How do I cut an oreo?

Question

I recently made some decorated cupcakes that required oreo halves. I tried several methods:

serrated knife - lots of crumbs, both halves would shatter
plain knife (slowly) - lots of crumbs, both sides of both halves would shatter
plain knife (quickly) - less crumbs, typically one side of one half would shatter

What's the best way to go about cutting my oreos without turning them into a (delicious) crumbly mess?

Laser cutter? (More seriously, maybe score and break, but I'm not sure.) — Cascabel, Sep 29 '11 at 17:03
Nibble away half of the cookies leaving the other half. A dremel with a grinding wheel. — Sobachatina, Sep 29 '11 at 17:36
You could try to slowly heat them up until the filling starts to melt. — nico, Sep 29 '11 at 17:51
I assume there's no chance of just pushing them far enough into the cupcake that you don't have to cut them? — Joe, Sep 29 '11 at 18:55
@Joe, they're lying on top of the cupcake as "arms" of a panda bear. I'd add a picture, but I can't seem to find one. — zzzzBov, Sep 29 '11 at 18:58

score 24 · Accepted Answer · edited Mar 09 '17 at 17:30

24

Try freezing the oreos first and then cut with a sharp knife. Let the oreos warm to room temperature again. They will not lose any texture or crispiness.

Update:

In the name of science, I froze some oreos and tested the outcome. Freezing the oreos made the cutting much more...achievable. A room temperature oreo just wants to crumble in too many places, but a frozen one holds together better.

enter image description here

edited Mar 09 '17 at 17:30

Community

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answered Sep 29 '11 at 21:20

LarsTech

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Have you actually done this? It's surprising to me that the cookies would be *less* brittle and crumbly when cold. – Cascabel Sep 30 '11 at 00:35
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@Jefromi I updated my results. – LarsTech Oct 03 '11 at 01:25
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Wow, still surprised, but cool! – Cascabel Oct 03 '11 at 03:42
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@Jefromi No pun intended, I'm sure. :-) – LarsTech Oct 03 '11 at 12:43

score 5 · Answer 2 · answered Sep 04 '21 at 09:02

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I used a Mini Hacksaw #65341 from Harbor Freight. I even cut a cracked one in half without shattering it.

answered Sep 04 '21 at 09:02

Richard Szafranski

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A Harbor Freight hacksaw blade can probably get through about three Oreos before it dulls or breaks ;-) – Sneftel Sep 04 '21 at 10:28

score 3 · Answer 3 · answered Sep 29 '11 at 18:04

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You could moist it with milk, for example, in the exact line you want to cut, both sides. This will make them less "brittle".

answered Sep 29 '11 at 18:04

woliveirajr

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Do you mean dunk it half way in milk/water, and then scrape the soggy part away? – TFD Sep 29 '11 at 19:54
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I was thinking more of "drawing a line" of milk in the middle of it, but your idea would be faster (but loosing half of each Oreo, a pity) – woliveirajr Sep 29 '11 at 20:16
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The moist half would certainly not be wasted! What we need here is a high pressure milk cookie cutter. A sharp blade of pressurized milk to slice through any cookie- oreo or chocolate chip! I'll get right on that. – Sobachatina Sep 29 '11 at 21:01

score 3 · Answer 4 · answered Jun 04 '16 at 10:46

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Just tackled this problem. Key was a) v sharp knife and b) keeping pressure on the middle of the biscuit. That stopped it crumbling. Result!

answered Jun 04 '16 at 10:46

Little Nell

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Frozen foods and very sharp knives don't always go together well. – rackandboneman Jul 11 '16 at 11:25

score 2 · Answer 5 · answered Sep 29 '11 at 20:45

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Don't saw at it, place the point of the knife on the board at '12 o'clock', rest the blade on the Oreo, then push smoothly down to cut. If your knife is sharp enough, it shouldn't be a problem. And I mean properly sharp, not just run a few times through a plastic sharpener.

answered Sep 29 '11 at 20:45

ElendilTheTall

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I was using a very sharp blade, but I did start over the oreo rather than on it. – zzzzBov Sep 29 '11 at 21:00

score 0 · Answer 6 · answered Mar 29 '19 at 06:58

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Wet a sharp knife with water or milk, hold the knife halfway across the cookie, and press on the knife instead of using a sawing motion). The wetness of the knife should soften a line in the middle of the Oreo, making it easier to cut.

answered Mar 29 '19 at 06:58

Tarekac

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How do I cut an oreo?

6 Answers6