12 Creative Ways To Use Oreos

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Oreos are a classic for a reason. These black and white cookies have been around since 1912 and are still as delicious over 100 years later. Still, there are times when you don't necessarily want to just eat an Oreo, you'd rather enjoy them in some other form. We've explored various creative ways to use Oreos, so you can enjoy that classic chocolate and cream flavor in other recipes.

Perhaps you have a pack or two in your pantry that you haven't gotten around to eating and you want to make them more exciting by trying them in a different dessert. Or, maybe they're your favorite cookies and you just want to use them in as many ways as possible. There are more recipes that you can use Oreos in than you might imagine, particularly beyond the obvious choices like blitzing them into frosting or using them as a cookie crumb for pies and cheesecakes. In fact, we feel like we only scratched the surface here. There aren't many sweet treats that couldn't be improved with some Oreos.

The brilliant thing about the chocolaty flavor of these cookies is that they pair well with plenty of other ingredients. Vanilla, fruits, sweet spices — they're all great contenders to eat with them. Keep reading for 12 ways to use Oreos that will level up your dessert game and make you see these sandwich cookies in a whole new light.

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Oreos and cinnamon rolls might not be an obvious pairing when you first think about it, but actually cinnamon and chocolate go brilliantly together. I'm forever pairing the two in everything from hot chocolate to pain au chocolate, so adding these cocoa-rich cookies to your cinnamon rolls makes perfect sense.

You can find recipes out there for Oreo cinnamon buns, but if you already have a favorite go-to cinnamon roll recipe, you're halfway there already. Making the Oreo version isn't much different from making them the regular way. The only difference is with the filling.

You start out making your dough the usual way, kneading it and leaving it to rise. Once you get to the part where you've rolled out the proofed dough and are adding the filling, you take a shift from the normal route. Spread the rolled out rectangle of dough with butter, then sprinkle it with your usual cinnamon sugar, plus enough Oreo cookie crumbs to dust the whole surface. You can also add cocoa powder if you want them extra chocolaty.

After you've filled the dough, rolled it up, and cut it into portions, leave the buns to do their second proof. After baking, frost them and you're ready to go. Adding more Oreo crumbs or larger chunks on top of the frosting wouldn't be a bad call.

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If you're anything like me, you'll be well-acquainted with cookie butter. Perhaps a little bit too well acquainted. But, did you know that you can make your own, using any cookies of your choice? In the context of this article, we're of course talking about making Oreo cookie butter.

It's surprisingly easy to make if you have a food processor. There are various ways of making it. Some use more ingredients, including condensed milk and butter. Others simply contain Oreos and coconut oil or vegetable oil. The main thing is getting the cookies ground into a super fine crumb, then adding the melted fats and other ingredients and often processing them together some more. Stop once you've got your desired consistency — some like it totally smooth, while others prefer a bit more texture.

Once made, there are many uses for cookie butter. You can stir Oreo cookie butter into coffee to make a kind of cookie mocha, for example, or you could drizzle it on ice cream and fruits or over a freshly baked cake. And, once you know how to make cookie butter, there's no stopping you.

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Bread pudding is one of those classic desserts that's tasty but not all that exciting. No kids are begging their parents to make bread pudding for dessert and it's not the kind of thing you find on every restaurant menu. But, Oreo bread pudding is a whole other story. Combining the creamy custard of regular bread pudding with the deep chocolate flavor of Oreo cookies, you end up with a dessert that's greater than the sum of its parts.

You make it in a very similar way to regular bread pudding. It calls for cubes of bread (such as French bread or brioche) to be soaked in a custard mixture of eggs, milk, cream, sugar, and vanilla extract, then baked in an oven until set. The only real difference is that you mix in crumbled or quartered Oreos before baking. If you go the crumbled route, you're not looking for fine crumbs, but rather larger crumbled pieces. However, if you end up with some crumbs while cutting or breaking up your cookies, you can absolutely stir those in, too. Classic bread pudding usually includes cinnamon, which I personally would leave in because it's delicious with chocolate, but the choice is yours.

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Cake pops are generally made from cake, crumbled and mixed with frosting and then covered in melted chocolate and decorated. However, Oreo cake pops are a perfect no-bake alternative. Cookie crumbs take the place of cake crumbs, so they come together particularly quickly and easily.

Our Oreo cake pops recipe is a straightforward one that calls for just 3 to 4 ingredients: Oreos, cream cheese, and chocolate (white and dark or just white, if you want to keep it simple). You turn the cookies into fine crumbs using a food processor, and mix in the cream cheese until you have a homogenous paste. Form this mixture into even-sized balls and put them into the freezer with skewer sticks or popsicle sticks pushed inside. Once chilled, dip the balls in melted white chocolate, before decorating with dark chocolate, if desired. You can also decorate with more Oreo crumbs or  sprinkles.

Despite forgoing cake, these have a similar texture to cake pops and fill the same niche. They're great for kids parties, although grownups will love them too. Plus, once they're done, they're basically unrecognizable as Oreos, which is great if you want a change.

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This one isn't so much a recipe as a pairing, and it's definitely creative. Some people might be ungenerous enough to call it strange, but you shouldn't knock it until you try it. We're talking about Oreos and sour cream, the combo that had the online world arguing.

After doing the rounds on the internet in 2021, the Oreos and sour cream trend had TikTok divided, and we understand why. It's a controversial combination, mixing a sweet snack with something that's generally considered a savory ingredient. However, the idea is that the combination tastes like an Oreo cheesecake, and that makes sense when you think about it.

Sour cream is often used in desserts and has the creaminess and tang you'd get from the cheese layer of a cheesecake. While Oreos are effectively a cookie crust before being turned into crumbs. Admittedly, not everybody loves this pairing, but enough people do that there must be something to it. And it's an easy way to try new things with your Oreos. No cooking required: just a pot of sour cream.

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Tiramisu is a classic Italian dessert for a reason. The pairing of rich coffee and a creamy mascarpone layer, with a hint of chocolate is a delicious one. But, when you add Oreos to the mix, you get an even more chocolaty dessert. Oreo tiramisu is a creative alternative to the regular kind, that just requires a simple switch to make it work.

Normally, tiramisu is made from ladyfingers, or savoiardi as they're known in Italy, soaked in freshly brewed espresso and sometimes a coffee liqueur or dark rum for a bit of a kick. These soaked sponge fingers are layered with a sweet mascarpone cream and then dusted with chocolate. With Oreo tiramisu, the method is largely the same, but you replace the ladyfingers with Oreos. The main difference in how you make it is that the cookies aren't soaked but rather quickly dunked in the coffee mixture on each side to prevent sogginess.

The resulting dessert is similar to standard tiramisu, but with a much more intense chocolate flavor. It's like a mocha version of a tiramisu, which is quite brilliant, really. You need to make sure the dessert spends at least five hours in the fridge before serving to make sure the textures are right. Finish it off with fine Oreo crumbs on top in place of cocoa powder.

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Oreo truffles aren't dissimilar to Oreo cake pops, but they hit fancier. Decorate them nicely and you could give them out as gifts during the holidays or serve them up after your meal at a dinner party. It's a particularly great way of using up Oreos, since you get a rich, chocolate-flavored center, but those not in the know wouldn't necessarily guess what's in them.

In our easy Oreo truffle recipe, the center is made from a mixture of cookie crumbs and cream cheese. After being rolled into balls, they're put in the freezer for an hour to firm up, so they're easier to work with and the coating goes on more smoothly. When they're ready, dip them in melted chocolate. You can use a chocolate of your choice, but white chocolate gives you more of a classic cookies-and-cream flavor, while using dark or milk chocolate will make them more intensely chocolaty.

If you want them to look as good as they taste, drizzle them with more chocolate of a contrasting color. For example, if coated in white chocolate, drizzle them with dark chocolate, or vice-versa. It doesn't take long for these to come together but they look and taste super special.

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French toast already roams the borderlands between breakfast and dessert, so it doesn't take much to nudge it fully into sweet treat territory. Oreo French toast is a way to make this brunch favorite feel like a full on dessert, and we regret nothing. It's crisp around the edges, soft and custardy in the middle, and packed with cookies-and-cream flavor. Yes, it's not going to win any awards for most nutritious breakfast, but it tastes amazing.

There are many ways to make Oreo French toast. You could mix crushed Oreos into your usual custard mixture before dipping your bread and frying it, or you can dip slices into custard, coat them in cookie crumbs and then cook them in butter. However, with these methods, it's tricky to walk the line between perfectly cooked and overdone, because Oreos are so dark that it's hard to tell when they're burning. The bread can also end up a little soggy under the crumbs this way.

Alternatively, you can stick to your go-to French toast recipe and simply sprinkle crushed Oreos over at the end of cooking, along with any other chosen toppings. This way you get more crispness to the bread. Sweeter breads like challah or brioche are particularly good for Oreo French toast, but you can use other varieties if you prefer.

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Homemade fudge has a reputation for being fussy, but a cookies and cream version is ridiculously easy to throw together. You don't need a candy thermometer and it only contains a handful of ingredients. It looks and tastes good enough for holiday gift boxes but you can also whip it up as a quick dessert any time, as long as you have a couple of hours to let it set.

The base is super straightforward to make. Although there are many ways to make fudge, this type of cookies and cream fudge simply involves melting together white chocolate and sweetened condensed milk, before folding in chunks of crushed cookies. Some recipes call for Irish cream to give it a boozy kick, but it's entirely optional. Once the mixture is ready, you pour it into a parchment-lined pan, smooth the top somewhat, and let it set in the fridge for at least two hours.

One of the great things about this recipe is how easily you can customize it. Stir in a splash of peppermint or orange extract for a festive feel, swap classic Oreos for one of the brand's flavored varieties, or drizzle the finished fudge with melted dark chocolate. Whatever twists you add, it's a simple recipe that looks and tastes impressive despite being simple to make.

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You don't have to wait a year until the next time the state fair comes to town to have deep-fried Oreos. If you're confident with deep-frying, they're simple to make, just requiring the ingredients for a simple batter mixture, and Oreos, of course. This nostalgic treat makes a great dessert for a special occasion, served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream to balance it out.

Mashed's homemade deep-fried Oreos recipe calls for simple ingredients, like eggs, milk, flour, sugar, and salt to mix a thick batter. The consistency should be thick enough to coat the Oreo, but not so thick that you get more batter than cookie, or it can end up overly stodgy — and this is not a light dish at the best of times. After dipping the cookies in batter, they need to be fried in oil for a couple of minutes on each side, until golden brown and crisp. Drain them on a paper towel and let them cool for a few minutes before digging in, to keep from scorching your mouth.

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If you're looking for a slightly more nutritious way to enjoy your Oreos or you want to make your breakfast more interesting, consider making Oreo overnight oats. If you think that eating oats for breakfast is boring, this might be a way to convince you otherwise. And throwing a couple of Oreos in your oats doesn't negate their other health benefits, so go wild.

If you've ever made overnight oats before, the process will be familiar. You mix together oats and milk, which form the main part of the dish. Different recipes then call for other additional ingredients. For instance, some add yogurt or a sweetener like honey or maple syrup. Others might have vanilla in them, or throw in some chia seeds for texture and nutrition. Alongside all this, you stir in a couple of crushed Oreos per serving. It's up to you if you want them chunky or in smaller crumbs.

Once everything is mixed together, put it in a sealed container in the fridge overnight, or for at least four hours. You can eat it straight up or serve it with some more plain yogurt and a sprinkling of cookie crumbs.

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Baklava might not seem like an obvious place for Oreos, but the combination works surprisingly well. Traditional baklava consists of layers of phyllo pastry and crushed nuts soaked in syrup. Adding Oreos adds an extra dimension to this classic Middle Eastern dessert. It's certainly not traditional, but it is a fun twist if you're looking to try something different.

The way you make Oreo baklava is similar to the traditional method. Layer sheets of phyllo pastry in a buttered baking dish, brushing each one generously with melted butter. Instead of using only chopped nuts for the filling, scatter a mixture of crushed Oreos and finely chopped walnuts or pistachios between the pastry layers or use crushed Oreos alone.

Once assembled, cut the baklava into diamonds or squares before baking until crisp and golden. As soon as it comes out of the oven, pour over a warm sugar syrup, then leave it to cool completely before serving, giving the syrup time to absorb. A final sprinkle of Oreo crumbs over the top is a nice touch.