Oreo Chocolate Brownie: Chocolate on Chocolate

A sandwich biscuit works by contrast, a bitter disc against a sweet filling, and Chocolate Brownie deliberately puts cocoa on both sides of that line. The result is rich and dense rather than surprising, which is exactly what its fans buy it for.

What the brownie creme changes

In the standard Oreo the dark disc and the pale creme pull against each other, and that tension is the whole appeal. Here the creme is chocolate too, darker and denser than vanilla, with a fudge-like depth that tastes baked rather than simply sugary. The discs are unchanged, but with cocoa already in the filling their bitterness has less to answer, and the biscuit becomes one rich note held for longer.

The published ingredient list bears that out: wheat flour and sugar lead, followed by palm oil, with fat-reduced cocoa at 7% and flavourings further down. It declares wheat (gluten) and soya and says the biscuits may contain milk, so this is not a biscuit for a coeliac, and the milk warning deserves a careful read before a pack goes to anyone avoiding dairy.

One sleeve, so plan ahead

The 154g pack comes as a single stacked sleeve, which the trade calls a slug pack, rather than a tray of smaller packets. Open it and the whole lot is open, with no inner wrapper to fold back over the biscuits you have not eaten. That suits a family who will finish it at one sitting and is harder on anyone planning two biscuits a night for a week.

The answer is a tin. Tip whatever you are not eating into an airtight one straight away and the discs will stay crisp far longer than in a torn sleeve. Expect a few breakages at the bottom of the stack, since those biscuits carry the weight of everything above them all the way to your door; they are fine crumbled over ice cream or stirred into yoghurt.

Black coffee, not a mocha

Because the biscuit is already chocolate on chocolate, the worst partner is yet more chocolate. A mocha or a hot chocolate simply adds a third layer of the same thing and flattens the lot. Go the other way with a black coffee, and choose an espresso over a mug of filter, since the creme is rich enough that concentration helps more than volume.

Tea drinkers should brew strong. A robust breakfast blend, brewed long and taken with no more than a dash of milk, has enough tannin to cut through the fudgy centre, while pale or delicate teas vanish against this much cocoa. If you want the bitter-sweet contrast Oreo is known for, the Original is the better buy; this one is for the days you want chocolate and nothing else.

The packs we stock

• Oreo Chocolate Brownie Sandwich Biscuits, 154g (barcode 7622210693303)

What the label says

The published ingredient list for Oreo Chocolate Brownie Sandwich Biscuits, 154g (barcode 7622210693303) says it contains wheat (gluten) and soya, and it may contain milk. Check the current UK pack before purchase; formulations and allergen advice can change.

Ingredients, as published: wheat flour/wheat flour, sugar, vegetable oil/oil (palm), fat reduced/low fat cocoa 7,0%, wheat starch/wheat starch, glucose/fructose syrup, baking powder/raising agents (potassium hydrogen/hydrogen carbonate, ammonium hydrogen/hydrogen carbonate, sodium hydrogen/hydrogen carbonate), salt, emulsifier/emulsifier (soy lecithin, sunflower lecithin), flavourings.

Ingredient and nutrition data for this barcode: Open Food Facts (openfoodfacts.org), ODbL. The pack in your hands is the final word.

What to drink with it

• L'Or Espresso Ristretto Coffee Pods, 10 Pods 52g: A short, concentrated espresso that gives the fudgy creme the bitterness it lacks.
• Yorkshire Tea Original Loose Leaf Tea, 250g: A strong, brisk loose-leaf brew with enough tannin to stand up to cocoa on both sides of the biscuit.
• Kenco Smooth Instant Coffee Paper Refill, 150g: A quick cup of black instant coffee for an evening biscuit without getting the machine out.

Elsewhere in the Oreo range

• Oreo BTS Brown Sugar Pancake Cocoa Sandwich Biscuit Pack, 157g
• Oreo Cookie Dough Flavour Cocoa Sandwich Biscuit Pack, 157g
• Oreo Crunchy Bites Original Vanilla Biscuits, 110g
• Oreo Double Creme Cocoa Sandwich Cookies with Vanilla Flavour Biscuits Pack, 157g
• Oreo Gingerbread Flavour Sandwich Biscuit, Limited Edition, 154g
• Oreo Golden Cookie Sandwich Biscuits, 154g

The full range is on the Oreo brand page.

FAQ

What does Oreo Chocolate Brownie taste like? Like a standard Oreo with a darker, denser chocolate creme that has a fudgy, brownie-style depth. The contrast is narrower because both halves are cocoa.

What is a slug pack? It is trade shorthand for biscuits packed as one long stacked roll, with no smaller packets inside. Once it is open, all of it is open, so move the rest into a tin.

Does Oreo Chocolate Brownie contain milk? The published ingredient list declares wheat and soya and says it may contain milk. Check the current pack if dairy matters to you.

What should I drink with it? Something black and strong: an espresso, or a robust tea brewed long. Avoid mocha and hot chocolate.

Who is Chocolate Brownie for? Anyone who wants as much chocolate as an Oreo can carry. If a bitter disc against a sweet creme is what you like, the Original will suit you better.

Curator's note: Open the sleeve, tip half into the tin before you sit down and have an espresso with the rest. More chocolate in the cup is the one mistake to avoid. Lee, teas.co.uk, Tunbridge Wells.

In short: Oreo Chocolate Brownie: Chocolate on Chocolate

More from the tea wiki

• Tea and Biscuits
• Biscuit Dunking Physics: The Real Science
• Tea Pairing Principles: Reason, Don't Memorise
• Tea With Cake: The Pairing That Never Fails (If You Get It Right)
• Tea and Food Pairing: The Five Principles
• Tea with Chocolate: Pair by Cocoa Percentage
• Tea and Chocolate Pairing

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