I am a sucker for “limited time only” experimental cookies. I can’t help it. Something in me leaps at the opportunity to try something new and strange that might not be around forever. So when I saw S’more flavored Oreos at my grocery store I just had to have them. I had no idea what I was going to do with them, but I figured at some point they’d wind up in a batch of fudge. And really, how could I resist this devilish combination of a timeless childhood treat and everyone’s favorite cookie?

Then we got invited to a Fourth of July party at a friend’s house, and, of course, I offered to bring thematic fudge. And I remembered that box of “limited time only” S’moreo Oreos sitting in my pantry.

My tried-and-true recipe for fudge with Oreos is from Eagle Brand. It’s insanely simple. First, take about 20 Oreo cookies and break them into pieces by hand. Trust me – you don’t want to crush them or use a knife – you want to take each cookie and break them into about four pieces each. Otherwise you end up with grey fudge instead of beautiful white fudge with clean chunks of cookie. I learned that one the hard way. This step really doesn’t take as long as you’d expect.

Measure out three cups of white chocolate chips into a microwave-safe bowl. I prefer Nestle’s white chocolate chips. I never seem to get Ghiradelli chips to melt as smooth.

Add one can of sweetened condensed milk to the chips. I prefer Eagle Brand – the regular, not low fat or fat free or your fudge won’t set up correctly.

Put your bowl in the microwave and heat on half power for a minute, stir, and repeat on 30 second increments until your white chocolate is entirely melted and smooth. Then gently fold in the Oreo pieces until fully integrated. Pour the whole mixture into a greased 8×8 or 9×9 square pan and put in your refrigerator for roughly two hours or until firm. That’s it!

I’ve tried using themed Oreos before. The colored cream usually smears into the fudge, creating fun marble effects – but definitely don’t over mix or your fudge gets pretty muddy. Think Christmas Oreos for an interesting green and red cookies & cream fudge, or Halloween Oreos for a fun black and orange effect. I made that one every creepier by mixing in some Wilton bug sprinkles. Ewwww!

But for my July 4th Red White and Blue fudge I had something slightly different in mind. I set out three microwave-safe bowls. Into the first one I placed two cups of white chocolate chips and 2/3 of a can of sweetened condensed milk. Following the standard cookies & cream fudge recipe I melted the white chocolate until smooth and then folded in my oreo pieces, very gently to not over-mix the fudge and marshmallow cream from the cookies. I then poured that mix into my square pan (already lined with parchment paper and greased) and set it in the fridge to chill.

Into each of the other two bowls I measured one cup of white chocolate and 1/3 of a can sweetened condensed milk. (But wait, that’s 4/3s! You’re right…I opened a second can. The rest of that second can is in my fridge, likely to be turned into Amaretto fudge later this week). I heated both bowls until smooth.

Into the first bowl I mixed Wilton blue gel food coloring. I much prefer using the gel food coloring than regular drops – the fudge is more likely to keep it’s consistency, rather than get soupy and not set up properly. I spread the blue layer on top of my oreo fudge and returned the pan to the fridge.

Then came the red – again, using gel food coloring. I spread this on top of the other two layers and then added a lovely amount of red and blue sugar sprinkles and white sugar pearls.

Whalla! If you like white chocolate and s’mores, this is the fudge for you.