TKO's for Valentine's Day!

So, TKO's may actually stand for Thomas Keller's Oreos, but I think it should stand for Total Knock Outs because man-oh-man these are sinfully good! I decided to alter them a bit for Valentine's Day and cut them into heart shapes and dyed the filling pink (aw).
These seriously are so unbelievably delicious. I wouldn't say that they really taste like Oreos at all (another reason they should be called "Total Knock Outs" and not Thomas Keller's Oreos!), but something even better! The crisp salty, chocolate cookies complement the creamy white chocolate center so delectably! 
Plus, they make a pretty cute Valentine's Day treat! Serve these with a nice big glass of milk and give in to your sugary cravings.

How completely GORGEOUS are these photos?! My brilliant boyfriend Mikey took them :)

TKO's

recipe from Thomas Keller's Essence of Chocolate through here

ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups + 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup + 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 15 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into 3/4 inch cubes at room temperature
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 8 ounces white chocolate, chopped
• gel food coloring (optional)

I think it's clear who took these photos, lol- yours truly.

1. For the filling: In a small sauce pan, bring the cream to a boil. Remove from heat and add the chocolate. Let stand for 1 minute and then whisk until smooth. Transfer to a small bowl and let stand at room temperature for 6 hours to thicken up.
2. For the cookies: In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt on low speed. With the mixture running, add in the butter, a piece at a time. After about 2 minutes, the mixture should start to cling together in pebble-sized pieces. At this point, stop the mixture and transfer the dough to a surface (I poured mine onto a counter covered in wax paper).
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line your baking sheets with either silicone baking mats or parchment paper. Set aside.
4. Separate the dough into two pieces and roll each piece of dough out between two pieces of parchment paper to 1/8 inch thick. Stamp out shapes using cookie cutters. Place 1/2 inch apart on the prepared baking sheets.
5. Bake for 12-15 minutes, rotating half-way through. Remove from oven and cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. 
6. To assemble: Lightly whip the white chocolate cream to aerate (add in your food coloring now if using). Transfer the filling to a pastry bag and pipe roughly 1 1/2 tsp onto the center of one cook and top with another, pressing down lightly until the filling comes to the edges.

Like I said before, you won't find any calorie counts for holiday treats here. That just wouldn't be right!