Homemade Mint Oreo cookies made with dark cocoa powder are crispy on the outside, with a perfect mint cream filling in the middle.
Homemade Mint Oreo Cookies
Mint Oreos are my favorite, and I love a good mint Oreo milkshake. I also happen to love making a homemade version of my favorite store-bought treats. I have to tell you, homemade Oreo cookies are better than the store-bought kind for sure. There's something magical about that chocolate and butter combination, and when it's the real thing, it just tastes awesome.
A homemade Oreo in my neck of the woods is soft cake mix chocolate cookies with frosting in the middle. They are good, but if that's what you're looking for, this isn't it. (You can find my soft and puffy cake mix Oreo recipe here. I've got you covered.) This recipe is a crunchy dark chocolate cookie filled with a sweet and simple cream; it goes perfectly with a glass of milk.
Tips for making homemade Mint Oreo cookies:
- The dark color of the cookie comes from the cocoa powder. A true dark chocolate cocoa powder will get you that almost-black, dark-brown cookie. A Dutch-process cocoa powder will get you what you see in my photos. A traditional cocoa powder will get you a light brown, with a hint of red, cookie. I like the dark or Dutch-process cocoa best for these cookies and highly recommend finding some.
- Not a fan of food coloring? You can skip it in this recipe, although there's something fun about that cool minty color.
Can you freeze homemade Mint Oreo cookies?
They freeze alright, but it isn't ideal. The issue is that they lose some of the crunch when you take them out of the freezer. If you do want to freeze these, I recommend freezing the cookies and the filling in separate bags, thawing, and then assembling.
How long are homemade Mint Oreo cookies good?
They'll last about a week in an airtight container. I found that they lose their crunch quicker than they actually spoil. In order to avoid that, if you'd like to make these ahead of time, I'd make the cookies and filling, and keep them separate until you are ready to serve the cookies.
Homemade Mint Oreo Cookies
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 min
- Yield: 24 cookies 1x
Description
Homemade Mint Oreo cookies made with dark cocoa powder that are crispy on the outside, with a perfect mint cream filling in the middle.
Ingredients
DOUGH
- 1 ¼ cups butter, at room temperature
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 cup Dutch-process cocoa or dark cocoa powder (I used Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 ½ to 1 ¾ cups flour
CREAM FILLING
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- ½ cup butter, melted and cooled
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 to 1 ½ teaspoons mint extract
- A few drops green food coloring
- Water
Instructions
- In a stand mixer with a cookie paddle attached, cream the butter and sugar together on medium speed, until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- Add the cocoa powder, salt, and vanilla, and mix until incorporated. Add half of the flour and mix.
- Add the remaining flour, ¼ cup at a time, until you get a pretty dry dough. You don’t want the dough to be sticky at all, and it might even crumble just a little. Don’t be worried about a dry dough; we want a crispy cookie that doesn’t spread when baked.
- Divide the dough into 3 balls, and pat them together to form a disk. Cover the disks in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for about 15 minutes.
- Now, if your world is crazy like mine, and 3 hours, instead of 15 minutes, pass before you get back to baking, let the dough rest at room temperature for 15 minutes. The butter makes the dough super stiff if it’s too cold.
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Remove plastic from one disk, and roll your dough out between 2 pieces of parchment paper or on a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough thin! We are talking ¼-inch to an ⅛-inch thick.
- Use a 2-inch circle cutter to cut out the cookies.
- Place on a cookie sheet and bake for 8 to 9 minutes. It’s super hard to tell when a near-black cookie is done. I baked mine for 10 minutes the first round, and they tasted burnt on the bottom, so you’ll need to adjust as you go.
- Repeat with the rest of the dough. Place the cookies on a wire rack to cool.
- While the dough is chilling, mix up the cream filling. Using a stand mixer with a cookie paddle attachment, mix the powdered sugar, melted butter, vanilla extract, mint extract, and 1 to 2 drops green food coloring together. Add 1 teaspoon of water at a time, if needed, until the mixture resembles a thick dough that is about the consistency of play dough. Adjust the food coloring to meet your needs.
- Divide the filling in half, and roll it into a log that is about 2 inches thick. Roll the log in plastic wrap, and let it chill in the fridge while the cookies are baking.
- After the cookies are cool, it’s time to assemble! Remove the filling from the plastic wrap. Using a sharp knife, slice off a piece that is between ¼- to ½-inch thick.
- This is the fun part of making your own Oreos. You can have traditional cream thickness, double stuffed, or even triple stuffed.
- Stack a cookie, cream, and then another cookie. Press lightly together. Repeat, repeat, repeat.
- Store in an airtight container for up to a week.
Notes
- The dark color of the cookie comes from the cocoa powder. A true dark chocolate cocoa powder will get you that almost-black, dark-brown cookie. A Dutch-process cocoa powder will get you what you see in my photos. A traditional cocoa powder will get you a light brown, with a hint of red, cookie. I like the dark or Dutch-process cocoa best for these cookies and highly recommend finding some.
- Prep Time: 40 min
- Cook Time: 10 min
- Category: dessert
- Method: bake
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: oreo cookies, homemade oreo, oreo filling recipe, easy cookie recipe, chocolate mint cookies
Love this homemade Oreo recipe? You might also like these cookie recipes:
- Easy Oreo Spider Halloween Snacks
- Homemade Oreos with a Candy Cane Cream Filling
- Homemade Soft Oreos from a cake mix
- Homemade Oreo Cookies
- Mint Oreo Milkshakes from Five Little Chefs
I can't wait for you to try this rich chocolatey treat. Now excuse me while I turn some of these into a milkshake.
This post was originally published in 2012 and has been updated and rephotographed in March 2019.
Kiki
I hadn't had Oreos in years before your recipe...THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! I made these, and they were perfect. I made the original ones a few weeks ago, and forgot to comment, but they came out perfect as well. I do have a question though: If I ever wanted vanilla Oreos, do I just omit the cocoa?
Melissa
Hmmm. I think you'd have to add more flour since is has such a heavy hand of cocoa in it... and a bit more vanilla?! It's worth playing with now that you know what the texture should be! Thank you so much for letting me know they turned out. I love getting great feedback!
Kiki
Thanks so much for the suggestions, and for responding=).
Dorothy @ Crazy for Crust
Oh wow, those look fantastic! YUMMY!
Rob and Marseille
yum! and then dipped in chocolate.....yum yum yum!
Melissa
Best. Idea. Ever.
Heather
I am loving your salute to cookies and chocolate this week. Where is your man?
Heidi and Nathan
I came across your blog via Rivka, as I was wallowing in self pitty because my kitchen is currently under construction and has been for the last two weeks... and well know I have realized two weeks is nothing. I don't know how you do it... washing dishes in a tub, that's just crazy. I am inspired.
Melissa
Oh! I hope you come back and check on this old blog more! You are a lucky woman for knowing Rivka, and if you are friends with her, than we would be friends too!
I'm sorry about the kitchen remodel mess, I totally feel your pain. Is there an end in sight for you? I'd love a before and after, just so that I can know it does get done, for some people 🙂