Sometimes Foodie: Red Velvet Oreos

Red Velvet Oreos - Target: Marlton, NJ

Okay, these are old news, and the newest flavor of Oreo has already been announced, but I still bought a package of these to review. These have already been covered by quite a few food blogs, but I tend to pick on red velvet flavored sweets a lot, so I thought I might give readers a different perspective.

The packaging for this flavor is a bit smaller than Oreo's other limited edition flavors. It's practically a perfect square. All of the Oreos released up to this point have used either the chocolate or vanilla cookie as a base with a fancy flavored creme being the only changeable component. This is the first time they're changing up the cookie itself, which is awesome. I'm guessing that changing up the cookie cost them a bit more, so making the packaging smaller might make more sense for the company financially, but it opens up a whole new world of possibilities. If we can flavor the cookie now, as well as the creme, imagine what we can make next! I'm excited for this change, and since I only buy these Limited Edition Oreos to review them, I don't mind the smaller packaging for this price. (Then again I'm a food blogger, if you really like these and want to stock up on them, the smaller size and regular pricing would be an issue.)

It may be a bit smaller, but the packaging and overall layout still looks the same as every other flavor. We have the classic Oreo-blue background, images related to the flavor, the limited edition header, and images of the Oreo itself. Everything is still packed in that peel-back style package, that I hate, but it functions well. I really miss the papery bags with the metal twist-tie tops, but I might be the only one. I just hate tearing the front off of the packaging to open it, and when you re-seal it, it never looks nice. (I guess that's the point, so you can see if it's opened and tampered with, but still...I hate it.)

When I first opened the package, the cookies didn't seem all that red, but the longer I looked at them, the redder they seemed to get. Other than obvious color change, these look like they might have a bit more creme than the original cookie, but I don't have any normal ones on hand to compare them to, so I can't be sure.

The cookies smell less chocolatey than original Oreos, and a tiny bit tangy due to whatever cream cheese flavoring is in the creme, but it's not a night-and-day difference from the original.

I started by trying the cookie on it's own first. Classic chocolate Oreo cookies are my favorite chocolate cookie of all time. They have such a well balanced flavor and they aren't overly sweet. This cookie is very similar to the original, only the chocolate flavoring seems a bit more subtle and mellow. If I were blind folded I would think these were a normal chocolate cookie, or maybe some kind of sugar free Oreos since the flavoring is more mild, I don't think I'd ever eat this cookie on it's own and assume it's red velvet. "Velvet" is a texture, and even though red velvet cake does have it's own distinct flavoring, I feel like it's the texture of it that makes it so special. With that being said, this cookie tastes like a milder version of the classic Oreo cookie, so it's definitely enjoyable, but I wouldn't say it tastes like red velvet cake on it's own.

Now for the creme.

There's a bit of a debate over the proper icing for a red velvet cake, I think most of America leans towards cream cheese, like these Oreos are trying to emulate, but the original recipes called for a buttercream-like frosting that was cooked on a stovetop. I took a bite of the creme, and it does taste very tangy and sweet, significantly different from the shortening-like creme classic Oreos are filled with, but it wasn't all that cream cheese-y to me. I bake pretty often, and cream cheese frosting is something I make a few times a year, and this tastes nothing like homemade cream cheese icing. Sure, it's just a bit of tanginess to it, which is attempting to mimic the tanginess of cream cheese, but it just isn't the same. This is more like a store brand tub of pre-made cream cheese icing than anything you'd whip up at home. You can tell what it's going for, but if you're an avid baker, you can tell it's just an imitation and not the real deal.

When combined, the cookie mellows out the artificial-ness of the cream, and it's actually pretty darn yummy. Blindfolded, I still don't think I would be able to tell these were red velvet cake flavored, but I can tell they are some kind of chocolate and cream-cheese concoction, which is a lot better than I thought these would be.

I may be skeptical, and I might have picked on these a bit, but I have to admit, I like them a lot. They're just as yummy as the original, and I think I'll be blending some of these up into a cookie and cream milkshake later this week.

The whole red velvet thing might be a gimmick, but these are still some tasty cookies. If you like the original chocolate version, these are slightly different, but I'm sure you'll enjoy them all the same. Although, since they aren't terribly different than the normal chocolate version, I don't think this is a limited edition flavor you need to stock up on, unless you're really really into red colored foods. These are a milder chocolate cookie with a tangier creme, and if that sounds like something you'd be into, head over to the store and pick up a package. I don't think this a purchase anyone would regret, I just don't think you'd ever need more than one package.