These Homemade Oreo Snowflake Cookies are a spin on the classic Oreo that's on the softer side, full of a rich, dark chocolate flavor, and dipped in the perfect vanilla bean glaze! They're wonderful for the holidays or anytime of the year with the switch of a different set of cookie stamps! Makes approximately 3 dozen cookies.
In a medium size bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, dark chocolate cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Set to the side.
2 cup All-Purpose Flour, 1 cup Dark Chocolate Cocoa Powder, ½ teaspoon Baking Soda, 1 teaspoon Salt
Using your hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the softened unsalted butter, granulated sugar, and dark brown sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy.
1 cup Unsalted Butter, ¾ cup Granulated Sugar, ¼ cup Dark Brown Sugar
Add in each egg one at a time until each one is fully incorporated into the dough. Then add in the vanilla extract.
2 Large Eggs, 1 teaspoon Heilala Vanilla Cocoa Vanilla Extract
Reduce the mixer to low and gradually add in the whisked dry mixture until just combined. The dough will be thick and slightly sticky.
Cover the dough with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for a minimum of 1 hour. You can also transfer the cookie dough to a tightly sealed storage container to keep in the refrigerator.
After chilling is complete, line your cookies sheets with parchment paper.
Have a small bowl of all-purpose flour next to your work area to continually dip your cookie stamps into before stamping. Shake off any excess. Coating your cookie stamps will help release the cookie from the stamp (because they will probably stick).
Take a spoonful size of cookie dough and roll into a 1 ½-inch size ball. Place the ball of dough onto the parchment lined cookie sheet, place and center the floured cookie stamp over top, then evenly press down until the stamp is flush with the paper.
When lifting up, the stamp may release from the cookie. If it does not (which can happen). gently remove the cookie from the stamp starting with one of the edges. Then place the cookie onto the cookie sheet. Space the cookies out about 1 to 2 inches apart.
Place them into the freezer or refrigerator to chill for about 10-15 minutes. You can do this just before the next step or as you're preheating your oven. Note: this 2nd chilling time is an optional step!
Adjust your oven rack to the 2nd level mark, pre-heat your oven to 325ºF, then bake the cookies for 12-15 minutes.
Remove from the oven and allow the cookies to cool on the cookie sheets for about 5 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack. Let them cool completely before dipping them in the vanilla bean glaze.
vanilla bean glaze
In a large bowl, whisk together the sifted powdered sugar, vanilla bean paste, and milk until it’s nice and smooth.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper with a wire cooling rack fitted over the top. Set to the side of your glaze and cookies.
Dip the top of the cookie into the glaze then, keeping the cookie over the bowl of glaze, allow any excess to drip off. Place the cookies onto the wire rack/baking sheet to dry.
Keep the cookies stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Notes
I used the Nordic Ware Frozen 2 Snowflake Cookie Stamp Set for this homemade oreo recipe. Despite never seeing Frozen 1 or the sequel, I can at least say these snowflake cookie stamps are awesome. Of course, I'm a huge fan of all things Nordic Ware! I should probably see both movies though!
The recommended baking time for this cookie recipe is 325ºF for 12-15 minutes. 14 minutes in my oven worked best, but as always remember to begin checking your cookies at the beginning recommended time.
The palms of your hands will definitely get dark from the chocolate as you roll the cookie dough into the balls. It easily washes off, but if you're not a fan of that, you can use disposable kitchen gloves.
Coating your cookie stamps with flour is an important step you don't want to skip. Using the flour will help the cookie release from the stamp as you pull up or, and—this is likely to happen—when you have to gently peel it away from the stamp. I had to do this with the majority of my cookies, but they all released easily!
Like I mentioned above, you can choose to skip chilling the cookies after you've stamped them, but they really do help to keep the snowflake patterns as they bake.
The cookies should cool completely before you dip them into the glaze.
You can use a different style cookie stamp if you'd like, but depending the style you choose, you may need to roll the dough out beforehand.