Cook the Book: Gluten-Free Oreos

""I'm not sure that this mix of Crisco, sugar, and vanilla extract is that much better for you than the original Oreo filling but I felt better seeing exactly what went into it." Photograph from hangishh on Flickr Have you ever wondered what the "creme" filling in the center of an Oreo is made out of? I won't go as far as saying the question has plagued me, but it's come pretty close. Oreos are delicious--I think that pretty much everyone can get behind that. Unfortunately, one look at the ingredients can put you off of them for a good long while. They are full of scary chemicals and weird oils. Why is the filling so good? It's probably best we don't know. Elizabeth Barbone has included a chapter in her book Easy Gluten-Free Baking called "Tastes Like" where she attempts to replicate mass-produced snacks such as Twinkies and Samoas (the Girl Scout cookie) using gluten-free ingredients. I love Oreos but quite frankly, I don't feel very good about eating them. I decided to make these gluten-free Oreos at home to see how they measured up. The first step was making the cookie dough. After assembling it, I was nervous--it was kind of a sticky mess. The dough needs to chill for at least four hours, so into the fridge it went. After a nice long chill for the dough (and for myself) I took it out and formed the cookies. The dough was still pretty sticky but not so much that it was an issue. I popped them into the oven and 10 minutes later, the chocolatey aroma and dry look that Barbone wrote about in the recipe were evident. While I waited for the cookie to cool, I whipped up the filling. I'm not sure that this mix of Crisco, sugar, and vanilla extract is that much better for you than the original Oreo filling but I felt better seeing exactly what went into it. Out of all of the recipes I've now tried from Easy Gluten-Free Baking, these Oreos are my favorite. The cookies have a great chewy and almost cakey quality and are plenty chocolatey. The filling? In a word, fantastic--even better than the Oreo "creme." Win 'Easy Gluten-Free Baking' As always with our Cook the Book feature, we have five (5) copies of Easy Gluten-Free Baking to give away this week...."