The best chocolate sandwich biscuit: Oreos vs dupes

While Oreos are loved for their unique combo of dark, bittersweet, chocolate biscuit and vanilla cream, sandwiched together, they aren’t the only chocolate sandwich biscuits out there!

In fact, they aren’t even the “original” chocolate sandwich biscuits even though they are probably the most famous and world-renowned chocolate sandwich biscuits to date.

Oreos started out as a dupe to rival the Hydrox® biscuit and have since dominated. Sporting a floral-type embossed pattern, Hydrox® biscuits have the same characteristic look as Oreos. With dark chocolatey cookies delicately sandwiched together with a cream centre, Hydrox® biscuits reportedly have a less sweet filling and a crunchier cookie shell that is supposedly less soggy in milk.

Oreos vs other chocolate sandwich biscuit dupes

After asking our tasting panel if they considered Oreos to be the best chocolate sandwich biscuit, the majority answer was yes, with 57% saying they only buy Oreos, 36% saying they love Oreos but also buy dupes and only a small percentage of 7% saying they buy whatever is on promotion.

So, our mission was to determine if Oreos truly are the best chocolate sandwich biscuits out there or if there are some dupes to rival them in the South African market.

To make the test completely blind, we broke the biscuits into pieces so the tasters weren’t able to read the brand-name labelling on the top of each biscuit. Two gluten-free varieties were also included in the taste test, to see how gluten-free versions available in South Africa compare to original Oreos.

Unsurprisingly, Oreos clinched the lead, coming in first spot with the other chocolate sandwich biscuits close on the popular brand’s heels. So, Oreos are the best sandwich biscuits, but only just!

Results

Oreo 4/5

After securing their title, we can confirm that Oreos continue to live on as the best chocolate sandwich biscuits after winning the first spot in the Food24 chocolate sandwich biscuit Taste Test. Even if the popular brand started out as a dupe, the humble biscuit has proved there’s nothing quite like an Oreo-and-milk moment!

Here is what the tasters had to say: “This will forever be my favourite. The sweetness from the chocolate is just right and the creamy texture from the cream filling is just right,” and “Super creamy, sweet, tastes just like an Oreo! Bring me some milk,” and lastly, “There’s no doubt this is the original Oreo. It was so good!”

Cost: R16.99 for 133g

Woolworths 3/5

Coming in second place was a gluten-free variety from Woolworths. Tasters noted that it was the richest biscuit of the lot. The sample delivered those dark, bittersweet chocolate notes we all love so much without being overly sweet, with a moreish vanilla finish from the vanilla-crème centre. Overall, a well-executed dupe to rival the Oreo empire.

While some tasters enjoyed the richness of this sample, noting that the sample “Tastes luxurious. Deep dark chocolate depth with a sweet vanilla filling. Also good biscuit-to-filling ratio,” others found the richness a little overwhelming, leaving comments like: “This could very well be the cousin to Oreo that was once removed. It’s sooo close if not for the fatty feeling left behind in my mouth.”

Overall notes that tasters left: “Perfect crunch and not too sweet,” and “It’s a little savoury, but I like it.”

Cost: R51.99 for 165g

Schär Chocolate O’s (Gluten-free) 2.5/5

These imported chocolate sandwich biscuits had a noticeable savouriness to them, with many tasters making note of it, but they had a generous amount of filling in the centre. Despite the savoury note, the sample was well received.

Here is what some of the tasters had to say: “Slightly savoury flavour – I actually quite like it though,” and “Has like a Bacon Kips aftertaste but I’m not mad about it… I quite liked it. Good filling-to-cookie ratio. Nice dark deep chocolate colour to the cookie.”

Cost: R75.99 for 165g

Spheres 2.5/5

This sample was lighter in colour, and definitely lacked that dark chocolate look and taste so characteristic to Oreos. This sample was well complimented for its crunch even though it only delivered a bit of a bland attempt.

Here is what tasters had to say: “I don’t like the flavour of this one – I don’t taste chocolate or vanilla. But it has a nice crunch,” and “The crunchiest” and lastly, “Chocolate flavour lacks depth. But I would still eat it.”

Cost: R14.99 for 180g

Spins 2.5/5

This sample was too light in the chocolate department, with many tasters noting the sample was more reminiscent of coconut biscuits than chocolate biscuits. Even though the sample reminded the tasters more of coconut biscuits, it still fared well.

Some of the comments tasters left: “This biscuit is okay… I don’t taste chocolate, though. Tastes like a vanilla-flavoured Tennis biscuit. Also not enough of a crunch,” and “More coconut than cocoa! I feel robbed! Also, can barely taste the creamy centre,” and lastly, “This taste like a Tennis biscuit.”

Cost: R15.99 for 180g

Pick n Pay 2/5

These biscuits had a beautiful deep dark chocolate hue to them, visibly darker than Oreos, but unfortunately the sample did not deliver on the dark chocolate flavour depth. They were also very sweet overall.

Here is what the tasters had to say: “Very sweet. Just tastes sweet. No dark chocolate depth to it, also tastes a bit artificial,” and “It’s extremely sweet, definitely not the right shade of Oreo one needs in one’s life and it tastes fruity! Why?!”

Cost: R26.99 for 200g

Please note: prices were correct at time of publishing

 

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The rules of Food24 Taste Tests:

– All tasters tasted and scored all samples. Each individual taster’s preference impacts the score they give.

– The samples were tested without packaging and were not easily identifiable.

– The samples were not labelled and were tasted in random order.

– This article is not sponsored in any way, and Food24 was not paid to come to any particular result.

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