Homemade Halloween Oreos
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These homemade Halloween Oreos are such a fun holiday treat! Easy to make, and they taste way better than the pre-packaged kind!
Have you been seeing the Halloween Oreos at your local supermarket? Such a cute idea for the holiday, right?
My kids love all the fun Oreo varieties that are out there these days. But they love it even more when we can recreate them together at home! I think we'll be bringing in a big batch of these homemade Halloween Oreos for this year's class parties.
Halloween Oreos have the same taste as regular Oreos, but they're stamped with a spooky design and sandwiched with an orange-tinted vanilla creme filling. The colors are perfectly festive! Orange and black for Halloween.
My homemade Halloween Oreos recipe has all that same deep chocolate flavor as the store-bought kind, with a tender, shortbread-like texture that practically melts in your mouth. And the vanilla creme filling is sweet and just a little bit tangy with cream cheese. No icky preservatives, just real stuff like flour, sugar, butter, and cocoa. It makes all the difference when it comes to taste!
I used to always be afraid of cutout cookies, until I found this method. The dough is easy as can be to work with, you don't have to dust your counter with flour, and you can re-roll the scraps without the cookies becoming tough. It's easy, fool-proof, and mess-free. Not to mention fun! You can read more about my tips and tricks for cutout cookie success here.
I just cut the shapes using a 2 ½-inch diameter fluted circle cutter, and then stamped them with this fun set I picked up at Michael's. I found the same set on Amazon for you here. But be sure to check out this page too because there are all kinds of fun cookie stamps for Halloween. I kinda love them all!
For the filling you'll just want to mix in a few drops of orange gel paste color. This stuff is super-concentrated! So don't go squeezing in a big squirt; it's much easier to add more in than it is to take it out.
Or you can just leave it out altogether! I don't mind a little bit of food coloring once in a while, for special occasions, but I know not everyone is big on it. With their cute and festive designs, I think these homemade Halloween Oreos are every bit as fun, with or without!
Some tools/ingredients you may need for this recipe:
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Ingredients
For the cookies
- ½ cup (113.5 g) unsalted butter, (1 stick) cold, cut into small cubes
- 1 tablespoon oil, (light/neutral flavor such as canola, grapeseed, or light olive oil)
- ⅔ cup (133.33 g) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) kosher salt
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup (32 g) cornstarch
- ½ cup (43 g) dark cocoa powder
- 1 ¼ cups (156.25 g) all-purpose flour, (you may need as much as 2 cups)
For the filling
- 2 ½ cups (300 g) powdered sugar
- 3 ounces (85.05 g) cream cheese
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon (0.13 teaspoon) kosher salt
- a few drops orange gel paste color
Instructions
- To make the cookies:
- Cream the butter, oil, sugar, vanilla and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, just until the mixture is smooth. (Do not over beat, as this will incorporate air into the dough, which may lead to spreading.)
- Add the egg and mix just until incorporated.
- Mix in the cornstarch, cocoa powder and 1 ¼ cups of the flour.
- Continue adding flour until the dough gathers itself into a ball and pulls away cleanly from the sides of the bowl. (You may not need all the flour.)
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Roll the dough to a thickness of ⅜-inch, between two sheets of parchment paper. (Rolling pin rings will help you to achieve an even thickness.)
- Cut shapes using a 2 ½-inch diameter fluted circle cutter, then stamp with festive cookie stamps.
- Bake on parchment-lined baking sheets for 9 to 12 minutes, or until the cookies look dry on the surface, and feel firm around the edges and set in the middle.
- Cool completely, then sandwich with creme filling.
- To make the filling:
- Place the powdered sugar, cream cheese, vanilla, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, and stir together on medium-low speed until smooth.
- Tint with orange to achieve the desired color.
These are so easy to make and taste amazing! Cute treat for Halloween ??
So happy you like them Jennifer!
Can we substitute egg with some vegetarian option
Yes you can find info on ingredient substitutions here: https://bakingamoment.com/how-to-stock-your-baking-pantry/. Good luck!
I can't even with their cuteness!!! They're so adorable!
Lol thank you Sarah! My kids really loved them too 🙂
I don't have the black cocoa but I am making these tomorrow:)
I'm sure they will still be every bit as delicious! I've made them with regular cocoa many times. Good luck and enjoy!
Wow these Halloween oreos look perfect, Allie! Love them!
Thank you so much Sabrina! I'm so glad you like them!
love the stamps on these and yes, soooo much better than store-bought. no comparison. my boys would gobble these up!
Thanks Cathy! I know mine did!
These are SO cute! I am searching for a Fair Trade source for dark cocoa. So far I've tried several Fair Trade regular cocoa brands, but both the flavor and the color isn't quite right for "Oreos". Do you have any suggestions?
Thank you so much! I don't really know of any specific fair-trade brands, but I can tell you what you want to look for is a Dutch-processed cocoa. That is what gives that signature "Oreo" flavor. Two brands I have used in the past are Hershey's and King Arthur Flour Black Cocoa. Neither one of those is fair-trade, as far as I know, but the flavor is on-point! Good luck!
These are so cute! I really wish I could get hold of black cocoa powder in the UK so I could make them...I've only managed to find it on Amazon and it is extortionate!
Ooh, ouch, really? I know of a few brands besides Hershey's... have you tried King Arthur Flour or Valrhona? Basically any Dutch-processed cocoa powder will yield the taste and color you want. Good luck!
This recipe look perfect! We don't eat Oreo anymore like we used to because of all those preservatives and heavy food dyes. I know Oreo can last weeks because of preservatives. But how long is shelf life for your Oreo (if left on counter instead of fridge)? Thank you!
These should last at least a week or two Samantha! Basically the same shelf life that any homemade cookie would have. You may find that the texture changes slightly as it's exposed to air, but I haven't seen any spoilage or anything like that. Hope that helps!
These are adorable and I'm going to make these for someone for Halloween just not sure who!! "SIGH"..... the life of a baker changes when kids grow up and move across country ??...
Thanks for sharing...
Aw I hope you have fun Valerie! I'm sure you won't have to look too hard to find someone who'd enjoy a batch of homemade cookies 😉 Thanks for reading!
since the filling has cream cheese, do they have to be refrigerated?
If that makes you feel more comfortable then yes. But honestly there is way more sugar than there is cream cheese, so this filling is more like a candy than anything else. With that high of a sugar content it's not really possible for bacteria to grow. At least not in the short amount of time that these cookies would probably hang around! You can read more about this topic here: https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=high%20sugar%20content%20and%20bacteria. Thanks for the great question Mary and I hope that helps!
They look perfect!Cute cute cute.
Thank you so much Monique!
these are SO CUTE and look SO delicious!!!!!!
Aw, gee thanks Kayle! My kids really had fun with them 🙂
OMG, I love, and they look ghoulishly perfect 😉
Aw thank you Sarah! We had a lot of fun making them. Halloween treats are my favorite!