The next time you find yourself with some extra time (and butter!) on your hands you must make this. Wow do they taste like the real thing! I often have a hard time with cookies that have to be cut out, but these roll out very easily! I placed the dough in between two sheets of aluminum foil for rolling. They didn't stick to the counter or the rolling pin.
Recipe adapted (by me!) from the Smitten Kitchen and Bless This Mess
Dough
1 1/4 cups butter, at room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/3 cups flour
Filling
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) room-temperature, unsalted butter
1/4 cup vegetable shortening (crisco)
2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Cream the butter and sugar together on medium speed until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the cocoa powder, salt, and vanilla and mix until incorporated. Add the flour and mix until you get a pretty dry dough. You don't want the dough to be sticky at all and it might even crumble just a little.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Roll your dough out between two pieces of parchment paper or aluminum foil.. Roll the dough thin, 1/4 inch to an 1/8 inch thick. Use a 2 inch circle cutter to cut out the cookies. (I used the top of a baby bottle!) Place on a cookie sheet and bake for 8. Take off pan after two minutes.
To make the cream, place butter and shortening in a mixing bowl, and at low speed, gradually beat in the sugar and vanilla. Turn the mixer on high and beat for 2 to 3 minutes until filling is light and fluffy.
To assemble the cookies, in a pastry bag with a 1/2 inch, round tip, pipe teaspoon-size blobs of cream into the center of one cookie. (or use a ziplock baggie with a corner cut out) Place another cookie, equal in size to the first, on top of the cream. Lightly press, to work the filling evenly to the outsides of the cookie. Continue this process until all the cookies have been sandwiched with cream.
