Today is St. Patrick’s Day!
And I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty excited over this holiday. Not only does today commemorate Saint Patrick and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland, but it celebrates the heritage and culture of the Irish.
Irish and Proud.
I don’t know about you, but that’s something to celebrate. I celebrate being Dominican every day, and since I’m equal opportunity when it comes to celebrating culture, I’m all up in there and Irish today.
I’m wearing my green accessories – And in true stereotypical fashion (Dominicans love their booze), I’m taking nips of booze. Nips of booze nestled in between two chocolate cookies. ‘Cause, whatever – That’s how I rolls.
As a drinker, I’m kind of a lightweight. I can’t hold my booze. I just can’t. A couple drinks in, I’m stealing something random – Like that 7 year old condom in your wallet, a picture of your high school girlfriend, or the umbrella and swizzle stick from your drink. Yea, I’m chock-full of bad decisions. Next day, as I nurse a massive hangover, I find these random items in my purse.
True Story.
Real Talk – I can’t guzzle a bottle of bourbon or Irish whiskey. Sadly the heaviest I tolerate is Baileys Irish Cream. And so, with my lightweight status in mind, I thought a Baileys frosting was a great idea. Sweet milky drinks appeal to my lightweight drinker nature. Since I always have a bottle in my fridge, I rolled with it.
Then suddenly I wanted – no – Needed this boozy Baileys frosting nestled in between two dark chocolate wafers. Why not make homemade Oreo cookies to commemorate this holiday of holidays?
Why not, indeed…
I TRULY loved this cookie dough. It was very easy to work with, and rolled perfectly without sticking – Although I must credit the rolling in between two sheets of parchment technique. That jammy works like a charm. Anyway, the dough was immensely chocolaty and not too sweet. It made a deliciously crunchy wafer, reminiscent of the packaged kind. It was THE perfect vessel to hold a frosting just brimming with bad decisions.
Deliciously bad decisions.
Enough about that – Let’s celebrate!
[purerecipe]
Baileys Irish Cream Oreo Cookies
Ingredients
For the cookies
- 2 cups all-purpose flour spooned then leveled
- 1 ¾ cups cocoa powder sifted
- ¾ cup 1 ½ sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar packed
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- I used my Bustelo 2 teaspoons instant coffee powder
- 1 ½ tablespoons vanilla extract
- 5 egg yolks
- cocoa powder for rolling out the dough
For the Baileys Irish Cream Filling
- ¾ cup butter or shortening
- 2 ½ heaping cups of confectioners’ sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ tablespoons vanilla extract
- 1/3 – 1/2 cup of Baileys Irish Cream
Instructions
Make the cookies:
- In a medium bowl, combine flour and cocoa powder. Set aside.
- In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together the butter sugars, salt, baking powder, baking soda, espresso powder and vanilla extract. Mix over medium/high speed until just combined, no longer than seconds. This will ensure a crunchy wafer.
- Reduce the speed to medium and add egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stop the mixer and use a rubber spatula to scrape the bowl. Turn the mixer on to low speed, and add the flour and cocoa powder mixture. The mixture will be stiff, but continue mixing on low speed until combined.
- Divide the dough in half, flatten each portion into a rough square, then wrap with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to an hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit, and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Set aside while you roll out the cookie dough.
- Tape a sheet of parchment paper on your counter and dust with a light coating of cocoa powder. Place the dough on top of the dusted parchment, dust with a light coating of cocoa powder, and then place another piece of parchment over the dough. Roll the dough to about 1/8” thickness. Please be sure to measure out the dough, unless you like thick cookies.
- Using a 2” round cutter, cut circles in the dough, making sure to cut as close as possible. Place the cut circles onto the prepared cookie sheet. These cookies don’t really spread while baking, so feel free to place them close together. Not touching, but close. Gather up the dough scraps, pat them to a rough square, and re-roll, arranging them onto the cookie sheet.
- Place the dough in the oven and bake the cookies for about 12 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through. Remove the cookie sheet from the oven and allow the cookies to cool. No need to transfer them onto a wire rack. Cool the cookies completely before adding the filling.
- While the cookies are cooling, make the Baileys filling.
- Make the filling:
- In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment over low speed, cream together the shortening/butter, powdered sugar, and salt until combined. Scrape down the bowl as needed. Add the vanilla extract and the Baileys Irish Cream and increase the speed to medium/high. Mix the frosting using this speed for about 10 minutes or so. If you prefer a stiffer frosting, add more confectioners’ sugar. Feel free to add more Baileys Irish cream. I won’t be mad at you.
- Transfer the filling into a pastry bag fitted with a large plain tip. Alternately, you can portion the filling with an ice cream scoop or a teaspoon. Flip half of the cookies so the very flat portion is upright. Onto each of these cookies, spoon or pipe the filling. I won’t tell you how much to add here. This is entirely up to you.
- Top with another cookie and press down on the cookie until the filling reaches the edges.
- At this point you can transfer the cookies to an airtight container and refrigerate to help the filling adhere. Or you can leave at room temperature on a cookie sheet as the filling adheres on its own, which is how I roll.
- Cookie dough adapted from Bravetart.
- Makes over 60 sandwich cookies
