It’s okay. You can stare.

 Who needs a clever lead-in when they’ve got Oreos swaddled in ooey-gooey chocolate chip cookie staring them in the face? I know it doesn’t matter what I say at this point; you’re just going to skip straight to the recipe anyway.

Unless you’re one of those unfortunate few who just aren’t that “into” chocolate, which, to me, sounds a lot like not being that “into” happiness, but whatever. I have something special coming up in future weeks for the non-chocolate-lovers of the world.

For the rest of you, however, I’ll get to the recipe. But first, I must preface this with the admonition that you not even consider consuming these cookies without having recently visited the dairy section. I’ve never met a cookie so desperate to be paired with a cold, refreshing glass of milk as are these little dearies. 1% seems to be perfect, but I’ll allow for artistic license. Sure, you could eat one without milk, but any good scout wouldn’t dare do something so reckless. Be prepared.

Also, I feel it is my obligation to offer a word by way of public service. Just Say No to imitation vanilla. Even though recipes call for relatively small amounts of it, adding the real thing turns a so-so cookie into an amazing cookie. This recipe calls for an entire tablespoon. If imitation is all you’ve got, you’ll still be swooning over these cookies, but if you make the switch, you’ll thank me later. I use Mexican vanilla. It is heavenly.

CHOCOLATE CHIP OREO COOKIES (originally from The Picky Palate)

2 sticks softened butter
3/4 C packed light brown sugar
1 C granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 Tbsp pure vanilla
3 1/2 C flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
10 oz chocolate chips (I used regular, but mini chips would be a great fit for this recipe)
1 package Oreo cookies (I used regular, but double-stuff would be gooood)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine butter and sugars with an electric mixer until smooth. Add eggs and vanilla and beat in. In a separate bowl combine flour, salt and baking soda. Slowly add flour mixture to sugar mixture until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips and get a tissue. You’re drooling. By this step you know you’re into something good.

Using a cookie scoop, place one scoop of dough on top of an Oreo, and another on the bottom. Smoosh it like a sandwich. The original recipe did not give an indication of how much a scoop should be, so I experimented with two different sizes. My favorite were scoops of about two tablespoons each. Think flat and pinch the edges to seal, enclosing the Oreo. Bake for 9-13 minutes (mine were closer to 13) or until just golden. Let cool for 5 minutes. Break out the milk.

Give us a shout out at The Cultural Hall if you try this recipe to let us know how it turned out. We’re especially interested in finding out the number of conversions and reactivations that occur as a result of these cookies.