Gluten free, Dairy Free Oreos

Did you know that standard Oreos are dairy free? That means the basic recipe is very easy to adjust to also make it gluten free. My kids discovered Oreos during a minor lapse of dietry judgement on holidays, and to stop the tears at the emd of the trip, I promised I would research it. 

I've adapted a recipe from bakingbites.com, and apart from a tiny tweak in the liquid ratio, it works well. I also added a pinch of salt. Because everything tastes better with salt... 

(Measurements are American - a cup = 200ml and a tablespoon = 15ml)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups gluten free flour (I used Schar Dolci)
• 1 cup caster sugar
• 1/2 cup real cocoa
• 1/4 cup cornstarch (make sure it's gluten free!)
• 1/2 cup vegetarian shortening or margarine
• 1/3 cup plus 1 tbsp water
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• pinch salt 

for the cream

• 2 cups icing sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening (don't use margarine here - it will go yellowish.) 

Instructions:

1. Cream shortening and sugar, then add vanilla, then 1/3 cup water, and finally dry ingredients. Don't worry about the strange appearance before adding the flour - all will come good. I used an electric beater all the way through.
2. You will end up with a dry dough, but it should clump together into a log fairly easily (add your extra tablespoon of water here if you need it). You have two options from here: a) roll into logs and chill until firm, then slice as thin as you can, then place on a tray to bake or b) place on baking paper and roll as thin as you can, then use a cookie cutter. Cookies can be close - they do not spread. (I tried both methods, and found I got a better result with the second - I was able to get them thinner.)
3. Then cook at 170℃ (350℉) for about 8-10 minutes. You want them still a little soft, but with a crust on the outside.
4. Then whip up all the cream ingredients, and when the cookies are cool, spread on one and squish another on top.  

Finally, take a big bowl into the back yard and hide from the kids while you eat them all up. Trust me, these were a success.