--- title: Red Velvet Oreos Are In the Air for Valentine's Day description: Here's a tasting report on the limited-edition flavor canonical: https://time.com/3674413/red-velvet-oreos/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-01-20T15:17:29.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:16:04.071Z og:title: Red Velvet Oreos Are in the Air for Valentine's Day og:description: Here's a tasting report on the limited-edition flavor og:url: https://time.com/3674413/red-velvet-oreos/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt388f76970d4818b4/69877ac12dce01a77b9dd0ee/oreo-red-velvet.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Red Velvet Oreo og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Red Velvet Oreos Are in the Air for Valentine's Day twitter:description: Here's a tasting report on the limited-edition flavor twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt388f76970d4818b4/69877ac12dce01a77b9dd0ee/oreo-red-velvet.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Red Velvet Oreos Are in the Air for Valentine's Day ## Video: First Grade Valentines [Watch (HLS stream): First Grade Valentines](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/dxn3NutC.m3u8) (2:35)  _Published 2010-02-10. Out of the mouths of babes, love is explained. Brooklyn first graders write and read their valentines and describe the meaning of Valentines Day_ by [Morgan Gibson / People](https://time.com/author/people/) ## Morgan Gibson / People Jan 20, 2015 3:17 PM UTC  Oreo by [Morgan Gibson / People](https://time.com/author/people/) ## Morgan Gibson / People Jan 20, 2015 3:17 PM UTC This is not a drill, people. And it’s not a way-too-early-to-be-funny [April Fool’s joke](http://greatideas.people.com/2015/01/13/ship-your-enemies-glitter-delivery-service/), either. Introducing new Red Velvet Oreos filled with cream cheese-flavored centers. The limited-edition flavor will arrive in stores on Feb. 2 — just in time to be a part of the Valentine’s Day flood of [red and pink foods](http://greatideas.people.com/2014/02/10/red-velvet-twinkies-recipe-valentines-day/) — and sell for $4.49 for 6-8 weeks, or until packages run out. We know that red velvet is heavenly in [cakes](http://www.people.com/people/shared/celebfood/recipe/0,,20741032,00.html?xid=sharedcfrecipe), [whoopie pies](http://greatideas.people.com/2014/05/30/bakerella-red-velvet-whoopie-pie-recipe/) and [even hot chocolate](http://www.people.com/people/greatideas/gallery/0,,20887355%5F30274925,00.html). But an Oreo? To find out, we let our staff of eager taste-testers sample and rate the new cookies: **The Design:** It’s a standard Oreo set-up: Two cookie wafers with a sweet, white cream in the middle. The cookie bookends are chocolate flavored — like a traditional red velvet cake base — and dyed red (ingredient “red 40 lake” makes a not-so-surprising appearance on the back of the package). The filling is a “cream cheese flavored crème.” **The Scent:** Opening the package for the first time, we smelled that unmistakable scent: cake. Specifically, it reminds us of those super-sugary, frosted confections that “you buy at the grocery store and serve at [birthday parties at a bowling alley](http://www.people.com/people/greatideas/gallery/0,,20888686%5F30276918,00.html),” said one tester. **The Taste:** When we pulled apart the cookie layers (like any good Oreo eater should do) and tasted the cookie wafers on their own, we found that they tasted just like regular chocolate Oreos, because, you know, they basically are — just with some red dye mixed in. The cream cheese center, however, is not-so-delicious on its own. It “very closely resembles the flavor of concentrated canned frosting,” said one staffer. Said another tester: “It’s not tangy, it doesn’t taste like cream cheese,” (probably because the ingredients don’t actually include any dairy) and it “leaves a very sweet, [cloying taste in your mouth](http://greatideas.people.com/2014/01/23/oreo-launches-new-flavors-cookie-dough-marshmallow/)” when sampled solo. When we put the sandwich back together, though, the crunchy chocolate cookies “balance out that sugary filling” said a staffer. It’s still a super-sweet bite — even more so than regular OREOs — but, “when the flavors combine, it’s yummy,” and certainly qualifies as a [tasty guilty-pleasure treat](http://www.people.com/people/greatideas/gallery/0,,20869566,00.html). **The Verdict:** It does not [taste like real red velvet cake](http://greatideas.people.com/2015/01/11/golden-globes-best-actress-gina-rodriguez-red-velvet-cake/) — did we really think it was going to? — but the flavors do work together. A 20-cookie package is worth the $5, if just so you can taste the novelty. Any Oreo fan will love dipping this new red treat into milk — but, said one tester, “If you’re an Oreo hater, these definitely won’t become your new favorite dessert.” _This_ [_article_](http://greatideas.people.com/2015/01/20/oreo-red-velvet-cream-cheese-cookies-taste-test/?xid=IFT-Trending) _originally appeared on_ [_People.com_](http://www.people.com)_._ _Read next:_ [_Oreo Churros Are Coming to a Store Near You_](http://time.com/3573016/oreo-churros-are-coming-to-a-store-near-you/?xid=time%5Freadnext) [_Listen to the most important stories of the day._](http://time.com/newsletter/the-brief/?sl%5Fautoplay=true&xid=spl-fullbrief-article) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3674413/red-velvet-oreos/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3674413/red-velvet-oreos/"},"headline":"Red Velvet Oreos Are in the Air for Valentine's Day","datePublished":"2015-01-20T15:17:29.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:16:04.071Z","description":"Here's a tasting report on the limited-edition flavor","url":"https://time.com/3674413/red-velvet-oreos/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Food & Drink","Valentine's Day","oreo"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt388f76970d4818b4/69877ac12dce01a77b9dd0ee/oreo-red-velvet.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Morgan Gibson / People"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt388f76970d4818b4/69877ac12dce01a77b9dd0ee/oreo-red-velvet.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Red Velvet Oreo","caption":"Red Velvet Oreo","creditText":"Oreo","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3674413/red-velvet-oreos/","name":"Red Velvet Oreos Are in the Air for Valentine's Day"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"First Grade Valentines","description":"Out of the mouths of babes, love is explained. 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