Chocolate Covered Oreos, Sea Salted

As much as I love making cookies from scratch, I must admit that there is one store bought cookie that has been a childhood favorite of mine. The cookie first made by Nabisco in 1912 has gone through a series of iterations over the last hundred years, but it has been the classic original that calls out to me when I allow myself to walk down the cookie aisle in the grocery store.  I can usually bypass this aisle and show restraint in buying them, unless I am past the point of starvation when I am shopping for groceries.

Eaten all on its own or dunked in milk, I never thought the Oreo cookie could be made any better.  But then the double stuff version came out and I again thought this cookie could not possibly get any better.  Until the day I dipped the double stuff Oreos in Ghiradelli chocolate and sprinkled the tops of them with sea salt.  Not only did it get better, it felt downright sinful to eat something so decadent.

When I first started making them it was simply the double stuff Oreos dipped in chocolate.  About a year ago, as I was looking through one of the hundreds of cooking magazines that I have, I must have read that sea salt further enhances the taste of chocolate. So I decided one day to try it.  That first taste of a sea salted topped chocolate covered Oreo validated made me glad I wasn't just browsing but actually reading the magazine. After that little experiment, there was no reverting back to the 'first generation' chocolate covered Oreo recipe (and yes, the use of the word recipe would be a stretch here).

Yes, I know this posting seems out of sync with the way saltedsugaredspiced is evolving and might even be viewed as taking a few steps back. So as you are reading this post some of you might be saying 'okay come on now, a recipe for chocolate covered Oreos, really?, what kind of food blog is this?'.  The simple answer to that question would be 'unpredictable'.  For someone who is characteristically somewhat predictable, I get an adrenaline rush when I move the predictable pendulum in the opposite direction every so often.

If you have never eaten a chocolate covered double stuff Oreo with or without a sprinkling of sea salt, let me just say that you are missing out on an intense chocolate cookie eating experience.  The combination of the cookie, chocolate and salt is in a word 'lethal'.  Visually these cookies are so beautiful they seem to just beg to be eaten.  Kids love them, adults love them.

At the hoildays I buy as many Ghiradelli double chocolate and white chocolate candy making and dipping bars at Sam's Club as I think I will use over the course of six months.  If I underbuy or over use, I have to resort to ordering them online on Amazon if I run out.  This chocolate melts and coats both cookies and strawberries perfectly.

It is important to chop the chocolate into consistent, semi-finely chopped chards before setting it in a bowl over hot simmering water.  If your chocolate has too many large chunks it will take longer for the chocolate to melt and you risk bringing the chocolate to too high of a temperature, resulting in ruined chocolate.

Let the hot steaming water melt the chocolate for at least 10 minutes before you stir.  I have found the less you stir the chocolate, the more it retains its shine when it sets up on the cookie.

Once the chocolate is melted remove the bowl from the pan and place on towel or pot holder.  It will be very hot, so its best you use your thickest pot holders or towels to remove the bowl of melted chocolate from the pan of steaming hot water.  This was a lesson I almost had to learn hard way.  I prefer dipping the cookies away from the pan of hot simmering water for many reasons.  One of the most significant reason is I don't want the chocolate to continue to get heated to too high of a temperature as the amount of chocolate is reduced from the dipping process.

To coat the cookie in chocolate, I simply place an Oreo in the chocolate, submerging it by pressing down with a fork and then lifting it up out of the chocolate.  You want to make sure the entire cookie is coated in chocolate. I then gently tap the fork on the side of the bowl a few times to release some of the melted chocolate before placing the chocolate dipped cookie on a parchment lined cookie sheet.

Don't worry about any bubbles that may appear on the top of your chocolate coated cookie, as you will be adding more chocolate to the tops of your cookies later.  Using parchment paper on the cookie sheet adds to the ease of removing the cookie.  It also makes clean up so much easier.

After all of the cookies are dipped once, I take a teaspoon and top each cookie with some additional chocolate.  It gives some height and texture to the finished cookie.  Because the chocolate will set up somewhat quickly, I wait until I have added chocolate to about 10 cookies and then lightly sprinkle the sea salt on the tops of the cookies, crushing the sea salt with your fingers as you sprinkle.  It is important that the sea salt doesn't melt into the chocolate, but only adheres to the chocolate.

Let the chocolate completely set before removing from the parchment paper.  I sometimes escalate the drying process by placing the cookie sheet out on the table in the back vestibule where it is a little cooler.  Other times I just let them set on their own in the house.

The two and a half pound of Ghiradelli double chocolate candy making and dipping bar perfectly coats two packages of double stuff Oreos.  You should have a little bit left.

This time when I made the Oreos I only had three broken cookies between the two packages.  Sometimes I break them up a little more, put them in the leftover chocolate and then take out to let dry on parchment paper.  The chocolate covered broken bits of cookies make a great topping for ice cream.

Packaged in a box, tin or cellophane bag, they make a wonderful gift.  Served on a tray for dessert, with or without wine or some port, makes for a memorable ending to a dinner or cocktail party.  Be certain to have a few cookies wrapped in cellophane bags for your guests to take home.  I promise you these cookies are so good, they will hide them from their children and their partners.

Recipe
Chocolate Covered Oreos, Sea Salted

Ingredients
2 packages of double-stuffed Oreos
1  2.5 lb. Ghiradelli double chocolate candy making and dipping bar
Maldon Sea Salt

Directions
1.  Line two 15 x 18 cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
2.  Chop chocolate and place in bowl over simmering water until melted.
3.  Using a fork, dip the Oreo into the melted chocolate.  Lightly tap the fork holding the cookie on the side of the bowl to release some of the chocolate.  Place cookie on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.
4.  After all of the cookies have been dipped once, top each cookie with some additional chocolate using a teaspoon (10 cookies at a time).
5.  After each set of ten cookies is topped with additional chocolate, lightly sprinkle each cookie with sea salt. Note: Crush the salt with your fingers as you sprinkle the salt.
6.  Let cookies set completely.  
7.  Remove cookies from parchment paper and package in a tin, box or arrange on a platter.

Thankfully I am able to escape the winter weather for a few days.  So this will be my only blog posting this week as I fly clear across the country to Tucson for some sun, much needed relaxation and to spend some time with a very good friend.  I have put together a box of these chocolate covered, sea salted Oreos to bring as one of my hostess gifts.  As much as I loved how the photos here captured the beauty of the chocolate, I waited to post this blog as I made my way to Arizona so I didn't spoil the surprise of an unexpected gift.

In addition to returning home energized after a few days of escaping from the cold winter weather and from hikes on trails with views of the mountains, my plan will be to return with a great recipe for a margarita.  The friend I am visiting was the person who introduced me to the deliciousness of a martini.  A few years ago while having lunch at the Prado restaurant in Balboa Park in San Diego, she had convinced me to try a French martini.  It was seriously the best French martini I had ever tasted.  But just to be certain I had to order a second one. And yes, the second one confirmed my assessment of the first one.
With some degree of certainty, there are probably a few margaritas to be consumed while visiting the southwest.  And of course, in order to find a great margarita recipe I suppose I will have to taste a few of them, just to be certain the recipe will be good enough to share.