Pirate Cookies (DIY Oreos)

You can't understand how long I've wanted to make oreos for. 

I mean, yeah, I've tried the recipes floating around the internet, and they're delicious, they're just not oreos.

I'm not saying these taste exactly like oreos though, I gave up on that idea a while ago. No, I just like to think of these as a cookie in themselves. 

Dark chocolate cookies with snow-white vanilla goodness smooshed in the middle.

Cookies, that can leave you looking a bit like a pirate. 

But come on, everyone's been there (and who wouldn't want to be?) . Don't worry, everyone you talk to is not staring at you thinking "Man, you look pretty stupid with chocolate cookie crumbs stuck to your teeth", nah.

They're all just dreaming about eating cookies, looking like an awesome ship matey and sailing away from their troubles.  

Pirate Cookies (DIY Oreos) 
makes  40 - 50 cookies

3/4 cup + 2 tbsp (7 oz / 195g) superfine / caster sugar
1/3 cup (2.5 oz / 70g) shortening
1/4 cup (3 oz / 85g) corn syrup / golden syrup
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 tsp salt
2 cups (9 oz) all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
scant 1/4 tsp baking soda
1 cup (4 oz / 110g) dutch-process cocoa powder (I used Hershey's special dark cocoa)
2 tsp instant coffee
1/4 cup (60 ml) hot water
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp (90 ml) milk

Cream the sugar, shortening, karo, vanilla and salt in a large bowl until smooth.
Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and cocoa powder to the large bowl.
Dissolve the instant coffee in the hot water.
Start mixing the dry ingredients into the shortening mixture. After about 1 minute, continue mixing whilst adding the coffee, 1 tbsp at a time until you've added it all. Then start adding the milk (you might not need to use it all), while your still mixing until you get a soft but no too sticky dough. Divide the dough into 4 pieces. Flatten into discs, wrap in clingfilm and leave to rest in the fridge for about 10 minutes whilst you preheat your oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
Roll out a disc of the dough between two sheets of parchment paper to a 1/16" thickness.
Cut out 2" circles and place on a lined cookie sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes (you can tell if they're done by seeing if they're crisp once cool). While the cookies are cooling, make the filling:

Vanilla Filling*

1 1/2 cups (5.25 oz / 150g) powdered sugar
3 tbsp shortening / butter
1/2 - 1 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt
2 1/4 tsp hot water

Cream shortening/ butter with the powdered sugar, vanilla, salt and 1 tsp of the water. Add more water, little by little until you get a smooth, not very sticky filling. Roll a slightly heaped 1/2 tsp of filling into a ball and sandwich between two cookies. Repeat until you've filled all the cookies.

*You could make flavor variations like peppermint, coffee, chocolate by adding some peppermint extract/ crushed candy canes, instant coffee or cocoa powder, also, you can put as much or as little filling as you want in each cookie!