Every May and September, my dad and his friends spend a week backpacking through the wilderness: Utah in the spring, California in the fall. Their trips are full of hiking, fishing, campfires, and basically no technology except for gas-powered stoves and cameras. (Kind of hard for a food blogger to grasp sometimes!)
Dad always hosts a reunion at their house the following February or March. The guys come over for dinner; then they play poker well into the wee hours of the morning, just like on their backpacking trips. They use M&Ms as poker chips on the trail, but… Those magically disappear whenever someone gets hungry!
My dad’s old college roommate, my Uncle P, flies out for the poker night too, and I always try to drive home to see him. He’s a huge runner (as in 100-mile marathons in the mountains!) and loves healthy food as much as I do, so our family always has a blast with him around.
This year my mom, brother, and I enjoyed dinner with the guys inside before the games began, and I strategically set out lots of snacks and treats (including a few cookbook test recipes!) for the guys to munch on while they played. However…
These Healthier Cookies ’n Cream Brownies almost disappeared before they even dealt the first hand! “These are SO good!” “No way are they healthy!” I probably should’ve baked a double batch… It turns out even adults have a hard time resisting anything with Oreos!
These start with one of my favorite brownie recipes. It’s about as easy to make as a box mix, but it contains none of the artificial ingredients or preservatives. Dry ingredients in one bowl; wet in another. Stir, stir, stir and you’re done!
That’s some serious fudgy factor going on… They’re basically a cross between fudge and brownies—exactly the way they should be! Cakey brownies are just cake without the frosting. Moving on…
Now comes the fun part! Nine entire Oreos, chopped up with the cream filling included, go into these brownies. You’ll put about 6 into the batter and 3 pressed into the tops. That makes for a really temping presentation, doesn’t it? No wonder the poker players couldn’t resist!
If you’re like me, you’ll probably set out 10-12 Oreos to chop… Because a few always magically disappear, just like those M&M poker chips!
Then a short stint in the oven, a longer time to cool (the longer you wait, the fudgier they’ll be!), and then your chocoholic’s dream is ready to eat. And if you can figure out a way not to hoard the entire pan… I’ll be incredibly impressed!
And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! ?) I’d love to see your brownies and feature them in my Sunday Spotlight series!
| Healthier Cookies 'n Cream Brownies | | Print |
- ¾ cup (90g) all-purpose or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- ¾ cup (60g) unsweetened cocoa powder (measured like this)
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp (14g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup (96g) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (60g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- 7 tbsp (105mL) nonfat milk
- 9 reduced-fat Oreos, diced
- Preheat the oven to 300°F, and lightly coat an 8”-square pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter, eggs, and vanilla. Stir in the granulated sugar. Mix in the Greek yogurt, stirring until no large lumps remain. Mix in the milk. Add in the flour mixture, stirring just until incorporated. Fold in two thirds of the Oreo pieces.
- Spread the batter into the prepared pan, and gently press the remaining Oreo pieces into the top. Bake at 300°F for 15-18 minutes. Cool completely to room temperature in the pan at let the brownies rest for at least 3 hours before slicing into squares.
For a gluten-free option, use gluten-free chocolate sandwich cookies (like these) and the following gluten-free flour blend: ½ cup (60g) millet flour, 2 tablespoons (15g) brown rice flour, 2 tablespoons (15g) tapioca flour, and ½ teaspoon xanthan gum. Most store-bought gluten-free flour blends will also work, if measured like this.
Melted coconut oil, or any other oil, may be substituted for the butter.
Brown sugar or coconut sugar may be substituted for the granulated sugar.
Any Oreos may be subsituted for the reduced-fat Oreos.
For the fudgiest brownies, only bake for 15 minutes and let the brownies rest overnight before slicing and serving.
{gluten-free option, low fat}
Aren’t oreos just the best thing ever.. I have to make these brownies. They look AMAZING.
Thanks Thalia! 🙂 Yes, Oreos are amazing and make everything better!
Can i leave out the oreo’s as i cant find the low aft ones in the uk. Are there any other low cal cookies i can try.
thanks
Regular Oreos are fine Marlies! They’ll barely change the Nutrition Information and won’t affect the flavor, texture, or bake time of the brownies. If you wanted to lower the fat and calories a little when using regular Oreos, you can always remove the cream filling from a couple of them. I hope you enjoy the brownies!
Dear Amy, I am saving this for later…what a wonderful recipe. These brownies look marvelous. xo, Catherine
Thanks Catherine! I really hope you enjoy the brownies!
Oh you know the way to my heart! Cookies and Cream is a total weakness of mine. Now I can feel less guilty eating these brownies!
It’s one of my weaknesses too Chandra! I hope you enjoy the brownies if you try them!
Is there any way to use white wheat flour and/or a different sweetener than granulated white sugar? Coconut sugar possibly?
Both white whole wheat flour and coconut sugar would be perfectly fine substitutes. I hope you enjoy the brownies Lisa!
Is there a substitute for yogurt – am allergic
If you’re allergic to dairy-based yogurt, any non-dairy yogurt alternative (soy, almond, coconut, etc.) would be a great substitute. I hope you enjoy the brownies if you try them Betty!
These are pretty awesome! Substituted vegan butter and almond milk, and it still came out awesome! Can’t wait to try them again tomorrow to see how much fudgier they get.
I’m so glad you enjoyed the brownies Kim! Were they any fudgier today? 🙂
Heyy!
Can i substitute greek yogurt with plain yogurt??
Thanks a ton!
Yes! 🙂 I’m excited to hear what you think of the brownies Ananya!
Absolutely loving ur recipes Amy! Your doing a great job!? Can you do recipes without white sugar and flour? That’ll be more healthier and I want recipes which are healthy and tasty too.. So can you?:)
Thanks for your kind words about my recipes Afeefa! All of my recipes posted after May 2015, as well as many of them before, don’t use white sugar or white flour. (This was posted just before, in March 2015.) 🙂 You can find all of those recipes by scrolling down until you see “Categories” in pink text with a drop-down menu right beneath it (it’ll be on the right side on a regular computer or at the very bottom of my blog if you’re on a mobile device) and selecting “Clean Eating” from that menu. There are nearly 300 recipes there without white sugar or white flour, so I can’t wait to hear what you try next!
Amy,
These look INCREDIBLE! I cannot wait to try and make them. A little problem though-will these brownies work if I substitute Splenda (the kind in packets, not the baking blend) for the sugar? I’ve tried subbing Splenda in many other brownie recipes, but I’m guessing sugar must be an important component, because they always come out super flat and cookie-like. Is it important for this particular recipe? Or do you think I should try subbing half the sugar only, or not at all? Thanks in advance! 🙂
I haven’t tried using Splenda packets in this recipe, but since the brownies don’t rise, it might work. You’d need to use about 12 packets of Splenda and add in an additional 6-8 tablespoons of milk to compensate for the missing volume. The brownie batter should be really thick, similar to very thick muffin batter, when you spread it into the pan. I’d love to hear how the brownies turn out if you try that Laurel!
Made these tonight, but without the cookies. They came out pretty awesome! Very richly chocolatey and smelled like heaven. They weren’t, however, as fudgy although I only baked them for 7 minutes before realising they looked kind of dry-it might have been because I put them in a 9×9 though, so next time I’ll cut back on the baking time. I’ll also add two or three more Tbsps milk (added 7 on top of the 6 this time). Texture-wise, it was just a teensy bit eggy, so I think I’m going to omit it an egg white next time (will take away some of the dryness too). I did add sugar free chocolate chips and the family loved it-half the pan was gone before I even got the chance to put it in the fridge! (three of those, I believe, I ate myself, but shhh…*winky face*) 🙂 Thanks for the overall great recipe Amy!
Thanks for reporting back Laurel! I really appreciate it. 🙂 Yes, this recipe was specifically designed for an 8″-square pan; there isn’t enough batter for a 9″-square pan. That larger pan size would also factor into why the brownies turned out dry, rather than fudgy. The extra milk should help as well, like you suggested. I’d love to hear how the second batch turns out! (And if you stopped at just three brownies, I’m SO impressed — I’m always tempted to eat half the pan myself! 😉 )