Crispy, deeply chocolatey rollout cookies that taste like oreos – especially when you add that vanilla buttercream. But also, feel free to make a meringue, dollop it on top and toast it. It’s like a toasted marshmallow on an oreo!
So I’m between calling these homemade oreo cookies and black cocoa sandwich cookies because they are oreo-like (more than many ‘copycat’ recipes out there I think) but also because I want the options for filling to be limitless. I want to give you a black cocoa rollout cookie that you can fill however you like, and not limit you to the traditional vanilla ‘buttercream’ (which in the real oreo is probably more shortening than butter).
You’ll have a few options with texture in these as well. Want a traditional softer rollout cookie? Roll the cookies a little thicker and skip the second bake. Want more of a crispy cookie? Do the second bake until the cookies are dried out.
Ingredients for Black Cocoa Sandwich Cookies
Cocoa: a few options here, depending on how dark you want the cookies and if you like the taste of black coca. If you love it, use the full amount, the cookies will be strong. In some recipes I think all black cocoa works well (like this black cocoa cake) but in these I prefer a bit more balance so I do half black cocoa and half dutch cocoa. Not a fan of black cocoa at all? Use all dutch.
All purpose flour: I don’t think this recipe is too fussy about protein content but avoid substituting this with a flour like oat or rye as they can change the texture.
Butter: Make sure the butter is nice and soft so that it can cream with the sugar nicely. If you are using salted butter, skip the added salt in the recipe.
Granulated sugar: A sugar with finer granules works well here because it’ll cream and mix with the butter nicely.
Egg whites: The reason I am only using egg whites here is to keep out the extra fat which would make these softer cookies. The aim for an oreo-like texture is to have a pretty dry, crispy cookie.
How to make Black Cocoa Sandwich Cookies
- Cream butter & sugar together.
- Add the egg whites and beat.
- Add remaining ingredients.
- Wrap dough and chill.
- Roll and cut out the dough.
- Bake.
- Bake again.
FAQ on Black Cocoa Sandwich Cookies
Why do we bake these black cocoa sugar cookies twice?
The second bake is to dry them out and make them a bit crispy.
How do you get the textured look like in the ones in the bowl?
Use a textured rolling pin like this one.
What do I do with the two leftover egg yolks?
You make egg yolk chocolate chunk cookies, but of course.
How best to store these?
It’s best to serve them the day you fill them otherwise they will become quite soft (as the cookies will absorb moisture from the filling). If they haven’t been filled they’ll be fine in an airtight container for a few days.
Best tips for making roll-out sugar cookies
- Once you have the dough out of the fridge, leave it at room temperature to soften so you can roll out it more easily.
- Sometimes to get my dough pliable, right after I unwrap it I use the rolling pin to thwack it a couple of times to flatten it.
- Work with a colder dough and flour the counter and rolling pin well but not too much or the cookies will be tough.
- Dip the cookie cutters in flour so they don’t stick.
- Don’t leave the dough in the fridge for too little (an hour or less) or too long (a few days).
Filling options for Black Cocoa Sandwich Cookies
Toasted Vanilla Meringue
- 2 egg whites
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Set a heatproof bowl over a pot filled about ⅓ of the way with water (make sure the water doesn’t touch the bottom of the bowl). Once the water is simmering, add the eggs and sugar to the bowl and whisk. Keep whisking until you can pinch the mixture and can’t detect any remaining sugar granules.
Using a hand mixer, beat the mixture together for about 7-10 minutes until you have stiff peaks. Add the vanilla and sea salt toward the end of whipping. Pipe or dollop onto the cookies, use a kitchen torch to toast the meringue.
Vanilla Buttercream
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup organic powdered sugar, sifted
- 1 teaspoon imitation vanilla
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
Beat together all the ingredients until smooth. Add milk or heavy cream if the buttercream is too thick. Spread or pipe onto half of the cookies and sandwich them.
Recipe for Black Cocoa Sandwich Cookies
Black Cocoa Sandwich Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter 2 sticks softened and unsalted (226g)
- 1 cup granulated sugar 200g
- 2 teaspoons fine sea salt
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 large egg whites
- 2 cups all purpose flour 300g
- 1 ¼ cups black cocoa double dutch cocoa powder or mix of black and dutch (120g)
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
Instructions
- Beat together the butter and sugar for about 5 minutes until very light and fluffy. While it’s beating add the vanilla, salt and baking soda.
- Add the egg whites and beat for a few more minutes. Sift in the black cocoa and flour and beat to just combine. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and set in the fridge for a couple of hours.
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- Flour the counter and roll out the dough to about a quarter of an inch (the thinner the crispier they will be) and use cookie cutters to cut out shapes. Dust the cookie cutters in flour so the dough doesn’t stick to them.
- Set the cookies on the trays and bake them for 10 minutes.
- Once all the cookies are baked, lower the heat to 225 F and bake for another 20 minutes (this will dry them out more and make them crispy).