Homemade Oreo Cookies

These are a hit all year at summer barbeques or in the dead of winter.  I finally settled on the right filling for my taste--a balance of vanilla cream like a real Oreo with a little cream cheese which I think offsets these soft homemade ones beautifully. I also like using some butter and some shortening. They taste good with all butter, but the shortening helps gives it a more authentic room-temperature happy consistency.

Cookies:
1 box devil's food cake mix
½ cup vegetable oil or butter flavored shortening (I usually use vegetable oil)
2 eggs*

Mix well. Roll into small balls and press down with a glass.. Place on greased baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Cool.

My Favorite Filling:
1/2 package cream cheese, softened (1/2 of an 8 oz package, I use 4oz).
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) room-temperature, unsalted butter
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Beat cream cheese, shortening, butter and vanilla together. Add powdered sugar and mix together. Spread filling on top of cooled cookie, and then top with another cookie.

NOTES:
*I've experimented with different egg substitutions for this recipe. My favorite result was a combination of fruit and flaxseed. I used 1/4 cup mashed banana (which is about a whole medium sized banana) for one egg. The other egg I used 3T of water mixed with 1T toasted flax seed. I then microwaved the flaxseed and water for 30 seconds to help it bind, before adding it to the dough. I do end up using almost a full 3/4 cup of oil when I use egg substitutes. So I add 1/2 a cup oil and then keep gradually adding until it hits that magic spot where's it's neither crumbly nor too sticky. I've also used applesauce instead of banana and really liked that too. But the subtle banana flavor was then gone which can be a good or bad thing depending on your taste.


*If you prefer to do everything from scratch, you could try this recipe which doesn't use a cake mix.  And if you like very detailed instructions, this website has step by step photos.