Oreo Brownie Bars

Oreo brownies are rich, thick and topped with an Oreo buttercream frosting that tastes just like the inside of an Oreo! This recipe is made in a bread loaf pan to make a small batch of brownies for two!  Use any flavored Oreos you like--birthday cake Oreos are especially great here! Don't miss the how-to video!

Oreo Brownie Recipe for two

I'm really excited to share my Oreo brownies for two with you! These brownies are quick and easy, and so is the creamy frosting on top.

You read that right: these brownies have a frosting that tastes like the inside filling of an Oreo! It seems impossible, but we did it by using shortening instead of butter in the frosting. However, it's your choice: use shortening or butter in the frosting! Check out my oreo frosting recipe for the all-butter version.

These brownies are more on the cakey side, not the fudgey side, because I use a small amount of milk to soften them. The centers of the brownies still have a good pudginess to them, though! You would like my small brownie pots, if you love fudgey, dense brownies, by the way!

If you're new here, I make small batch desserts, which means that I use fewer ingredients, and I bake a small batch of brownies for two in a loaf pan.

Brownies baked in a loaf pan give you two large bakery-sized brownies. In real life, I like to slice these Oreo brownies into 4 to 6 pieces--they're just so rich! My brownies for two are the perfect size for small households!

Oreo Brownies Recipe ingredients

This is a basic quick and easy brownies recipe, with six Oreo cookies dotted on the top. To make these brownies from scratch, you’ll simply need:

• Butter. Unsalted butter is best here; we will be adding salt to the recipe ourselves.
• Baking Chocolate. This is found in the baking aisle in a bar. It's chocolate without sugar, and it makes the richest brownies! Don't worry, we're adding sugar to the recipe, so it will taste great! There is no cocoa powder in these brownies, I don’t think it is necessary for this recipe, the unsweetened chocolate provides plenty of chocolate flavor without cocoa powder.
• Granulated Sugar.
• Egg. One large egg.
• Vanilla Extract. Yes, we add vanilla to chocolate desserts to enhance the flavor of the chocolate.
• All-Purpose Flour. The best way to measure all-purpose flour is to fluff it in the bag or container, scoop it into the measuring cup and then level it off with a knife.
• Baking Powder.
• Milk.
• Salt.
• Oreos. Regular, plain Oreos are great here, but you can really choose any type of flavored cookie you like.
• Shortening. We're using shortening for the frosting, because that's what real Oreos have in them. If you have an aversion to shortening, use softened butter instead.
• Powdered Sugar.

if you're looking for dairy-free, unfortunately this recipe contains both butter and milk. But I do have a vegan brownies recipe that you would love!

Why I sometimes use shortening instead of butter:

o, there’s something we need to talk about when it comes to these Oreo brownies–it’s the Oreo frosting. he Oreo buttercream in this recipe uses shortening, not butter to come together. I do this for a few reasons:

• Shortening is a flavorless ingredient. When I’m adding other rich flavors, often butter can stand in the way.
• Oreos are actually made with shortening, not butter. Well, it’s probably some other type of hydrogenated oil, but rest assured that butter isn’t being used in your Oreos. It’s one of the cool reasons Oreos are shockingly vegan! (I should note that the company does not state they are vegan simply because they may have come in contact with milk during the manufacturing process, but there are no actual animal products in Oreos).
• Shortening is fluffy at room temperature, and slightly fluffier when cold. If you have leftover Oreo brownies and you store them in the fridge, they won’t be as hard when you pull them out.

Flavored Oreo Brownie Variations

It had been nearly 18 years since I had enjoyed an Oreo before I made this recipe--isn't that insane? However, I keep seeing all the new flavors of Oreos come out, and now, I have to try them all! I started with birthday cake, mint, tiramisu, red velvet, carrot cake, strawberry shortcake, chocolate marshmallow and caramel coconut. It was a great day in the grocery store, hah!

After much deliberation, I finally settled on Birthday Cake Oreos for these brownies, but if you haven’t tasted any of these new flavors, you should probably hop, skip and jump down to the store and buy every flavor of Oreo and taste your way to a winner. Almost any flavored Oreo is welcome in these brownies, especially mint, coconut caramel, and chocolate strawberry. The only flavors that give me pause here are citrus Oreos, like key lime pie, pina colada, lemon twist, or gingerbread sound a little funky. But it's your brownie, make it your decision!

Of course, regular plain original Oreos are totally delicious, too! The only kind of cookies I wouldn't use are my homemade Oreos recipe. The flavored buttercream filling would leak out everywhere.

How to make Oreo Brownies

1. Gather ingredients: You need all of the ingredients listed above, except the shortening and powdered sugar are only for the buttercream frosting. Then, line a 9" bread loaf pan with foil, and set the oven to preheat at 350-degrees F.
   
2. Place the unsweetened chocolate and butter in a microwave-safe bowl, and microwave on LOW for 30 seconds at a time, stirring between each time. It will take 3-4 pulses. You can remove it from the microwave before all of the chocolate melts, and let the residual heat from the bowl finish melting everything.
3. Once the butter and unsweetened chocolate mixture is melted, stir in the sugar and vanilla. Stir this mixture very well to help cool off the chocolate before adding the egg.
   
4. Once the batter has cooled, stir in the whole egg until combined. Finally, stir in the flour, baking powder and salt. To make your brownies extra chewy, give the batter 50 strokes to activate the gluten in the flour. We would never do this to a cake batter--we want cakes to be light and fluffy, but we want chewy, dense brownies. Stirring activates the gluten and causes delicious brownies!
   
5. Scrape the brownie batter into the prepared pan, and dot 6 whole Oreos on top of the batter. Bake for 21 minutes. Let the brownies cool for 5 minutes in the pan before lifting them out and letting them cool on a wire rack.
6. Make the Oreo buttercream by beating together the shortening (or butter) with the powdered sugar and vanilla. When light and fluffy, stir in crushed Oreos by hand. If you beat the Oreos, the frosting can turn grey, so just stir them in by hand to see black specks.

How to store Brownies with Oreos

Store these in an air-tight container at room temperature. They will keep for up to 3 days, if they last that long.

How long can brownies sit out?

Brownies can sit out until they’re cool, plus a few hours. Beyond that, they need to be stored in an airtight container. You can store them in the fridge, but they will need to be softened in the microwave before serving. I love storing brownies in the freezer, because they texture straight out of the freezer is incredible!

Should you refrigerate brownies?

It’s optional to refrigerate brownies. If you do, they will last one week, as opposed to 3 days at room temperature. They always need to be stored in airtight containers, no matter where you choose to store them.

Oreo Brownie Bars FAQs

What is the white filling in Oreos called? 

The center of an Oreo contains ‘creme’ that is similar to a soft, vanilla buttercream frosting.

How do you keep brownies soft and chewy?

Store brownies in airtight containers. To keep them soft, place a slice of bread in the container with them. Eat within 3 days at room temperature or within 1 week if refrigerated.

What are the secrets to chewy brownies?

Chewy brownies have the right balance of butter and sugar, and they also contain very little flour. The cocoa powder acts as flour, so less flour is needed for a brownie than a regular cookie bar.

How many calories are in Oreo brownies?

This particular oreo brownie recipe makes 4 brownies at 378 calories each. You can cut the pan into 6 or 8 brownies instead, if you wish. Please see the bottom of the recipe card for full nutritional information.

If you're looking for a way to use leftover Oreos, try my Oreo Balls recipe! You can choose the amount of oreo truffles to make based on the number of cookies you have!

Overall, the Oreo buttercream on these brownies is so good, you’ll want to double it and smear it between two chocolate cake layers, or on top of cupcakes! Speaking of, have you seen my cookies and cream cupcakes?