TK-Os (Thomas Keller Oreos)

Oreos. Something I didn’t grow up eating. Something I don’t particularly like. At least not the packaged version. So when I got the chance to try Thomas Keller’s version from the Bouchon Bakery Cookbook, I couldn’t wait.  The kind folks at Thomas Allen provided me with a sneak peek of the cookbook (you can get your own sneak peek over on Eater.com) and, more importantly, the recipe for “TKOs” (Thomas Keller Oreos).

To be honest, I found the recipe a little convoluted for the average home cook though, in essence, these are not difficult to make – basically chocolate shortbread cookies (very rich and chocolatey) sandwiched with a white chocolate ganache.

Yield: 8 sandwich cookies

TKOs

TKOs Thomas Keller Orels Bouchon Bakery Cookbook with a glass of milk

Thomas Keller's version of Oreos from The Bouchon Bakery Cookbook

Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 25 minutes
Inactive Time 5 hours
Total Time 6 hours 25 minutes

Ingredients

White Chocolate Filling:

  • 4 ounces (125 grams) 35% white chocolate, chopped
  • 0.5 ounce (15 grams) Unsalted butter
  • ½ cup + 1 teaspoon (125 grams) Heavy cream

Chocolate Shortbread:

  • 1 ¾ cups + 1 ½ tablespoons (259 grams) All-purpose flour
  • 1 cup + 1 ½ tablespoons (87 grams) Unsweetened alkalized cocoa powder
  • 3/8 teaspoon (1.6 grams) Baking soda
  • 8 ounces (227 grams) Unsalted butter
  • 2 teaspoons (6 grams) Kosher salt
  • ¾ cup + 1 tablespoon (161 grams) Granulated sugar

Instructions

Make the filling

  1. Melt the chocolate and butter together, stirring constantly. Meanwhile, bring the cream to just under a simmer.
  2. Pour the cream over the melted chocolate and whisk to combine. Pour into a container and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or up to 1 day, until completely chilled.

Meanwhile, make the shortbread

  1. Place the flour in a medium bowl, sift in the cocoa and baking soda, and whisk to combine.
  2. Place the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Turn to medium-low speed and mix until smooth. Add the salt and mix for another 15 to 30 seconds. Add the sugar and mix for about 2 minutes, until fluffy. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
  3. Add the dry ingredients in 2 additions, mixing on low speed for 15 to 30 seconds after each, or until just combined, then mix until the dough begins to come together.
  4. Mound the dough on the work surface and, using the heel of your hand or a pastry scraper, push it together into a 6-inch-square block. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, until firm. (The dough can be refrigerated for up to 2 days or frozen for up to 1 month.)

Make and bake the cookies

  1. Position the racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat the oven to 325°F (standard). Line two sheet pans with Silpats or parchment paper.
  2. Unwrap the dough and place it between two pieces of parchment paper or plastic wrap. With a rolling pin, pound the top of the dough, working from left to right, to begin to flatten it, then turn the dough 90 degrees and repeat (this will help prevent the dough from cracking as it is rolled). Roll out to a 1/8-inch-thick sheet. If the dough has softened, slide it (in the parchment) onto the back of a sheet pan and refrigerate until firm enough to cut.
  3. Using the fluted cutter, cut rounds from the dough. If necessary, push the trimmings together, refrigerate until firm, and reroll for a total of 16 rounds. (Any trimmings can be baked as is, cooled, and ground in the food processor to use as cookie crumbs over ice cream.) If the dough softens, return to the refrigerator until the cookies are firm enough to transfer to a sheet pan. Arrange the rounds on the sheet pans, leaving about I inch between them. (The dough can be shaped in advance; see Note.)
  4. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes, turning the pans around halfway through baking, until the cookies are fragrant, with small cracks on the surface. (Because the cookies are so dark, it can be difficult to tell when they are done.) Set the pans on a cooling rack and cool for 5 to 10 minutes, then transfer the cookies to the rack to cool completely.

Assemble the cookies:

  1. Place the filling in the bowl of the mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, and beat until smooth. Transfer to the pastry bag.
  2. Turn half of the cookies over. Pipe 1/2 inch-long teardrops in a ring on each one, beginning 1/8 inch from the edges of the cookie, and then, working toward the center, pipe concentric rings of teardrops to cover the cookie (use 18 grams of filling per cookie). Top each with a second cookie and press gently to sandwich the cookies.
  3. The cookies are best the day they are baked, but they can be stored in a covered container, at room temperature if unfilled, or refrigerated if filled, for up to 3 days.

Notes

Note on advance preparation: The shaped dough can be frozen on the sheet pan—wrapped in a few layers of plastic wrap—for up to 1 month. Transfer to a lined room-temperature sheet pan, and bake from frozen.

did you make this recipe?

please leave a comment or review on the blog or share a photo and tag me on Instagram @eatlivtravwrite !


 
See what I mean? It’s not the simplest recipe to follow but boy do they taste good 🙂

A note re: the ganache – it does need to be whipped using either a stand mixer or electric hand beaters. I left mine in the fridge overnight but it was still fairly liquidy when I took it out to fill the cookies. I’m not used to that with a ganache – usually a night in the fridge will harden it to a Nutella-type consistency which is perfect for filling but not this one. I am guessing it’s due to the high proportion of liquid to chocolate.  In any case, a few minutes with the hand beaters whipped it into a beautiful consistency for filling.

And the taste?

SO so good. The shortbread was very *short* evidenced in the fact that mine were so thickly cut out. Thinner ones just wouldn’t hold together with my dough.  Also, I liked the more rustic look – Chef Keller’s are very fancy and delicate 😉  If Oreos all tasted like this, it would be very dangerous. I took these to a school bake sale and told the boys they were a very famous chef’s version of Oreos and they literally sold out in minutes. The boys loved them 🙂  And me? Yeah, I’ll make them again for a special occasion!

* used with permission

And guess what?  Thanks to Thomas Allen, I have one copy of The Bouchon Bakery Cookbook to give away to one lucky Canadian reader (sorry international friends).

To enter, simple tell me which of these recipes from the book you’d like to try by leaving a comment on this post:

Pecan Sandies
TKOs
Gingerbread
Oh Ohs
Crepe Cake
Pâte à Choux dough
Paris – New York
English Muffins
Witches’ Hat
Speculoos
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Gougères
Caramel Nut Tart

For a second entry, tweet the following message:

@ThomasAllenLTD + @eatlivtravwrite are giving away a copy of @Chef_Keller ‘s Bouchon Bakery Cookbook! Details here: http://bit.ly/QUhUwY

then come back to leave me a comment to let me know you did!

Contest closes Thursday November 1st at 6pm EST. Winner chosen by Random.org and announced on Friday November 2nd

Edited to add: Contest closed thanks for your interest!

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In the French Kitchen with Kids cover on eatlivetravelwrite.com

69 thoughts on “TK-Os (Thomas Keller Oreos)”

  1. They look yummy! I so wish I could make it next week to see Mr. Keller, but I’ll be spending my Tuesday evening finalizing the details of the Halloween costumes – ha! I’m looking forward to getting my hands on this book – I’m interested in seeing the witches’ hats.

    Reply
  2. Those TKOs look amazing Mardi. A thousand times better than an oreo is my thought.

    If I won I’d quite likely do the gingerbread first. But then I’d have to follow them up with the chocolate chip cookies.

    Reply
  3. I’m not eligible for the giveaway but just wanted to say WOW — these homemade oreos look incredible! I love the contrast of white and dark chocolate. And knowing Thomas Keller’s recipes, somehow it doesn’t surprise me that this one has 14 steps…

    PS I’m curious about the Paris-New York. Is it based on choux pastry?

    Reply
  4. I would love to try the TKOs, but ultimately try each and every recipe from start to finish. I had tickets to the Thomas Keller event, but now they have scheduled me for surgery on the same day. Tried to get out of it (the surgery that is – hot happening), Thomas Keller is my idol. I have all but this one book of his – The French Laundry, Bouchon, Ad Hoc…etc.
    And Mardi, I attended your very first Macaron class at LeDolci.

    Reply
  5. Who’m I kidding?! I would make all of them!

    …but I’d probably start with the TKOs and the Chocolate Chip Cookies. I’m very curious about the Paris-New York and the Speculoos.

    Thanks for the wonderful giveaway!

    Reply
  6. I’d start with the chocolate chip cookies because I’m always on the hunt for the perfect recipe!
    I’ve also tweeted for a second entry.
    Thanks!

    Reply
  7. Even if they don´t resemble oreos much, these sound like a super chocolate cookie! The way they´re cut is perfect too.

    Reply
  8. These Thomas Keller chocolate sandwich cookies look pretty good, Mardi! I would love to give them a whirl if they’re not too too difficult. Your bakesale boys were lucky! I’d want to try the Oh Oh’s in the Bouchon bakery book. Great name. Happy Autumn!

    Reply
  9. These look absolutely incredible! I would love to dye the filling orange for Halloween. I am most anxious to see his English muffins and the Witch’s Hats. Love your photography!

    Reply
  10. They look unbelievable, I am not a fan of oreos myself but these I would devour! I love shortbread cookies and a white chocolate filling puts them over the top! (A nutella filling would be awesome too) 🙂

    Reply
  11. This book looks beautiful and I’m itching to get my hands on a copy (and find some alternate universe where time is unlimited and calories don’t count). If (when) I did get a copy, I think I’d got straight to the Pâte à Choux recipe. I’ve been taken with airy yeast doughs lately… so light and delicious.

    Reply
  12. I am leaving a comment, Mardi, even though I can’t compete for Keller’s new cookbook. His recipes are involved and every recipe is a “project”, in my opinion, but the result, if you follow his directions, is always fabulous. I have all his cookbooks and need to make more of his recipes. My favorite restaurant in Las Vegas is still “Bouchon” in the Venetian. The quality is always high.

    Reply
  13. Great post Mardi! The only 2 questions I have on the recipie are: step 8 – “J-inch-thick sheet” perhaps a typo?; and step 12, pipe in “rings of teardrops” – I don’t quite follow the tearddrop concept, and wish the 18 grams of filling was converted to a measure also. Otherwise all else looks fairly straight forward.

    Can’t wait to get my hands on this book. The way Keller describes the process is always enjoyable, and well my sweet tooth is really going to enjoy being tickled. I’m in for a batch of TKO’s, Chocolate Chip Cookies and the Caramel Nut Tarts.

    Oh and I suppose I have an excuse to procure that digital scale I’ve always wanted, you know, to make sure I nail the 18 gram measure. 😉

    Tweet has been sent (http://twitter.com/Jugtree/status/263310137433935873).

    Reply
    • Hi Jeeto,
      Yes that was not so much a typo but I am guessing a measurement that did not translate when cut and pasted from PDF into a Word document which is what I was sent to publish. I went back and checked the PDF and made the appropriate adjustment. Be assured also that I did not measure the filling at all, just piped in (not in teardrop shapes, too fussy for me) what I figured was enough.

      Reply
  14. English Muffins because we love them and I am also interested in the caramel nut tart – who wouldn’t be!! yum! But really wanting to try the english muffin one.

    Thank you!

    Reply
  15. Definitely the gougère recipe, tried some last weekend and they came out less than stellar. I want to perfect them so that I can serve some during my Christmas Eve dinner party.

    Reply
  16. Oh my. I don’t know what I’d make first…. perhaps the caramel nut tart as I have a tart pan that I haven’t had the chance to use yet….

    Reply
  17. Oh Mardi, I’m so eager to get this book! I’d love to try the recipe you made (even if it is a little “convoluted”) and his gingerbread. I want to see how Thomas Keller does gingerbread!

    Reply
  18. I’m not fond of store-bought Oreos either, but these look delicious!! If I won Keller’s book, I think I’d make the Pâte à Choux first. Thanks for the giveaway.

    Reply
  19. I have tried the TKOs at Bouchon in NYC and they do not disappoint! I would actually like to try the recipe for Speculoos though – I have a friend who is *obsessed* and I’m sure it would be a fun surprise in the mail!

    Reply

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