Double Chocolate Cookies [with Homemade Oreo Creme Filling].

My dear reader, I pray you have more self-control than I do. And if you don’t, I beg and plead and implore you with all my heart (and – groan – stomach) to keep your fingers out of the damn bowl. Not just for my sake, but for your own. I know how tempting it is to take a spoonful of dough, to scrape a finger down the side under the guise of mixing all the ingredients equally, to lick the spoon after you finish mixing. Oh, believe me, I understand that temptation all too well (maybe Eve was tempted by cookie dough, not an apple).

Now, here I sit, two water bottles and three green-tea-with-lemon tea bags later, nursing a cookie dough hangover. Yeah, you know what I’m talking about, don’t pretend like it’s never happened to you. If only I hadn’t eaten those last two spoonfuls! If only I had been nibbling on fruit while I was mixing everything up! If only I had kept my hands clean! If only I had steel-plated temperance!

What on earth possessed me to do such a ridiculous, unhealthy thing? Well, it was partially stress-eating. It was partially my need for security and comfort. But mostly? I was seduced. Heartlessly, utterly seduced by the irresistible combination of cocoa powder, sugar, butter, and chocolate. And more chocolate. Can you blame me?

I should have known better. By the age of 19, I should be deaf to the cries of, “Eat me! Eat me! Ruin your dinner, eat me! You won’t get salmonella, eaaaaaat me!” You’d think I’d have built up a cookie-dough-stomachache tolerance. Nope. I was wrong then, yet I’m still tottering on the fence between, “Do I really regret this?” and “I REGRET NOTHING.”

Okay, let’s cut to the chase. These babies are ridiculously good. Gooey, chewy, sweet…and full of chocolate. Chock full of chocolate (oh, I take that phrase back. I detest any usage of “chock full”). You need these in your life to bring you up on sad days and share in all your triumphs and joys. Just one will satisfy the most severe chocolate craving. Two will have you running for a glass of cold milk. Or whatever it is you use to wash down cookies.

If you decide you’d like to send all your loved ones into a sugar coma, you can make some creme filling and make chewy chocolate chip Oreos.

I leave you with one thing: when you endeavor to make these, guard your heart. Guard your hips and thighs. These things will steal your soul faster than you can say, “Ooh, cookies!”

Double Chocolate Cookies
from Inspired Taste
makes 4 dozen

Ingredients

• 1 cup + 2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/2 cups chocolate chips (any kind)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Add sugars and butter to a large bowl; mix until creamy. Beat in first egg, then beat in second egg with vanilla extract. Mix until well incorporated.
3. In a separate smaller bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.
4. Slowly add dry incredients to the creamed butter and sugar mixture. Mix until combined. Mix in chocolate chips.
5. Drop cookie dough by rounded tablespoons onto baking sheets. If you want flatter cookies, press them down a little with a knife or fork. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Cool completely on a cooling rack. Devour, or fill with creme.

Homemade Oreo Creme
from Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
• 2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions

1. Place butter in a mixing bowl. Using a hand mixer on low speed, gradually beat in sugar and vanilla.
2. With the mixer on high, beat for 2 to 3 minutes, until creme is light and fluffy.
3. To assemble the cookies: place about a teaspoon of creme on the bottom of one cookie. Place another cookie on top of the creme and lightly press down until creme is evenly distributed between the two cookies. Repeat with the remaining cookies and creme.