Copy Cat Oreos (Gluten free and Casein free)

This weekend we had some family visiting from out of town, and one of the children is restricted to a gluten free and casein free diet. I don't have a lot of experience with gluten free and casein free cooking, but I know how important it is to be very careful when a diet like this is necessary. One thing I wanted to do was to make a special dessert treat that was acceptable for our little visitor. These Copy Cat Oreos turned out great and were surprisingly similar to the real thing. The Frugal Farm Wife posted the gluten free version of these cookies, but I needed to modify the recipe slightly so that it was casein free as well.

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Copy Cat Oreos (Gluten free and Casein free)

1 1/4 cups all purpose gluten free baking flour
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/2 cup unsweetened dark baking cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter flavored Crisco
1 large egg

Filling

1/2 cup shortening (Crisco)
2 cups sifted powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Prepare a sheet pan by lining with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, combine flour, xanthan gum, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, combine the sugar and Crisco, beat together until fluffy. Beat the egg into the mixture. Add the dry ingredients a little at a time to the Crisco mixture, blending well with a spoon. Sprinkle gluten free flour on a rolling mat and roll the dough to about a 1/4-inch thickness. Cut out with a 1 1/2-inch round cookie cutter. Place cookies on prepared baking sheet and bake in preheated oven for 9 to 12 minutes. Allow to cool on the pan for about 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.
Prepare the filling by combining the shortening, powdered sugar, and vanilla; mix until smooth and well blended. Apply the filling to the bottom of a cooled cookie, then place another cookie on top to make a sandwich. Makes 24 sandwich cookies.

Since I don't have a lot of experience with gluten free cooking, I didn't have all the ingredients on hand for this recipe. When I went to shop for supplies, I was disappointed to find that my regular grocery store doesn't have a gluten free section. I went to a second grocery store and was able to find the flour that I needed, but ended up at a third store before I found everything on my list. It must be very frustrating to have to routinely shop for gluten free products and not to find them readily available.

When it came time to line my baking sheet, I realized that I was out of parchment paper. I had to improvise with some parchment triangles.

Roll out the dough and cut out with a small cookie cutter.

Place cookies on the baking sheet and bake 9 - 12 minutes.

Spread a cooled cookie with filling and top with a second cookie to make a sandwich. These cookies have a crunchy texture and the filling is creamy and sweet - a very good copy cat!