Halloween OREOs (Vegan, Gluten Free, Refined Sugar Free)
These Halloween Oreos are a cleaner, gluten free and vegan friendly version of the original. With a crunchy dark chocolate cookie and a naturally colored sweet orange (or green) cream filling, these bring you back to your childhood, turning the milk orange with every dunk!
I love recreating nostalgic favorites
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. So I was thinking recently, what is a favorite Halloween treat can I make into a healthy, gluten free, dairy free version? HALLOWEEN OREOS. The iconic Oreo with a creamy orange frosting. So I went to work. It took 3 tries to get the cookie PERFECT, but the little healthy Oreos were born. They're vegan friendly and also safe on a low FODMAP diet!
WHAT ARE HALLOWEEN OREOS?
They are basically a holiday favorite Oreo made with orange frosting. However I even took it a step further and made a green version, with added eyeballs, and made little mini Halloween Oreo Monsters. They’re too fun and I think adults like these just as much as the kids. These Halloween Oreos are made with oat flour, almond flour and unsweetened cacao power. I sweetened them with coconut sugar and a bit of maple syrup. They taste SO SIMILAR to real Oreos.
INGREDIENTS IN GLUTEN FREE HALLOWEEN OREOS
Oat Flour
Almond Flour
Cacao Powder or Black Cocoa Powder
Coconut Sugar
Baking Powder
Sea Salt
Coconut Oil
Maple Syrup
Egg or Flax Egg
Non Dairy Butter
Powdered Sugar or Sweetener
Natural Food Color Powders or Food Color Drops
SUBSTITUTIONS AND SWAPS
Oat Flour: This is a gluten free flour I love to add to my baking for texture. You may 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 almond flour here, the fat in the almonds gives these cookies a crunch.
Cacao Powder or Black Cocoa Powder: It’s important here that you use dark cocoa, dutch is probably best but you can also use black cocoa for that iconic Oreo flavor. 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! Any granulated sweetener should work here, such as organic cane sugar or granulated maple sugar (just not brown sugar).
Coconut Oil: This is your healthy fat in your cookie. I haven’t tried subbing this but you may try to sub for non dairy butter, grass fed 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: Either will work here! To make a flax egg, mix together 1 Tbsp of ground flax to 3 Tbsp of water water and let sit for 5 minutes.
Non Dairy Butter: I always use Miyoko's butter in my baking, but any non dairy butter should work here. Or grass fed butter.
Powdered Sugar: You can use traditional confectionary sugar here, or you can make your own unrefined powdered sugar by placing granulated sweetener in a blender for 30 seconds until a powder. I suggest a neutral flavor sweetener like monkfruit, so it doesn't alter the flavor of your cream filling.
How to make vegan Halloween Oreos:
(See recipe card below for measurements and full recipe!)
1.) Preheat 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 4 tbsp of the coconut oil to warm, not hot. Combine with the dry ingredients. Add in the maple syrup. 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”) 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.
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.
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.) Divide your frosting in half in two bowls. Add one packet of Color Kitchen Foods Orange color powder to one of the frosting bowls and mix thoroughly until combined. Now do the same with the Color Kitchen Foods Green color powder. Alternatively you can use any food coloring drops for each bowl! I just highly recommend natural drops.
Assemble the Cookies:
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.
Enjoy room temp but store in an airtight container on the counter for 2 days, or in the fridge for up to 7. You can also freeze these and enjoy any time!
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.
The little monsters in action. They're fun to stack, move around, and dunk in a big glass of (oat) milk.