You all loved when I made Halloween Oreos…. Well it’s time for HOLIDAY OREOS! I made this recipe again but colored the frosting a red and stamped the cookies with snowflakes to make them even more holiday. I used to love this time of year when the Oreos turned red! These are a copycat recipe, they taste so close to a real Oreo in a healthier version!
Oreos are one of my all time favorites. I loved to dunk them in milk until they got completely soggy and I’d have to fish them out with a spoon. Why are kid-foods so memorable and fun to eat? Most of these iconic cookies and snacks defined my childhood. I love how food can bring you such memories.
These Oreos taste very close to the original. They’re made with cacao powder, almond and oat flour, sweetened with just a little coconut sugar and maple syrup, and colored naturally using Color Kitchen Foods plant-based colored powders! So no crappy artificial colorings. The cookie is a rich dark chocolate with a crunch, and they’re sandwiched with a homemade dairy free buttercream. If you are looking for a gluten free dessert for your holiday (virtual) get together, these are delicious, festive and a unique cookie to the usual traditional holiday cookies! They are also low fodmap diet approved, so easy on the digestion.
These Healthy Holiday Oreos are gluten free, dairy free and refined sugar free!
And they still taste delicious and a copycat to the original! This version is made with oat flour (or all purpose gluten free flour), almond flour and unsweetened cacao power. I sweetened them with coconut sugar and a bit of maple syrup. These cookies taste just like Oreos!
What are in these healthy Holiday Oreos?
Oat Flour: This is a gluten free flour that adds some bulk and fiber to your cookies. But they are still Fodmap-friendly! You may also sub this with all purpose gluten free flour
Almond Flour: I love to bake with almond flour because it gives the best texture and has a neutral flavor. You cannot sub the flour here except for with another nut flour, the fat in the almonds gives these cookies a crunch.
Cacao Powder or Cocoa Powder: It’s important here that you use dark cocoa, dutch is probably best but you can also find black cocoa. I used cacao powder because it’s a superfood and full of antioxidants, and they came out great!
Coconut Sugar: I always use this as my sweetener. It’s low glycemic and safe on most low carb diets. And doesn’t taste like coconut!
Baking Powder: Just a touch to give the cookies a slight rise
Sea salt: Salt always balances the sweetness in a recipe
Coconut Oil: This is your healthy fat in your cookie. I haven’t tried subbing this but you may try to sub for vegan butter or regular butter or ghee
Maple syrup: This helps add crunch to your cookie. I made these with honey as well and they both work but I recommend the maple syrup
Egg, or Flax Egg: Any will work here, it helps with binding. Otherwise the dough will be crumbly and may fall apart after baked
How to store gluten free Holiday Oreos:
These healthy Holiday Oreos store the best in the fridge in an airtight container. If you store them at room temperature, the cookies may get soft and the frosting will lose its shape. The fridge keeps them firm and crunchy. You can also store in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months and defrost in fridge when ready to enjoy!
What special baking tools are needed?
2” cookie cutter for cutting out the cookie rounds. Optional cookie stamp for designs on the cookies
Optional piping bag for the filling
Hand mixer for the buttercream filling
Ingredients:
The cookies:
1/2 cup fine blanched almond flour
1/2 cup oat flour
5 Tbsp coconut sugar or granulated sweetener of choice
1/2 cup cacao or unsweetened cocoa powder (the darker cocoa the better)
3/4 tsp baking powder
Pinch of sea salt
1 egg (room temp) or flax egg for vegan (1 Tbsp ground flax plus 3 Tbsp warm water)
4-5 Tbsp of melted coconut oil
4 tsp of maple syrup, or honey
The buttercream filling:
*This makes a full batch of frosting, you can half this recipe to fill just the Oreos*
1/2 cup of non-dairy butter, or regular butter
2 cups powdered sugar (make unrefined powdered sugar by putting any granulated sweetener In a high speed blender for 30 seconds)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1-3 Tbsp non dairy milk
Natural red food coloring, I used Color Kitchen Foods plant-based natural colored powders
Make the cookies:
1.) Preheat the oven to 350ºF and line a baking sheet with parchment paper
2.) Combine almond and oat flour, cacao powder, coconut sugar, baking powder and salt into a medium sized bowl.
3.) In another bowl, melt the 1/4 cup of coconut oil to warm, not hot, and add to the maple syrup. Combine with the dry ingredients. Mix well into a dough starts to form. Now mix in the room temperature egg or flax egg until a dough forms. If the dough is still crumbly and does not form a solid dough without breaking apart when rolled into a ball, add another tablespoon of coconut oil.
4.) Refrigerate for 15 minutes until dough is just chilled
5.) Now take out the dough, roll into a ball and place between two pieces of parchment or wax paper. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out to about 1/8” thickness, or however thick you want your cookies. But 1/8” is true to an Oreo.
6.) Using a small circle cookie cutter the size of an Oreo (about 2”), or top of a glass… get creative with what you can use! Cut out small circles and place them on the lined baking sheet. Repeat this process with the extra dough until it is all used. Place the circles on your baking sheet. It should make 18-20 cookies.
7.) Bake for 8-10 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes so they do not break when you transfer them, and then move them to a cooling rack to cool completely. If your cookies are thicker, they may need to bake another 2 minutes.
Make the filling:
Your cookies must be cool before you frost them! And you will need a hand mixer to make the frosting.
1.) First, soften the butter in the microwave. You can do this by putting the microwave on defrost setting and placing the butter in there for 30 second increments until just soft.
2.) Now mix this butter with a hand mixer until it gets soft and fluffy. Add in your powdered sugar and keep mixing until the clumps are mixed in.
3.) Mix in your vanilla and milk, and mix for about 1-2 minutes until it becomes a frosting consistency. Start with 1 tbsp of milk and add more if the frosting is too dry. Your frosting should be spreadable. If it’s too liquidy you can always add more powdered sugar.
4.) Now add in your food coloring powders or natural food color drops. You may also try mixing beet powder with a little turmeric if you have those on hand!
Assemble gluten free Holiday Oreos!
I used a piping bag to squeeze the icing on the cookies, it gives them a smooth edge. But you can frost them on as well. I did about 2 tsp of frosting per cookie. Spread it out evenly and then smoosh the cookie down a bit with the top half of the other cookie.
Place in the fridge for 30 minutes or freezer for about 15 minutes, to set. Store in fridge or frozen, the icing may get soft at room temperature.
Recipe Notes:
You can substitute a flax or chia egg to make these vegan
You can use any frosting for the filling, and then add the color.
If your cookies are rolled thicker than 1/8", they may need another minute or two in the oven
These store up to 7 days in the fridge in an airtight container, but are the crunchiest the first couple of days left on the counter. Store on a plate or tray for 2 days outside of the fridge. These can be frozen and thawed when you want to enjoy.