Too early for Valentine's Day?

I had some cream burning a hole in my fridge (is that even possible?) and decided that I should make a chocolate ganache with it - what better use? A ganache is just a simple mixture of cream and chocolate (which I pretty much always have around). Then the only question was, what to do with the ganache?

I had made this recipe for TKO's before (Thomas Keller Oreos, from his Bouchon Bakery in Napa, CA) and they are heavenly delicious. Really chocolate-y, easy to make and very adaptable. To make them more 'oreo-style' the filling called for is a white chocolate ganache. Normally, I am not a fan of white chocolate, but these are so darn good I break the rules. Even so, I though they might be better with chocolate ganache.

I was right.

Not for the faint of heart or less than die-hard chocolate fan, these are like a turbo-charged double fudge cookie - you know the kind Mother's makes (the brand, not your relative - unless she also packages things in pink and white and displays them prominently on your grocer's shelves).

I highly recommend this recipe in any form...to substitute the chocolate ganache, just swap out the white chocolate with equal amounts of dark or semi-sweet (you could probably use milk chocolate too - just not my favorite) and add a pinch or two of instant coffee or espresso.

Thomas Keller Oreos
adapted from Bouchon cookbook

1 1/2 cups plus 3 Tbsp all purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup plus 1 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
15 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into 3/4" cubes, at room temperature

1/2 cup heavy cream
8 oz. white chocolate, chopped

1. For the Filling: In a small pan, bring the cream to a boil. Remove from heat and add the chocolate. Let stand for 1 minute, then whisk to melt the chocolate until smooth. Transfer to a small bowl, and let stand for 6 hours to thicken up.

2. For the Cookies: In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt, and mix on low speed. With the mixer running, add the butter, a piece at a time. The mixture will be dry and sandy at first, but over 2 minutes, will form pebble-sie pieces that start to cling together. Stop the mixer and transfer the dough to your board.

3. Preheat oven to 350F. Seperate dough into 2 pieces. Roll each piece of dough between 2 pieces of plastic wrap or parchment paper to 1/8" inch thick. Using a fluted cutter, cut into rounds. Scraps can be pieced together and rolled out again. Place 1/2" apart on baking sheets lined with Silpat liners or parchment paper.

4. Bake for 12-15 minutes, rotating halfway through baking. Remove and cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer cookies to a cooling rack. Cool completely.

5. To Assemble: Lightly whip the white chocolate cream to aerate and fluff up. Transfer filling to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/4" plain tip. Pipe about 1 1/2 tsp in the center of half the cookies. Top with another cookie to sandwich. Gently press down until the cream comes to the edges.

6. Cookies can be stored in a container for up to 3 days. Loosely cover. (They also freeze really well...)