Oreo Cookie Stuffed Brownies with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

Happy Birthday to me.

Kidding. It’s not my birthday.

It’s the 100th birthday of Oreo Cookies.

I had to jump on the Birthday Cake Oreo Cookie bandwagon, and what better way to eat chocolate-and-frosting sandwich cookies than to stuff them inside chocolate brownies and top the entire chocolatey mess with frosting.

Cookies on their own are good, but stuffed inside brownies, they’re even better.

I’m not alone in the Birthday Oreo baking bonanza because recently, I’ve seen:

Christi made these brownies

Bridget made these brownies

Liz made cookies

Katrina made ice cream cakes

The major difference I notice with the Birthday Cake Oreos compared to regular Oreos is that they smell like birthday cake. Yum.

But they don’t really taste like cake. I wish they tasted how they smelled, which is positively divine.

That’s okay because brownies make up for the lack of a strong cake flavor.

Chocolate remedies everything.

I also noticed that the Birthday Cake Oreos are slightly sweeter than regular Oreos, but not by much.

If you can’t find Birthday Oreos, or in the future when these special limited edition Oreos won’t be around, no worries. Just use the old standby original Oreo.

Whatever you use, when you’re stuffing cookies inside brownies, you’re going to be happy.

And topped with a thick layer of vanilla buttercream frosting, you’re going to be even happier.

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Birthday Cake Oreo Cookie-Stuffed Brownies with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting and Sprinkles

Makes 24 brownies

Notes: If desired, use a boxed brownie mix, and prepare as indicated; pouring half the batter into the pan, topping with Oreos, and pouring remaining batter over the top of them. Bake as directed, but I would suggest a 25-30 minute guideline. Use storebought frosting if desired. If you cannot find Birthday Oreos, use any desired Oreo variety.

4 ounces baking chocolate (I used 10 squares of TJ’s 72% chocolate bar or use 4 squares Baker’s Chocolate, semi-sweet)

3/4 cup butter or margarine, melted (1 1/2 sticks)

2 cups sugar

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons espresso or brewed coffee, optional

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup sprinkles, optional

15 Birthday Oreo Cookies (or Original Oreos)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9×13-inch pan with foil and spray it with cooking spray. Microwave chocolate and butter in large microwave-safe bowl for 90 seconds or until butter is melted. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Stir in sugar (it will seem very granular, this is okay). Stir in eggs and vanilla. If adding espresso or coffee, add it now. Stir in flour until just combined, do not overmix. Stir in sprinkles if using. Spread half the brownie batter in prepared pan. Place Oreos on top of brownie batter (I did 3 across by 5 rows = 15 Oreos). Top with the remaining brownie batter and smooth it over the top, very slightly pushing the Oreos down with your spatula, very lightly. Bake 26 to 30 minutes or until brownies are set, taking care not to overbake. (Insert a toothpick into the center of the pan, and avoid inserting it into an Oreo, to check for doneness. Toothpick may not come out entirely clean even when done because these are very fudgy brownies). Note the brownies may “puff up” quite dramatically in their final minutes of cooking and this is okay. Let them cool completely, about 1 hour, or put the pan into the freezer for 10 minutes if you’re rushed before frosting, slicing, and serving. While brownies are cooling, make frosting (or use storebought)

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting (adapted from the C&H Cane Sugar box)

1 pound (1 box) powdered sugar (about 4 cups)

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/4 cup cream (or half-and-half, or milk)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract (use clear vanilla to keep your frosting extra white if this matters to you)

1/4 teaspoon Bright White Soft Gel Paste, optional (discussed here)

Mix until very smooth. (You may need to play with the cream and/or powdered sugar ratio very slightly while mixing the frosting until your preferred frosting consistency is reached). Frost the brownies and garnish with more sprinkles, as desired.

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Getting to the point where you can chomp into one of these is easy.

Just make the brownie batter from scratch because it only takes 5 minutes, but if you really want to use a boxed mix, use that and mix it according to the directions (plus I’d add 2 tablespoons of coffee and a dash of vanilla extract).

Pour half the batter into the pan. Use foil so you can just lift this whole 6.743 pounds of brownie-cookie-frosting mixture out with ease. It’s so much easier that way and less messy and less chance of wasting chocolate at the bottom of a pan.

Crack open a package of Oreos. Birthday Oreos are fun, but any Oreo will do and top the brownies with Oreos. I used 15 but you could have used less, or more, depending on how ridiculous delicious you want these brownies to be.

Pour the rest of the brownie batter over the top and use a spatula to smooth the top. I suggest lighting smooshing the Oreos down some with your spatula so they “embed” into the bottom layer but don’t smoosh too much that they “bottom out”.

Bake for at least 26 minutes and start checking them at that point. Baking times could vary based on how many Oreos uses, oven temperature variances, if you made brownies from scratch or not, how halfway raw very gooey you like your brownies, and so forth. Use the toothpick test and common sense but know that a toothpick may not come out perfectly clean because these are very fudgy brownies. Also watch the edges and if they’re pulling away from the sides of the pan and foil, that’s a very good sign these babies are ready.

If you’re a brownie fan:

Peanut Butter Cup Brownie Cupcakes with White Chocolate Icing

Fudgy Nutella Brownies with Cream Cheese Frosting

Triple Layer Fudgy Mint Oreo Brownies

Happy Birthday, Oreo!

Do you like Oreo Cookies?

How do you eat them?

I love them and can do major damage with a box of them. I eat them strategically by first breaking apart the two halves, and I eat the unfrosted cookie half first, getting the boring side out of the way, first.  Then I eat the half with the frosting on it and sometimes first by licking the frosting off and after that’s gone, I finish the cookie. By this point, my hands are covered in black crumbs, I have hypersweet frosting fragments stuck in my front teeth, and I’m ready to do it again with the next cookie.

Thanks for the Digital Kitchen Scale & Nutritionist Consultation Giveaway entries