Air Fryer Oreos

April 13, 2021

Air Fryer Oreos

Air fryer Oreos are a lower-oil take on the deep-fried Oreos sold at American fairs and carnivals. Each cookie gets dipped in a thick, pancake-style batter and cooked in the air fryer until the coating turns golden and the cookie inside softens into something close to warm cake filling.

The batter has to be thick. Thin enough to pour and it just runs off the cookie and pools on the basket liner. Whisk it until it clings to a spoon, closer to a cake batter than a crepe batter, then dip each cookie by hand and let the excess drip off before it goes into the basket.

The pancake mix is the only part that needs sourcing. A store-bought mix works, or mix flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt yourself (see Notes). Either way, a dusting of powdered sugar while the cookies are still warm from the fryer finishes the dish.

These are a snack rather than a make-ahead dessert. Best eaten warm, within minutes of coming out of the basket, since the crust softens and the cookie firms back up again as they cool.

Ingredients

Makes 12

12 Oreo cookies (regular chocolate sandwich cookies)
120 g pancake mix (or a from-scratch mix, see Notes)
80 ml milk, plus more if needed
1 large egg
15 ml neutral oil (vegetable or canola)
½ tsp vanilla extract
Cooking spray and parchment paper, for the basket
Powdered sugar, for dusting

Directions

Preheat the air fryer to 375°F (190°C).

Whisk the milk, egg, oil, and vanilla together in a bowl, then whisk in the pancake mix until the batter is thick enough to cling to a spoon rather than pour off it, closer to a cake batter than a crepe batter. If it is too stiff to coat the cookies, whisk in a splash more milk.

Line the basket with a sheet of parchment paper, poking a few holes in it or leaving the corners open so air can still circulate, and spray it lightly with oil. This keeps the batter from welding itself onto the basket instead of the cookie.

Working with a fork, dip each Oreo into the batter and turn it to coat both sides, letting the excess drip back into the bowl. Arrange 3 to 5 coated cookies on the parchment at a time, spaced at least 1½ inches (4 cm) apart, since they spread as they cook.

Air-fry at 375°F (190°C) for 4 to 5 minutes, until the tops are golden and set, then flip each cookie and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes until golden all over.

Let the cookies rest on a wire rack for about 2 minutes, then dust with powdered sugar while still warm. Repeat with the remaining Oreos and batter, and serve warm.

Notes

From-scratch pancake mix: no mix on hand, whisk together 120 g (1 cup) all-purpose flour, 2 tsp baking powder, 1 tbsp sugar, and ¼ tsp salt, and use it in place of the pancake mix.
Crescent-wrap variation: the most common American air-fryer version wraps each Oreo in a piece of refrigerated crescent-roll dough instead of dipping it in batter, giving a flaky pastry pocket rather than a fried-dough shell. Refrigerated crescent dough is not sold in Denmark or most of Europe, so this variation is not really reproducible here; the batter-dipped version above is the one that travels.
Batter thickness: keep it stiff rather than pourable. A thin batter runs off the cookie and pools on the parchment instead of coating it. Add milk a splash at a time only if you cannot get it to coat.
Air fryer variance: air fryers run differently, so check the first batch at the low end of the time range and adjust from there.
Storage: best eaten the same day, ideally right away, since the shell softens and the cookie firms back up on standing. Leftovers can be re-crisped in the air fryer for 1 to 2 minutes.