Chocolate Sandwich Cookies with Buttercream Filling (Corn-Free & Egg-Free!)

I finally hit my breaking point last week. I needed cookies!

As you likely already know, with a corn-allergy, if you want corn-free cookies, you need to make them. I wasn’t in the mood for traditional chocolate chip, so I started searching around, and found a recipe for “Homemade Oreos.”

After making (and eating MANY) of these Oreo-like cookies, I knew I had to share this recipe. These cookies blow any concept of Oreo completely out of the water, so I don’t really want to call them by that name. They are chocolate sandwich cookies with a crispy wafer (though slightly chewy when fresh from the oven), with a vanilla buttercream frosting. Seriously, they are amazing!

Instead of just posting the recipe, I’ll go through the ingredients and explain the alterations needed to make it corn-free, and for other others like myself who are allergic to eggs, egg-free.

The main offenders in the ingredients that will contain corn are as follows:

• The baking powder – most commercial brands include corn starch as part of the baking powder ingredients
• Commercial egg replacers (if you need to substitute the egg)
• Powdered sugar – most brands include corn starch
• Salt – if it’s iodized, it will contain Dextrose
• And of course, be careful to read all the ingredients of everything you use. The recipe calls for unsalted butter but I used salted. The unsalted version of the same brand included “natural flavoring” – which may include corn, so it’s best to avoid that and go for the extra salt instead!

The baking powder and powdered sugar can be found in ready-made brands that are corn-free. However, if you are unable to find the specific brands, these are items you can make yourself.

Okay, now for the most amazing chocolate cookie recipe ever:

Chocolate Wafer

• 1 1/4 C all-purpose flour (unbleached)
• 1/2 C unsweetened cocoa
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp baking powder (Hain brand or homemade)
• 1/4 tsp salt (non-iodized Sea Salt)
• 1 C sugar
• 1/2 C plus 2 Tbsp butter, room temperature
• 1 large egg or Egg Replacer** (I used homemade egg replacer)

1. In a medium-sized bowl, mix the flour, cocoa, baking soda and powder, salt, and sugar.
2. Beat in the butter and the egg. Continue mixing until dough comes together in a mass.
3. Take rounded teaspoons of batter and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet approximately 2 inches apart, and flatten with a spoon.
4. Bake for 9 minutes at 375 F. Set on a rack to cool. (I was able to bake all the cookies in one go, using 2 pans. There were 3 spoons of batter left over, that by the way, were quite tasty…)

Buttercream Filling

• 1/4 cup room-temperature, unsalted butter (I used salted)
• 1/4 cup vegetable shortening (I used Spectrum Vegetable Shortening from Palm Oil)
• 2 cups sifted powdered sugar (Wholesome Sweeteners brand or homemade)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Place butter and shortening in a mixing bowl, and at low speed, gradually beat in the sugar and vanilla.
2. Turn the mixer on high and beat for 2-3 minutes until filling is light and fluffy.

Complete the Cookies

1. Let the cookies cool completely before frosting. Or at least wait half an hour.
2. To make a sandwich cookie, simply drop some cream filling onto one cookie with a pastry bag or Ziploc bag (cut a corner of the bag to create a makeshift pastry bag) and match up similarly sized cookies.
3. Try not eat them all before you family has the opportunity to try them and be seriously impressed that YOU made these!

More Thoughts

The chocolate cookies are of course, not only amazing, but very versatile. The next time we make homemade vanilla ice cream, I plan to make the chocolate wafers the day before, and then crumble them up and add them to the ice cream. Instant Cookies N’Cream! I also think the chocolate wafer recipe would work in place of a graham cracker pie crust if chocolate will work as the flavor (such as a cheesecake). And the buttercream frosting is my new favorite frosting, so that’s going in my recipe book dog-eared and bookmarked too.

I want to thank Stef at the Cupcake Project for sharing this recipe, and I hope you enjoy this recipe too!