Homemade Oreo Cakesters

I can't believe I'm still talking about the weather.  Sometimes it's like "Shutup Ann, I know it's hot.  It's July."  But it's actually super hot, right?  It's not just me?  Because I've seen more movies this summer alone than I've seen in the last year probably and it's only because I want to be in a cold dark place for 2 hours.

Of course this also means I've been baking less.  Because my kitchen is neither cold nor dark.  And when I decided to just brave the elements and make some time consuming, somewhat tedious Momofuku Milk Bar Compost Cookies, I overbaked them, like a rookie!  It was so sad.  It was so sad that I still ate some overbaked cookies.  I'm not on top of my game in this weather!  I'm a delicate flower and I'm wilting under the intense heat.

So maybe it's ok to just cheat a little bit.  I'm talking about cake mix, guys.  I don't use it often because from-scratch recipes truly just taste better but if you doctor up cake mix a bit (cough*buttercream*cough), it can certainly be worth using on those days when you want some time in the kitchen but maybe just not too much time.

Let's leave the real culinary adventures to rainy days and the long fall and winter months.  Let's make summer about cake mix shortcuts, ceiling fans and long movies in cold dark places.  Deal?

Here's the recipe!

Homemade Oreo Cakesters  makes about 20 sandwiches

Ingredients:
Cookies:
1 18.25oz box of devil's food cake mix
2 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil

Buttercream:
1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), at room temperature
3-4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
up to 4 Tbsp cream or milk

To make the cookies:
1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicon mat.  Set aside.

2.  In a medium size bowl, pour cake mix and make a well in the center.  Pour oil and eggs into the well and using a wooden spoon, combine cake mix and oil and eggs until well mixed.  It should pull together as a dough but if it's a little dry, add a splash of milk to help the dough along.  

3.  Begin to portion the dough into balls, about a tablespoon in size, and place on prepared pans about 2 inches apart.  You can actually make these as large or small as you'd like, just be sure to adjust the baking time to accommodate.  

4.  Bake for 8-10 minutes until the edges just set.  Be sure not to overbake (it's tough to tell with chocolate cookies).  The cookies will appear soft so allow to set about 3-4 mins on the pan before removing to a sheet of wax paper on the counter or a wire rack (**see note below).  

Buttercream:
1.  With  a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter for  about 2-3 minutes on medium speed.  Turn to low speed and slowly add 3 cups of powdered sugar to incorporate.  

2.  Turn mixer back to medium and add vanilla, salt and 2 tablespoons of milk/cream and beat for 3 minutes.  If your frosting seems a little loose, add more sugar.  If it's a bit too stiff, add more milk/cream.  

To assemble:
Make sure cookies are completely cool before piping or spreading buttercream on one side of an upturned cookie.  Pair with a similar size/shape cookie to make a sandwich!  Store in an airtight container.  

Notes:
**You'll likely have leftover buttercream here so toss it in the fridge until you need it again.  Or just eat it with a spoon.  Whatever.
**When I first made these cookies, I didn't have a wire rack for cooling.  Out of necessity, I placed warmed cookies on wax paper on the counter to continue cooling.  Without the rack, there's less air circulation and I think it results in a softer cookie.  The main thing is to not overbake them so if you'd like to cool on a rack, I'm sure these cookies will still be just fine.  

Cookie recipe is an Annie's City Kitchen original 
Buttercream recipe from Savory Sweet Life