Healthy Homemade Oreos
The new meaning of YOLO: You Obviously Love Oreo's
Did someone say Healthy Oreo’s?
You came to the right place if that’s what you’re looking for!
I bet you wouldn’t be here right now if you didn’t at least have an interest in Oreo’s or health for that matter. I know for many kids growing up Oreo’s are a staple for lunches, snacks, desserts, and with every flavor under the moon there’s an Oreo for everyone but that doesn’t mean everyone can enjoy those cookies whether it’s due to allergies, health issues or other reasons.
That’s why I created these Healthy Oreo’s!
Flashback to the younger days
I grew up with Oreo’s always around and I have to admit I loved them but as I started getting older, learning more about nutrition and how food can impact my health and well being I started to become more picky about what I put in my body and noticed that when I started to eat more whole foods and less processed foods (including Oreo’s) I noticed I had more energy, my stomach wasn’t constantly in pain and bloated and I was able to discover some amazing new foods like kale, salmon, and dark chocolate (I had never had any of these before the age of 16 to be 100% transparent with you)!
This small change and outlook on food, nutrition, and health didn’t happen overnight and it wasn’t for me. It was a long learning process but I fell in love with the journey and have now turned a corner where I can enjoy every food group in moderation including cookies!
As much as I love a classic Oreo cookie they unfortunately contain wheat (meaning gluten) which does not go well with me. There are a few gluten free Oreo cookies out there that I have tried but they are all high in sugar and I just couldn’t find a low sugar variety that was worth spending $8.00 on. So determined to make a healthy Oreo low sugar, I went into my kitchen and started experimenting with different flours and combinations of ingredients. After a few failed attempts and dozens of cookies later I came out with a healthy Oreo that tastes like the real deal!
Choosing the ingredients
I am pretty proud just how close to an Oreo I got with this recipe! I might have tested about 3-4 different combinations of ingredients and spent way too much time and money into cookie fails but I got here and that’s all that really matters right?
The cookies are just as crunchy as an original Oreo Cookie and the filling is sweet with a hint of vanilla but not loaded with sugar like the competitors cookies.
I ended up testing a few different flours for this recipe but I found two different flours that worked perfectly, creating the crunchy and chocolatey texture while still allowing everyone who has food sensitives to enjoy these cookies without any discomfort later on.
Gluten Free Oat Flour and cassava flour were the two flours that came up on top when it came to taste, texture and flavor! I found that the cassava flour required a bit more almond milk (about 1-2 tbsp more) but in the end they were tied for best Gluten Free, Vegan, Dairy Free Oreo out there. If you are paleo or want to make sure you are 100% certain there is no gluten in these cookies stick to the Cassava Flour as this flour is not made from grains at all so it works great as a grain free flour alternative. Oats are naturally gluten free but some are processed in a facility that may contain are process gluten on the same equipment so to be 100% sure you are getting a gluten free product read the labels and stick to those foods that avoid being processed in a gluten processing facility.
Making the Cookies
To make the cookie part for these Healthy Oreo’s you will need a few basic ingredients.
- Choice of flour (cassava or GF oat flour)
- Cacao Powder
- Coconut Oil
- Lakanto Monkfruit Sweetener or any granulated sugar of your choice
- Almond Milk
- Vanilla Extract
- Salt
- Baking Powder
The first step is to melt the coconut oil in a medium sized mixing bowl. From there you can add the cacao powder and mix well until smooth. Next add the almond milk, sweetener of choice, and vanilla extract and mix well. Now add in the flour, salt, and baking powder.
The dough may be a bit dry at first but keep mixing it for a few minutes. If after 5 minutes it’s still a bit dry add 1-2 tbsp of almond milk to the mixture. If you’re wondering if the texture is right at this point take a tablespoon or so size of dough and try to form it into a ball. If the dough forms into a ball the dough is perfect! If it’s still crumbly and dry add 1-2 tbsp of almond milk or enough to be able to form the dough into a ball.
At this point you have a few options on how you want to go about forming the cookies into the round shape that is the classic Oreo everyone is used to.
Now there are a few ways to form these cookies. You can either roll the dough out on some wax paper with a rolling pin and use a cookie cutter to cut out the circle shape or you can take a tablespoon of dough in your hands, roll it into a ball and flatten it out with your hand. This way is a little more involved but it works if you don’t have a cookie cutter! I actually used a small round container that holds straws so you can get creative as to how you want to shape the cookies!
Once you have the dough formed into cookies, place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake them in the oven for 5-7 minutes at 350F. They might still be a little soft when they come out of the oven but they firm up after cooling for 10 minutes or so.
Making the Filling
While you wait for the cookies to cool you can start on the filling, which is even easier to make than the cookies themselves.
The filling is a mixture of
- Dairy free yogurt
- Coconut Butter or Pili Butter
- Vanilla Protein Powder (or 2 more tbsp of coconut butter)
- almond milk
- vanilla extract
All you have to do here is put every ingredient into a food processor and blend together until smooth and creamy!
In this recipe I used Lavva Pili Yogurt which is one of my favorite non dairy yogurts on the market. They don’t add any sugar what so ever to their products, the yogurt also contains a unique blend of live vegan cultures so you still get the benefits of probiotics without the dairy that some may be sensitive to, making these vegan friendly.
I also used Pili Butter in this filling recipe as a thickening agent as it contains coconut butter and coconut oil which naturally firm up when chilled in the fridge.If you don’t have Pili Butter you can replace it with any coconut butter you may have on hand. You can replace the 2 Tbsp of Pili butter with 2 Tbsp of softened coconut butter in this filling recipe and it will firm up just the same!
If you don’t want to use protein powder in this recipe just add in 2 more Tbsp of coconut butter and the filling will firm up just as well!
Time to assemble the Oreo's
Once the cookies have cooled and you have mixed the filling ingredients you now have everything you need for your healthy homemade Oreo!
Take one cookie and turn it upside down. Using a knife spread about 1 tsp or so of frosting onto the bottom surface of the cookie and then place another cookie on top. Press firmly so that the cookies stick together but not too hard where all the filling comes oozing out.
Repeat these steps until all the cookies have been frosted!
I had extra filling so I actually dipped my Oreo’s in the filling when I ate them over the course of the week! Its like Oreo covered in filling!
Storing these healthy homemade Oreo's
You can store these Oreo’s at room temperature for 3-4 days in a air tight sealed container or bag. I used my Stasher Bag which kept them fresh and ready to enjoy at any moment!
You can also store them in the fridge for up to 3 weeks and in the freezer for 4-6 months! Trust me though these cookies will not last that long!
One thing to note about freezing them is that I found that the cookie is not as crisp after thawing it out. It still tastes like an Oreo but doesn’t have the same crunch as you might expect from the original Oreo cookie.
Benefits Of Pili Nuts & Butter
I love Pili Butter for many reasons! Pili Nuts are the main ingredient in this butter and boast so many nutritional benefits. They are grown wild in rich, fertile volcanic soil, and are especially high in magnesium, manganese, and vitamin B1. These nuts are nutrient dense, contain cholesterol-lowering good fats, and are composed of all 9 amino acids, making them a complete protein. Plus, they don’t weigh you down and make you tired like most snacks do.
Pili nuts taste like a cross between a cashew and a macadamia nut that are rich in flavor with a creamy, smooth and buttery texture eaten on their own. In the butter they create a smooth and creamy spread that will make any recipe stand out!
Have you tried this nut yet?
Let me Know what you think!
If you make these Healthy Homemade Oreos let me know how you liked them! Tag me on instagram @hollys_bestlife and follow me on Pinterest! I can’t wait to hear your thoughts and see your creations!
Enjoy those Oreos!
Other recipes you may enjoy!
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Healthy Oreos
Equipment
- Oven
Ingredients
- ¼ cup coconut oil melted
- ¼ cup cacao powder
- ¼ cup Lakanto granulated Monkfruit sweetener coconut sugar works too!
- 1 Cup cassava flour oat flour works too
- 3-4 tbsp almond milk
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- ½ tsp baking powder
For the Vanilla Frosting
- 1/2 cup plant based yogurt (I used Lavva Brand)
- 2 tbsp coconut butter/ Pili Butter can also experiment with other butters!
- 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
- 1-2 tbsp almond milk
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium size mixing bowl, melt the coconut oil and then add in the cacao powder until smooth.
- Now add in the monkfruit sweetener, vanilla extract and almond milk to the mixture until combined.
- Next add in the flour, salt, and baking powder until everything is combined. The dough might be a little crumbly at first. Try forming it into a ball and if it forms without crumbling the dough is perfect. If it's still a bit crumbly add 2-3 tbsp more of almond milk.
- Now take the dough and place it on a sheet of wax paper. Gently flatten it and put another sheet of wax paper over that and roll out the dough using a rolling pin. The dough should be 1/4 inch thick or so.
- Use a small cookie cutter or any other round utensil you might have around the house. ( I used a water bottle lid!) and cut them into circles. You can also roll them into balls with your hand and then flatten them.
- Bake cookies at 350 F. for 5-8 minutes until a little firm (they will crisp more after fully cooling). Let cool completely on the baking sheet or move them to a cooling rack.
- For the filling combine all ingredients in a food processor. Blend for 1-2 minutes until smooth and creamy. Make sure the coconut/Pili butter is soft before blending.
- Once the cookies are cooled, take a knife and spread the frosting onto the bottom of one of the oreo cookies. Take another cookie and place it on top of the frosting of the first! Now you just made your first homemade oreo!
- Repeat until the cookies are all frosted! You will have extra frosting but no worries you can eat it with a spoon or dip your oreos in it later on to make them extra sweet!
- You can store these cookies at room temperature for up to 3-4 days, in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks, or in the freezer for as long as you want! But they don't last that long! I found that the fridge is the best method if you're going to eat them in the next few weeks. The freezer is great for storing long term but the cookie looses it's crisp factor after thawing.