Oreos are one of the most popular cookies in the world. Young and old, rich and poor, pretty much everyone loves Oreos.
In this article, we will answer the question: “Are Oreos Vegan?”
What’s Inside?
To produce Oreos, ingredients are blended to make butter. After that, the batter is then thickened into a dough. Finally, the dough is put in a molding machine, which shapes it into the cookies we have all come to know.
Ingredients listed on the packaging are
- unbleached enriched flour
- sugar
- palm and/or canola oil
- cocoa
- high fructose corn syrup
- leavening
- corn starch
- salt
- soy lecithin
- vanillin
- unsweetened chocolate
At this point, you might be concluding that Oreos are vegan because there is no milk or other dairy products in the ingredients list. But, don’t be so sure yet.
Are They Vegan?
No, Oreos are not vegan.
The Oreo FAQ page confirms the answer to this question: “No, Oreos have milk as cross-contact and therefore are not suitable for vegans.”
What this statement exactly means is that the food might come into contact with other foods during production, usually because it is made in the same machine as other products.
Due to this, Oreos can’t be quality-checked for traces of milk during production.
Some experts contend with this and still classify Oreos as plant-based despite the food company’s response. PETA made one such declaration on Twitter.
In the tweet, the official Twitter account of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) said: “It’s true, Oreos are vegan!”
The tweet immediately caused a debate on Twitter with PETA sticking to its stands. However, PETA went silent on the issue as it began to realize it might have made a mistake with this one.
Arguments for Oreos being vegan claim that despite the cross-contact during production. According to them, eating Oreos is not equivalent to drinking a glass of milk and does no real harm to animals.
If this doesn’t right with you, and you should instead go with the words from the Oreo FAQ page.
Homemade Vegan Oreos Recipe
Ingredients:
Cookie:
- Almonds/Walnuts (1 and a half cup)
- Maple syrup (1 tablespoon)
- Melted coconut oil (3 tablespoons)
- A pinch of sea salt
- Six whole Medjool
Filling:
- Coconut butter (1 cup)
- Vanilla extract (1/4 teaspoons)
- organic powdered sweetener
How to Make ‘Em
- First, prepare coconut and add some vanilla and organic powdered sweetener. Remove it from the food processor and set it aside for later.
- Secondly, add nuts to the food processor and pulse until tiny bits are left. After, add coconut oil, maple syrup, cocoa powder, dates, and salt. Mix again till it all settles appropriately. At this point, a fine dough texture is formed.
- Get a flat surface, preferably a large cutting board, and place the dough in the center.
- Use a rolling pin to roll the dough. Use a small circle cookie cutter cut out as many cookies as you can. It works best with even numbers, so aim for an even number.
- Use a spatula to transfer the cookies onto a flat serving plate gently. Transfer plate to the freezer to chill or 10 – 15 minutes.
- Pour one teaspoon of coconut on half of the cookies. Place it back into the freezer again, so it hardens. Remove it from the freezer and add other half of cookies to each cookie with coconut butter.
At this point, you just finished making your homemade vegan cookies. You can reserve these cookies for at least one week in the fridge or a month in the freezer. Enjoy!
