Who doesn’t love oreos? These are unbelievably good. Okay, not “healthy,” but they are a treat and a homemade version of the boxed originals. We are going for a remake here.
These cookies make me and my family happy down to the last bite. Just like indulgences of all kinds, the store-bought variety comes with a long and loaded list of not-so-good-for-you ingredients. So when Mrs. MOMable suggested I dig inside my culinary baking notes—the holy grail of homemade baked goods—I jumped at the chance.
I used ingredients I already had in my pantry (most of them organic), and I’m thrilled about the outcome. I even upped the health factor by substituting whole-wheat flour for all-purpose flour, and the substitution isn’t noticeable! Even more awesome.
Whole-wheat homemade Oreos? Yes, please! I hope you enjoy these treats as much as my family did!
Homemade Oreos
- Yield: 2 - 2 1/2 dozen 2-inch-round cookies. 1x
- Cuisine: Treats
Ingredients
Cookies:
- 1 cup unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg (room temperature)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups whole-wheat flour
- 3/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
Filling:
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 2 tablespoons half and half
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
- 3–3 1/2 cups powdered sugar (sifted)
Instructions
Cookies:
- Cream the butter and granulated sugar until well incorporated. Add the egg and vanilla, scraping when necessary. Sift together the whole-wheat flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt until all the lumps disappear. Add the sifted mixture to the butter mixture, and mix on low speed until well incorporated, scraping when necessary.
- Divide the dough in half, wrap, and refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Once the dough is chilled, preheat the oven to 350F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll out the dough onto a lightly floured surface until about 1/8- to 1/4-inch thick.
- Cut the shape of your choice (I chose to use a small biscuit cutter), and bake for 10 to 13 minutes until set.
Filling:
- Once the cookies are baked and cooled, begin to prepare the filling.
- Combine the butter, half and half, vanilla, and salt until well incorporated. The mixture will be lumpy, so scrape often.
- Add the sifted powdered sugar, scraping often, and mix on low speed until well incorporated. The mixture will be a bit stiffer than cake icing.
- Once incorporated, transfer the mixture into a piping bag if making a large batch of cookies. If making a few cookies, like I did, I like to use a small offset spatula to fill the cookies.
- You can freeze the extra filling for later use if need be. Just pop into a zip-top bag, and bring to room temperature naturally when ready to use. Or save it in a glass jar for up to 30 days in the fridge.
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I love these cookies. They did seem a little too salty for my taste, even though I only added 1/2 to 3/4 tsp salt. Maybe it was because I used salted butter. Next time I will reduce the salt even more.
I really like this cookie sandwich but I don’t think I would call it an oreo. I found it was more akin to the taste of a whoopie pie. Still very delicious! I also felt that the chocolate taste needed to be stronger. Would I need to add more cocoa powder or more sugar to achieve that?
★★★★
If you want a stronger chocolate taste, add more cocoa powder. But you may need to add more sugar to cut out some of the bitterness!
My family and I are chocoholics, and I didn’t want to chance the cookies not being chocolatey enough. So, I used 1 cup cocoa and 2 teaspoons vanilla, and the cookies were utterly AMAZING! Totally worth the time and effort! One of our new favorite recipes!!
SO GLAD YOU LOVED THEM! In our opinion they are chocolatey enough but hey … :)
Recipe is ok, cookie part was dry, tasteless and grainy, perhaps from whole wheat flour. Filling was way too sweet. Maybe I’ll add cream cheese next time.
★★
sorry these didn’t turn out for you.
Hi! Yet to make these but just wondering, does the filling really last for upto 30 days in the fridge when it has milk and cream it in?
Thanks!
Hi Sarah! Ours were fine, but it all just depends. I doubt they’ll last that long in your house anyway. ;)
How do you store these? I’m making these for a gathering a day in advance. Thanks!
I would just store them in a container in the fridge!
Can you make a gluten free version?
Hey Olivia! You could try using gluten-free all purpose flour in place of the wheat flour. Let us know if you try it!
Do these cookies have any spread?
Hi Alexys! If I understand what you’re asking, then no, these cookies don’t spread when they bake.
Can I make this sugar free? A challenge huh? :-)
I’ve never tried it Tracy. sorry!
Can I make these sugar free?
unfortunately, I’ve never tried it.
I always liked the store bought oreos but always felt the cream was too sweet. As I got older I couldn’t make myself eat it anymore. I eat healthy most of the time. Anyway, those in the store seemed to have a undertone of coconut to me. Last night I made these with half coconut flour and half all purpose flour. They are good but I would have liked to have more of a chocolate presence. Do you have any suggestions for a deeper darker cookie?
★★★★
You can buy extra dark cocoa powder. Hershey’s Special Dark or if you have a bulk food store, inquire if they can get black cocoa. It’s REALLY black. I’ve gotten it for chocolate muffins and it makes it rich and dark. I’m saving mine for this recipe.
That would work great!
I made the oreo’s this evening. I actually read this comment before I made them, and used extra dark cocoa powder (not hershey’s brand, but from a specialty food store). They turned out to be delicious, and as black in color as the store bought- the only difference is that the chocolate flavor was even deeper.
I left out the baking powder by accident, but it created a slightly soft and crunchy cookie. I also added about 1/3 cup of cocoa powder and a teaspoon of mint extract to the frosting to make a double chocolate mint cookie sandwich- I am thinking now I should’ve rolled the edges in crushed candy canes. Next Christmas!
Thank you for the recipe :)
★★★★★
That chocolate mint cookie sandwich sounds delicious! Next year, maybe? :) Thanks, Katey!
If you substitute some of the sugar for molasses you may get a darker colour.
I am not sure about the ratio though, but if they turn out too sweet you can take out sugar from the filling (?).
★★★★★
Oh boy! I just made these the other day and they where delicious!! Perfect little oreo :).
Thanks for the recipe. For Christmas I am adding mint and making the icing green. Or I will roll it in crushed candy canes I think. They will make beautiful gifts. Here’s a photo of what mine turned out like:
[IMG]http://i61.tinypic.com/do2s7o.jpg[/IMG]
★★★★★
Great job!
I am super excited to try these. I agree with the rest that oreo’s are supper delicious but full of bad things!
I was just wondering why you use wholewheat flour as supposed to AP flour? Have you tried them with both before?
you can make it with both whole-wheat or AP flour. Enjoy!
I understand that you can use both but just wondering why you chose whole wheat over AP flour? Sorry for my weird questions lol :)
Whole wheat will yield a denser, crispier cookie. And, some of our fans requested it with whole wheat when we were developing the recipe. You are welcome to use whichever you like. Enjoy!
When I was rolling the dough out it would stick to the rolling pin.
I had to cover it with Saran Wrap and them toll it out.
Any tips on getting it to not stick on the rolling pin?
you can roll it between two sheets of parchment paper. that should help.
I live in Costa Rica where half and half doesn’t exist. What can I substitute? Or use my own half milk half cream mixture?
Caroline, half and half is exactly what you described: half milk half cream. enjoy!
Hi! I was wondering if I could make these with black dutched cocoa?
you sure can.
Thank you for this recipe. I have an issue in my house with dairy so I had to change the dairy ingredients for the non-dairy variety. But I have to say, they were still popular, and also makes for a great school treat because there are dairy issues in my son’s class.
I can’t wait to make these!!!
I hate the high fructose corn syrup in store bought ones, makes them taste funny to me.
<3 <3 Thanks for posting an awesome recipe and being active in your comments.
I hope you like them! :)
This recipe is amazing. Thank you so much. I made for little siblings and they went nuts for it.
★★★★★
These cookies are amazing!!! I definitely prefer these to store bought Oreos. I did not have any cocoa powder on hand, so I made this substitution for every 3 Tbsp. cocoa powder: 1 ounce (30 grams) unsweetened chocolate (reduce fat in recipe by 1 tablespoon). I melted the chocolate and added it in at the same time as the egg and vanilla. I also substituted unsweetened applesauce for the butter to make them a little healthier. They turned out perfect and my family couldn’t stop eating them.
★★★★★
thanks for sharing your successful substitution Kayla! :)
How much applesauce did you use to replace the butter..??? WOW healthy Oreos ! Thank you so much for the tip. This is sure to be a family favorite for many year’s. Thank you for sharing this post.
★★★★★
I am really excited – the dough is now in the fridge…This is actually the second attempt – rookie mistake..I melted the butter in the microwave NO doesn’t work :) I will let you know if it worked out now :)
Karolin, know that you are not the first one to melt the butter in the microwave. melting isn’t softened. let us know how good they come out!
Can you use only ap flour in this recipe?
Absolutely.
Hi! Have you try with melted bitter sweet chocolate and the butter together instead cocoa powder?
no I have not. typically, when recipes call for cocoa powder it’s not swappable for melted chocolate.
Laura
For Christmas we got a Cuisinart Ice Cream machine. My children have been loving the “organic” ice cream coming out of that thing. They have been “begging” me to buy oreo’s so we can make “cookies and cream ice cream”. I finally caved and said I’d by ONE package and that’s it. We made the ice cream last night, and then I found you this morning!!! From this point forward, I’ll be making your recipe. That way I will have control of what ingredients will be used. Thank you so much for sharing this!! I told them about it when I picked them from school, and they are looking forward to making the cookies.
Blessings ✿◠‿◠,
Kelly
Hi Kelly! I’m thrilled you found this recipe! For a cookies and cream ice cream flavor, you can save yourself the filling step and only make the cookies. just mix the baked and crumbled cookies in your ice-cream as it churns and is nearly finished.
A friend’s only request for Super Bowl Sunday is Salt Free Oreos. Any magic you can work to make this recipe or another oreo recipe salt free?
Jan, the salt is part of the “leavening” meaning: it’s necessary so it activates the baking powder. you can reduce it but I don’t recommend leaving it out.
I know this is an old post, but maybe I will get a response!
I made these last night and they were fabulous! The only thing is the cookie is soft and crumbly, not crisp like an orea. Any suggestions for a crisper cookie?
Thanks!
Andrea, the trick for a crispier cookie is thinner “cookie” and a minute or two longer baking. I am glad you liked them!
I have a child who has a dairy allergy and store bought oreos are the only safe cookie that I can buy for her for a quick treat. I use dairy free butter but what can I use in replace of the half and half for the frosting?
Jamie, I’ve successfully made these with full fat coconut milk.
I made the cookie part of the oreos and they are simply addictive. Better than the ones you buy, full of additives and processed ingredients. The whole meal flour is not even noticeable as the oreo wafer is so chocolatey. Amazing!
who needs the filling when the chocolate wafer is so delicious!? :)
I have been making homemade oreos for years by adapting a Smitten Kitchen recipe. My husband, a true cookie aficionado, claims they are better then real Oreos! To save time and keep the cookies from getting tough, I use my small cookie scoop to portion out even size mounds on a parchment lined baking sheet then squish the mounds with the bottom of a glass. When filling, you just match up 2 even sized cookies. At Christmas I make peppermint frosting and roll the cookie sandwiches in naturally dyed, corn syrup free candy cane bits. The cookies themselves (unfrosted) are great for any dessert recipe, like grasshopper pie, requiring a chocolate cookie crumb crust.
Also, since we try to eat desserts only on the weekend, I usually make the Oreos on a Saturday, then freeze the leftovers on Monday.
I recently stopped buying Oreos because I am cutting down on the sugars my family eats so this recipe is amazing!! Thank you so much! I can definitely allow these in the kitchen! ;)
How long are the cookies good for after baking?
how long do cookies last at your house? :) A few days in an air-tight container.
Oh what an awesome healthy alternative to our favorite store-bought Oreo cookies. I would definitely try this out. My only drawback would be, it might become a regular in my cookie jar once the addiction sets in. Double time in the kitchen!
Ha! I know right! I keep staring that the filling in my freezer!
Sue, these look delish! I will be trying these in the near future. For us novice bakers…can you explain how to cream butter and sugar together? I know that is probably a dumb question, but I never seem to do it right:)
Hi love! SO glad to see you here and please, never a dumb question. The key to creaming butter and sugar together is to use room temperature butter. Not butter you heated up in the microwave for a bit and some is warm, some is cold and some is melting. This makes everything fall apart when you are adding things one by one.
I just dump the sugar in the mixing bowl and then add the room temperature butter and mix until well incorporated; meaning no big lumps of either ingredient alone, not mixed in. If you remember to always use room temperature ingredients you should never have any problems.
Hope this helped!
Thanks lady! That does make sense. I’ll have to try these at some point when life calms down for a minute:)
love these!
Thanks! They are so yummy and beautiful!
MMM… chocolate… *drools*
I am still drooling!
These look and sound amazing. May have to make them tonight!
They were so beautiful when I finished them it broke my heart to gobble them up, well, almost broke my heart! HA!
I’m in love. And drooling.
Now to whip up a GF version… Little Miss misses Oreos most of all I think. LOL
for GF substitute the flour measurements + 2TB of GF all purpose baking flower (like Bob’s Red Mill)
Personally, I don’t like Bob’s GF AP flour – anyone actually try this with their own mix or another GF version?
I use king arthur flour baking mix to make these GF. You can see the ones I suggest here under pantry essentials.