Got Milk?

Move over Oreo, there's a new cookie in my kitchen. 

These "Grown-Up" Oreos are incredible - soft, chewy cookies with a sweet Oreo-creme frosting. Plus they couldn't be easier - the cookies are made from a store-bought cake mix so you really don't need any true baking skills at all. And while I love a good shortcut, we're getting semi-dangerously close to Sandra Lee territory here...

Clockwise from top left: Inauspicious beginnings; Ready for the oven; Whipped into a frenzy; Begging for a glass of milk...

There are lots of recipes on-line for Devil's Food Cake Cookies - I combined a few to create a cookie with deep chocolate flavor and a frosting that makes you want to "double stuff" them! The amounts below make enough cookies and frosting for 24 sandwiches.

Grown-Up Oreos

What you'll need:
2 18oz. boxes Devil's Food Cake Mix
4 Eggs
2/3 cup Vegetable Oil
1 cup Cocoa Powder

1 Envelope Unflavoured Gelatin 
1/4 cup Cold Water
1 cup Crisco
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 pound + 1 cup Powdered Sugar

How I made them:
Combine cake mix, eggs, oil, and cocoa powder until well mixed. Form into 48 balls and place on greased cookie sheets. Flatten each ball gently with your fingers. Bake at 375 degrees for 8-9 minutes. Let cool completely before frosting.

Soften the gelatin powder in the cold water. Place in microwave, heat until transparent (approximately 40 seconds) and set aside to cool. Beat the shortening in a stand mixer until fluffy, slowly adding the vanilla and powdered sugar. Beat in cooled gelatin mixture until completely combined and smooth. 

Sandwich two cookies together with a heaping tablespoon (or two!) of frosting and store in an airtight container for up to a week - if they even last that long.

**UPDATE**

I took these to work and a fight broke out over the last one! They're that good...