Our homeschool co-op had plans for a potluck today (which, incidentally, has now been snowed out), and I panicked.  All of our food restrictions lately make group eating situations just awful.  Will my kids be able to have any?  It’s really awful to sit by and deny your kids food, especially when it may be something as simple and healthy as fruit salad.  So, I started searching and brainstorming.  I figured chicken and rice soup would be a perfect crockpot meal, so that was an easy one.  But I needed a new dessert!!  But what???  Then I found it.  Oreos!!!!  I took the original recipe from Smitten Kitchen and adapted it for our tastes and needs…fantastic!

Gluten-free Oreos

For the chocolate wafers:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (For gluten-free, I used an all-purpose flour mix…details below)
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa (I used both Hershey’s and Ghirardelli)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) spectrum palm shortening
1 large egg
A few tablespoons of water to obtain a slightly wet consistency.  If it’s too dry and doughy, the cookies won’t cook thin enough.

Wheat flour Oreos

For the filling:
1/2 cup Spectrum palm oil shortening2 cups powdered sugar (I made ours in the Vitamix, using tapioca starch instead of cornstarch since M can’t have corn)
1/4-1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. In electric mixer, mix the flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt, and sugar.  Add the shortening, and then the egg. Thoroughly mix (wheat version will make nice ball of dough, gf will be slightly wetter).
3. Roll rounded teaspoons of dough in your hands into little balls and place on cookie sheet (I use baking stones, otherwise you may want to line with parchment paper).  Place on cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Flatten dough with bottom of glass or your fingers. Bake for 8 minutes for wheat, 10 minutes for gluten-free.  Let sit for a couple minutes then place cookies on cooling rack until cool.
4. For the cream filling, mix shortening at low speed, gradually adding in sugar and vanilla. Mix on high for a couple more minutes until cream is light and fluffy.
5. To make the best cookies you’ve ever tasted, put the cream in a pastry bag with a large round tip (or in a strong ziplock bag with the corner cut off) and squeeze about a teaspoon glob of cream onto one cooke, then place another one of similar size (I know I still have to work on uniform sizes for my cookies lol!) on top, pressing together lightly.

All-Purpose Gluten-Free Flour
3 cups brown rice flour (I make my own in my Vitamix, much cheaper and I never run out!)
1 cup potato starch
1/2 cup tapioca starch

This recipe could easily  be adapted for other food allergy needs…different flour mixes,egg-free, etc.

I’m going to confess….the gluten-free ones taste more like Oreos than the wheat ones!!!  The wheat ones come out a little softer, whereas the gluten-free ones have that familiar crunch.  So delicious!!!!

2/18/11…I just edited this recipe.  I made it dairy-free and it’s even better than before.  The cream is just like oreos now!