Halloween Pumpkin Oreos

I will take any excuse to celebrate and make themed holiday food. Why not? Let's have a little fun in this life. I live with a holiday scrooge but I just refuse to accept that. I bought him a halloween tie covered in spider webs with 3D eyeballs in the middle. I love it. He's not sold. He thinks the dog should wear it and I just frown at him and charge ahead.

What he didn't protest was the bright orange cheddar pesto popcorn I made to honor halloween. He also ate about 75% of these pumpkin oreos. He also probably won't turn down a pumpkin beer tomorrow. So secretly I think he really likes halloween and can't wait to wear his new tie.

These oreos are really fun. They require some waiting time but not a lot of hands on time. The dough needs to be refrigerated for an hour and the filling takes 2-3 hours to set but if you are patient, it will pay off. The cookies are super chocolatey and crispy. Way better than their store bought counterparts. The filling is pretty much like stuffing a pumpkin pie between two cookies that taste like brownie batter. Who could protest that? I sure can't. Blake can't either. They may have the power to turn a holiday scrooge into an enthusiast. I will let you know the results. Until then, we all can agree that a little fun in the shape of an oreo is a pretty good thing.

Halloween Pumpkin Oreos 
Adapted from Half Baked Harvest, makes 20-25 oreos

Pumpkin filling
1 package gelatin (found in the baking aisle)
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 can sweetened condensed milk (14oz)
2 eggs, beaten
1 can pumpkin puree (15oz)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Chocolate wafer
12 tablespoons butter
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

In a medium sauce pan whisk together gelatin, pumpkin pie spice, salt, condensed milk, and eggs. Place on a burner over low heat and stir constantly for 10-15 minutes until the mixture thickens. Stir in pumpkin and vanilla extract until combined. Remove from heat. Place filling in a sealed container and refrigerate for 2-3 hours until thick and spreadable like jam.

In a medium microwave safe bowl, place butter and chocolate chips. Microwave for 30 seconds, stir, and repeat until the butter and the chocolate have melted. Whisk in sugar and vanilla extract until combined. Whisk in the egg.

In another medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking soda. Add flour mixture to the melted chocolate and butter and beat with an electric mixer or stir with a wooden spoon until dough comes together.

On parchment or wax paper, roll dough into a rough log about 2" across. Roll up dough in wax paper. Refrigerate for an hour. You can rotate your dough periodically, if you want the perfect circle. They taste the same no matter what the shape though so this step is definitely not necessary

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment. Slice cookie dough into 1/4" thick slices, place on parchment (can be placed right next to each other), and bake for 11-14 minutes. Cookies should be fairly firm when you take them out of the oven. Let the cookies cool.

Once your filling has set, spread generously over your cookies and make your sandwich.