sides again as well as your paddle attachment.

Pour in your combined dry ingredients, and start your mixer at a slow speed. Bring it up to a medium speed, mixing until just incorporated. If needed, you can pause, scrape down, and mix again or finish combining with a spatula, but be sure not to over mix at this stage.

Add in your rainbow sprinkles, and pulse your stand mixers for 10-20 seconds until they are fully distributed. Remove your bowl from the stand mixer, and pour in your cooled Oreo crunch (note: you can save a tablespoon or so to top your cookies with!) and combine carefully with your spatula or a large spoon. Use a large cookie scoop (or large spoon) to portion out your dough and space it out onto a lined cookie sheet, I used parchment paper. If you reserved some of your Oreo crunch, you can either sprinkle it onto your scooped dough and gently press down, or carefully pick up each dough scoop and press the top into your Oreo crunch.

If you're going to bake your cookies now, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Place your scooped dough into the fridge to set for 20-30 minutes. Don't leave it in the fridge for longer because your dough will dry out. Bake for 13-15 minutes, allow to cool and enjoy!

If you don't want to bake all of your dough at once, place your chilled and scooped dough into the freezer on your cookie sheet for a few hours, and then transfer to an airtight bag or container and store in the freezer. When you're ready to enjoy them you can bake them at 325 degrees for 17-19 minutes from frozen, or you can allow them to sit out at room temperature for about an hour and bake using the original guidance.

To make 20 cookies, because...why wouldn't you want 20, you can use the list below:

Cookie ingredients:

• 2 sticks (one cup) unsalted butter at room temperature

• 1 1/2 cup granulated sugar

• 2 large eggs

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 2 cups all purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Mix ins:

• 12 oreos (or other chocolate creme sandwich cookies)

• 4 tablespoons melted butter

• 6 tablespoons rainbow sprinkles

Carb and serving info:

Servings: 10 or 20 cookies

Carbs per serving: 33.9

Carbs for full recipe: 339.1 (10 cookies), 678.2 (20 cookies)

Note: Carb information is calculated based on the specific ingredients I used to cook with to help guide my own insulin to carb ratio when dosing before I eat my home cooked recipes.