Brookie-O Oreos - Target Oreo has dropped three "new" flavors, Java Chip and Chocolate Hazelnut, which are permanent additions to the line-up, and this limited edition Brookie-O.
Good News: We already have three new flavors of Oreos for 2021.
Bad News: They're mostly repeats/rebrands, AND Pistachio Oreo Thins are discontinued! (Apparently they were discontinued in 2020, another strike against a terrible year.)
Java chip is a coffee and chocolate mashup, similar to the previously released Dunkin Donuts Mocha, or Tiramisu, or Oreo Thins' Latte, and Chocolate Hazelnut is a re-release of the 2018 Chocolate Hazelnut, but the golden cookie was swapped out for classic chocolate. This could be the start of a trend, where limited edition flavors could have the potential for permanency, but I think "permanent" is too strong a word. Similar to most of the Lay's Do Us a Flavor contestants, I give it a year or two before they fade into oblivion. (Honestly, I don't know why Carrot Cake or Red Velvet have lasted as long as they have, especially when flavors like Reese's were so. damn. good. )
Then we have these Brookie-O's, which are the only limited edition flavor of the bunch. They are a mashup of classic Oreos, 2014's Cookie Dough Oreos, and 2015's Brownie Batter Oreo. While the combination of all three at once is new, each of these flavors has been done before. Are they worth the buy?
Due to their three layers of creme, when opened, you can see that these cookies are quite thick, and that being the case, you don't get a lot of them. Actually, speaking of thick, this might be the most "stuf'd" cookie I've ever eaten. I am one of those rare people who prefer the Oreo cookies to the creme filling, so I have skipped all the Mega and Most Stuf'd Oreos all these years. I don't have a cookie-to-cookie comparison, but from what I've seen, these seem to be on-par with the Mega Stuf'd variety. They have so much filling that, when bitten into, some actually gushes out along the sides of the cookie. Not enough to drip or anything, the playdough-like consistency wouldn't allow that, but it's something I, a non-creme filling enthusiast, have never experienced before.
They smell mostly like chocolate, but more chocolatey than usual. I am getting flashbacks to the Brownie Batter Oreo more than anything else.
Alone, the chocolate cookie is your standard Oreo, nothing much to report there.
Then I tried to taste the cremes isolated on their own,
Brownie Batter: sweet, slightly gritty, with a fairly authentic flavor. I remember enjoying this flavor back when it was first released, and it is significantly different from a standard chocolate filled Oreo. This is a bit darker, slightly fudgier, and more complex than usual, and above all, very sweet.
Cookie Dough: I remember this flavor from 2014, and feeling like it tasted more like a caramel coffee than anything else, and that remains true. It is far more caramel than it is cookie dough, and it seems like the chocolate chip additions have changed. Now they are some kind of light, crunchy shards sprinkled throughout. They don't seem to add much flavor on their own, but they do have a light and crunchy texture. Kind of like Pop Rocks, without the 'pop." Not bad, but not as authentic as the Brownie Batter.
All the filings combined (no cookie): At first it's mostly sweet and gritty, with some added crunch from those little mix-ins I mentioned earlier, but then the brownie flavoring starts to stand out...and that's about it. The cookie dough flavor, though fairly bold on it's own, is very easily overpowered by the fudgy brownie batter, and the standard creme just mellows things out further with generic sweetness. It's yummy, and tooth achingly sweet, but doesn't quite deliver on such it's lofty brookie-o promise. It's mostly Brownie Batter Oreos, now with more creme and sugar.
With the Cookie: Eaten all together, like a normal cookie, the fillings are made more mild due to the chocolate cookie. Some of the nuances from the brownie batter filling are lost, and the general chocolatiness is enhanced pretty much hiding all traces of the cookie dough filling, except for the slightly more crunchy than usual texture. It's decadent, for sure, and pretty tasty, but I think the overall concept doesn't deliver what was promised. Maybe splitting the cookies into one being chocolate, and one being vanilla, or ideally chocolate chip, would help to better balance things, but as is, it's certainly not a bad cookie.
I would say these are definitely worth the buy, at least once. You may not get a true Brookie-O experience, like the packaging promised, but these are very sweet, and indulgent, and due to them being so "stuf'd" they disappear pretty darn quick. (Especially if you share with friends.) I wouldn't say these crack my top 5 favorite Oreos, but they are undeniably yummy and enjoyable for what they are.
I might even take the few I have left and make some super decadent Brookie-o stuffed Brownies this weekend. Have you tried these? If so, what do you think?
Fans of these would also like: 2014 Cookie Dough Oreos, 2015 Brownie Batter Oreos, Reese's Oreos, or Dunkin Donuts Mocha Oreos
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