Gideon’s Cookies and Cream Cookies (Copycat Recipe)

I’m back with another Gideon’s Bakehouse copycat recipe – their “cult favorite” Cookie’s and Cream. These cookies are just as giant, indulgent, and over the top as the original chocolate chip version, but instead of being packed with chocolate chips, they’ve got an entire package of Double Stuf Oreo cookies and intense vanilla bean flavor.

First, what is Gideon’s Bakehouse?

If you’re reading this post, I’m guessing you’ve at least heard to Gideon’s, if not waited in the 6 hour line once or twice. There is so much hype surrounding this Orlando bakery and people truly go crazy for these big-as-your-face cookies. The bakehouse itself is teenie tiny with a spooky-in-the-coolest-way vibe. It’s dark, with Tim Burton like pictures covering every inch of the walls and a bakery case filled with giant cakes and their infamous half pound cookies. They also offer super indulgent coffee beverages like their ever popular peanut butter cold brew.

Gideon’s is located in Disney Springs and ALWAYS has a line. And not your average line either. A line longer than any line you’ll find at the parks. Expect to wait in the virtual queue for 4-6 hours. To get on the virtual queue, you’ll have to walk up to the bakehouse and give your name to one of the staff members hanging out outside. They’ll add you to the list and shoot you a text when it’s your turn. If possible, I highly recommend booking it to Gideons first thing in the morning the second they open. If you’re lucky, you’ll get right in or at least cut the virtual queue time down significantly. I did this on our last trip and had a virtual queue wait time of 1 hour.

Last week, I posted my version of their Original Chocolate Chip Cookie, and they went absolutely viral on Tiktok. And the people demanded the Cookies and Cream version, and I’ve gotta give the people what they want so here we are. Now, instead of booking a flight to Orlando when the Gideon’s craving hits, you can just grab your slippers and a pack of Double Stuf and head to your kitchen.

Ingredients

Similarly to the Gideon’s Chocolate Chip copycat, I tried to keep these ingredients as easily accessible as possible. However, there are a couple specialty ingredients that I think make these cookies and cream cookies a true rival of the Gideon’s ones.

• High Quality Butter. I highly recommend using Kerry Gold Irish Butter in this recipe as it gives the cookies that bakery quality depth of flavor that we’re looking for. Other high quality butters that would work in this recipe are Danish Creamery or Pulgra.
• Bread Flour. I use a mixture of all purpose and bread flour in order to create the chewy texture in these cookies. Bread flour isn’t hard to find – just look next to the regular flour in the grocery – but isn’t an ingredient I’d expect you to have on hand.
• Vanilla Bean Paste. Gideon’s website refers to the base of their cookies and cream cookies to be a vanilla bean dough. It has intense vanilla flavor and specks of vanilla bean throughout. To achieve this at home, reach for the vanilla bean paste. It has a more powerful vanilla presence than regular vanilla extract and contains real vanilla bean flecks. My favorites are Trader Joe’s and Rodelle and I can typically find it at Trader Joe’s (obviously) or Kroger. You can also find it on Amazon.
• Lorann’s Butter Vanilla Emulsion. Like I mentioned before, these cookies have INTENSE vanilla flavor. I think the addition of this bakery emulsion is what gives these cookies the extra oomph of vanilla they need. You can find it on Amazon or sometimes I can even find it in the baking section at walmart. Not the baking aisle with the flour and sugar, but the bakery aisle with the piping tips and cake boxes.

How to Make Gideon’s Cookies and Cream Cookies at Home

Make the Dough

In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, sugar, and dark brown sugar for 5 minutes. Make sure to scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl as needed. Add in the egg, egg yolk, vanilla bean paste, and butter vanilla emulsion. *If you can find vanilla bean paste or the butter vanilla emulsion – substitute 3 TBSP of pure vanilla extract. Mix for another 3 minutes. It seems like a LOT of mixing, but you really want to whip the eggs in well to provide these cookies with the structure that they need. Again, be sure to scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl as needed.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flours, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Then, mix the dry ingredients into the butter and sugar mixture until just combined, being careful not to over mix. Use a rubber spatula to fold in about 1/3 (125g) of the chopped Double Stuf Oreos.

Coat in more chopped oreos and chill

Gideon’s cookies are notoriously huge – a half pound each to be exact. Use a kitchen scale to portion the dough into 6 giant 6.5 oz cookie dough balls. Pop the portioned dough into the fridge for 5-10 minutes, just long enough to firm up enough to handle.

Add the rest of the chopped Oreos to a mixing bowl. Roll the dough into a ball in your hands and completely cover them with the chopped Oreos, except for the bottoms. Leave the bottoms uncoated to ensure that the Oreos don’t get too hot and burn. Be sure the press the cookies into the dough to make sure they stick. Then, place the cookie dough balls on a parchment lined sheet pan and chill for 12-24 hours.

Bake and Serve

After the dough has chilled for at least 12 hours, preheat the oven to 350 and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Let the cookie dough sit at room temperature to warm up a bit as the oven preheats. Place two cookies on the baking sheet with plenty of room between them. Bake for 15 minutes, then remove from the oven and bang the cookie sheet on the counter 4-5 times to help flatten the dough a bit. Then bake for an additional 3 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool on the baking sheet. While the cookies are still hot, use a rubber spatula to scoot any runaway edges back into place.

The cookies will still be very doughy in the center, but will set up as they cool. Optional, but recommended – add a sprinkle of flaky salt right when they come out of the oven. These cookies are super rich and indulgent and the little touch of salt will help to balance the sweetness a bit.

Cookies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week. To reheat – pop them in the microwave for 10-12 seconds.

Gideon’s Cookies and Cream Cookies Baking Tips

• Properly measure your ingredients. Weighing your ingredients with a kitchen scale vs using cup measurements is the only way to ensure that your cookies turn out perfect every time. It is SO EASY to over pack the flour when scooping it out with a measuring cup. If you don’t have a kitchen scale, be sure to spoon and level your flour rather than scooping it out of the bag with the measuring cup – which will likely result in using too much flour and therefore a cakey cookie that doesn’t spread.
• Don’t skip the chill. I am well aware that letting your dough chill is BRUTAL – especially overnight, But trust me when I say that I wouldn’t recommend it if it wasn’t necessary. It allows the flour and sugars to be fully absorbed and results in a cookie with balanced deep flavors and chewy texture.
• Make sure that your oven is properly calibrated. I tested these cookies at several bake temps and ultimately found that 350 was best. Unfortunately, most of our oven temperatures can be off. But, this is easily fixed by using an oven thermometer which you can find on Amazon for $5-10. If your oven temp is too low, the cookies won’t spread much at all and the center will be raw. If it’s too hot, they’ll spread to quickly, become too brown around the edges, AND have a center that’s barely cooked through.

Print

If you loved this recipe for Gideon’s Cookies and Cream Cookies, be sure to tag @buuckfarmsbakery on Instagram and leave a star rating and review below. If you want to pin this recipe to Pinterest for later, use the Pinterest button on the recipe card above or on any of the photos throughout this post.

For more of my Bakery Style Cookies, check out my –

• Giant Chocolate Chip Cookies (Gideon’s Copycat)
• Soft and Chewy Lemon Sugar Cookies
• Blueberry Muffin Cookies
• Bakery Style S’mores Cookies
• Bakery Style PB & J Cookies