Oreo Cookie Butter

Oreo Cookie Butter

I’ve only had Trader Joe’s infamous cookie butter once. I don’t really remember what it tastes like, but I do remember it was really good. The idea of making my own never even crossed my mind until … I saw a recipe for Oreo cookie butter. Now that was something that I needed to try.

Recipe Research

Per usual, I did some searching and checked out numerous recipes of varying complexity. After my experience making marshmallows, I decided to go with the simplest recipe first. It only required two things: Oreos and coconut oil. Just in case, I decided to start with a half batch. Nothing good can come from ruining a whole package of Oreos.

So into the food processor went 16 Oreos and 2 tablespoons of coconut oil. Then came the fun part, letting Bug and Peanut (my 4 and 2 year-olds) take turns with the food processor. You have to occasionally scrape down the sides so there were hand-off spots built in.

Several minutes in and it looked smooth and slightly runny like it was supposed to, but the texture was still a bit too gritty for what I wanted.

Time to Experiment

I didn’t want to give up on the batch, but it was too far in to follow one of the other recipes properly, so I decided to improvise. I took the concept of the more common recipe I had found and added a tablespoon of sweetened condensed milk. This made things way to thick and clumpy (the opposite of what I was after) so I added a tablespoon of evaporated milk. That smoothed things out, but it was still just not quite right. I went with half a tablespoon more of each and called it good.

If I had actually looked at the other recipe, rather than relying on memory, I would have realized that the condensed and evaporated milk was supposed to be a 2:1 ratio.

It seemed a bit thick, but the alternate instructions said to refrigerate for an hour or so and then stir a little water in to help smooth it out. Again not relooking at the directions when it was time, I dumped in a tablespoon of water instead of the 1/8 that they suggested starting with. It was fine and I actually ended up adding two more tablespoons and seriously considered adding a fourth.

Time to spoon it up into the cute little jars I had picked up at Target. I got the jar halfway full and realized that while it was cute, it was a bad choice for this project.  Jars for thick mixtures should have smooth sides and wide-mouthed tops, not scalloped sides and tapered in tops. Oh well, I guess I will just have to keep that jar of Oreo cookie butter for myself. I did have another, more appropriate jar so the rest of the batch went into that one.

Update on the first batch

The recipe with just the coconut oil said to store at room temperature, however, once I added the evaporated and condensed milk it now needed to be refrigerated. Basically, this all means that the mixture was too thick to dip. It worked okay as a spread and spread on my apples it was quite tasty.

Original Recipe (which I halved)

• 1 package of Oreos
• 1/4 cup coconut oil (use refined in order to avoid a strong coconut taste)

1. Add everything to a food processor, or powerful blender, and blend until it becomes a smooth, liquidy consistency. When it cools, the coconut oil will solidify again and the mixture will thicken. Store in an airtight container.

 

The Alternate (more common) Recipe

• 1 package of Oreos
• 4 tbsp butter
• 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
• 1/4 cup evaporated milk
• water as needed

1. Twist apart the Oreos and scrape the filling into a medium bowl and place the cookies in a food processor.
2. Run the food processor until the cookies become powdery
3. Heat a small saucepan over low and melt the butter
4. Add the condensed milk, evaporated milk and cookie cream to the butter and stir until well combined.
5. Add 1/2 cup of the liquid to the cookie powder and stir. Slowly add more liquid and stir until you get the consistency that you want. Less liquid for thicker, more for thinner. Place in the refrigerator for at least one hour.
6. If it’s the consistency that you want, congratulations you’re done. If you want it a little thinner, add water 1/8 teaspoon at a time and stir until it reaches the thinness that you want.

 

Cookie Butter Take 2

Not completely happy with my first test, I decided I should try the more common recipe. Again I just did a half batch (had to finish off the package). This version does take a bit more time and effort, but nothing difficult and the results were worth it. The cream pops right off the cookies (except for the one inside-out one where I had to scrape the cream as best I could out of the textured side), so that part didn’t take as long as I feared. I was wanting mine to be a bit thinner for dipping apples in so I ended up stirring in all of the cream mixture. It seemed creamy and smooth so into the refrigerator it went.

When I came back later to check on it, it had solidified. I certainly wasn’t expecting that so I added 1/2 teaspoon of water, watched it puddle on top and added another 1/2 teaspoon of water before I even began to attempt to stir. To get started, it wasn’t so much a stir as a dig and chop to break up the solidified cookie butter. 4-1/2 teaspoons and a sore palm later, it was a consistency I was okay with. Note to self: using a thin handled metal spoon to stir with was a bad idea.

 

Now that it was mixed, it was time for the real test. I dipped an apple slice and not only did the dip stay on the apple but it tasted great. Test passed on both fronts. While I wish it didn’t need to be refrigerated, so that I could mail it, this was the version I liked best.

 

Take-a-ways and Tips

• Both versions tasted good, but the more common recipe was definitely closer to the texture and taste I was looking for.
• Just about any cookie can be substituted here. Chocolate chip, sugar, Nutter Butters, Milano, the list goes on.
• Baking is a science, cooking is an art and creamy snacks are improv. Start with the base script and add a “yes, and”.
• Half the fun of this recipe is deciding what to dip in it or spread it on.
• If you are making this as a gift, be sure to make extra. Chances are some of it is going to disappear before you even get a chance to package it.