Easy Oreo Crow Cookies (Only 5 Ingredients!)

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These Oreo Crow Cookies look like a flock of confused birds that kinda took a wrong turn on the way to Halloween. Between the crooked candy eyes, oversized orange beaks and scruffy licorice feathers, every crow develops its own super cute and unhinged little personality.

Even better, these are made with only 5 ingredients and there is no baking involved. (A huge plus for me!) They are easy enough to put together with the kids, fun for Halloween parties and forgiving enough that absolutely no decorating talent is required. If one eye slides sideways….. awesome! You have made the most interesting crow in the flock.

🛒 Ingredients and Easy Substitutions

All you need are a few ready made cookies and candies. The exact amounts are listed in the printable recipe card below.

✅ Oreo cookies: Regular Oreos work perfectly for these crow cookies. Double Stuf Oreos could also be used if you want a little extra filling to easily hold the licorice hair in place. The cookies don’t have to be specifically Oreos, other round chocolate sandwich cookie should work just fine too.

✅ Candy eyes: Small candy eyes fit nicely above the beak. Different sized eyes would be cute too….. especially if you want your crows to look a little extra confused. If you have some left in the package, use them to make these 4 Ingredient Pumpkin Puffs too. Nothing says Halloween quite like sticking googly eyes on everything in sight.

✅ Orange circus peanut candies: These soft candies are easy to flatten and shape into the long orange beaks. Orange slice candies may also work if they are soft enough to cut and mould, although the finished beaks may look slightly different. One last substitution you can try if you can’t find the other things, orange tic tacs or jelly beans will work.

✅ Black licorice laces: (Haribo Black Licorice Wheel) The licorice wheel is easy to unwind and cut into short little pieces for the crow’s hair. Black licorice laces or thin strands pulled from another soft black licorice candy can also work.

✅ Chocolate frosting: A small amount of jarred chocolate frosting holds the eyes and beaks in place. Melted chocolate can also be used if they are melting chocolates that will set up (harden) after being melted.

How to Make Oreo Crow Cookies

Get all the candy pieces prepared before opening the Oreos. Once the cutting and shaping are finished, assembling the flock goes surprisingly quickly.

1. Shape the Beaks

• Start by cutting and shaping the circus peanuts into long orange beaks.

2. Make the Faces

• Use tiny specks of chocolate frosting to stick the candy eyes and beaks onto the front of each Oreo.
• Repeat with the remaining cookies until the whole flock is staring back at you.

3. Cut the Licorice Feathers

• Next, unwind a little of the licorice wheel and snip it into short pieces for the crow’s hair.
• Tuck the licorice pieces into the top of the cookie.

4. Let Everything Set

• Lay the finished crow cookies flat on a parchment lined tray to set.
• Once the frosting has had time to settle, the cookies can be moved to a platter or storage container without the eyes immediately making a run for it.

Please check the recipe card below for exact ingredient amounts and directions, and loads of helpful tips to make this perfect every time!

Tips Before You Assemble the Flock…..

• Do all the prep work first. Make all the beaks and licorice pieces before you begin assembling the cookies. It’s way easier to work in stages than to stop and cut another piece of sticky candy every thirty seconds.
• Make one complete crow first. It gives you a chance to make any changes like the length of the licorice or the size of the beak before making the rest of the cookies.
• Use a very small amount of frosting behind the decorations. You need enough to make them stick, but not so much that it squishes out around the eyes and you know, looks a little creepy.
• If the circus peanut candy sticks to your scissors, wipe the blades clean and apply the tiniest amount of cooking oil.
• Don’t worry about perfectly straight eyes or identical beaks. This is one of those rare decorating projects that actually gets better when things look a little wonky.

Keeping the Little Crow Bits in Place

• If an eye or beak keeps sliding, there’s probably a bit too much frosting behind it. Take the decoration off, wipe away some of the extra frosting and try again with a smaller amount.
• Lay the finished cookies flat for a few minutes before moving them to a platter or container. This gives the frosting a chance to settle and keeps the faces from shifting around. Remember, you can always use melting chocolate wafers (or even a few squares of chocolate bar, melted, to hold the candy in place.)
• The licorice hair gets tucked between the two cookie wafers at the top. You don’t need to pull the Oreo apart completely….. just carefully slide the little licorice pieces into place.

Making the Crow Cookies Ahead of Time

These are easy to put together a day or two before when you want them. Store them in an airtight container once the frosting has had a chance to settle.

When I store decorated cookies like these ones, I find that separating the layers with parchment paper works really well. It helps protect the decorations and keeps the cookies from sticking together.

And honestly, a single layer is even better if you have a container big enough. If you do need to stack them, don’t pack everything too tightly or you may open the container later and find a bunch of eyeless crows….. which is certainly Halloween-ish, but really not the look we were going for!

If you’re trying to get most of your party prep finished early, these 3 Ingredient Halloween Ghost Pops are another fun one to make ahead. They’re frozen banana pops covered in vanilla yogurt, so they also give the kids something besides straight candy….. not that the Oreo crows are judging anyone.

What if Nobody Likes Black Licorice?

Tell them they’re crazy. J/k

If your people aren’t big on black licorice it’s no biggie. I’ve seen purple twizzlers candy that could be stripped up carefully to stuff in the same spot for the feathers. If the whole licorice thing is a no-go period, just leave it off.

You’ll have a bunch of baldy crows, but they’ll still be adorable!

Storing Leftover Crow Cookies

Store the cookies in an airtight container at cool room temperature. They’ll be at their best within the first couple of days, but should keep nicely for up to four days.

Try not to store them somewhere warm because the frosting can soften and the candy faces may start sliding around.

I wouldn’t refrigerate them unless the frosting you use needs refrigeration. Moisture in the fridge can make the candy eyes sticky and soften the Oreos.

Serving Your Halloween Flock

Technically, a ‘flock’ of crows is actually called a ‘murder’ so… there’s a little fun fact for you – quite Halloween fitting, right?

Ok, so for serving, try arranging the crow cookies on a black platter, a dark wooden board or a Halloween tray. You could also put each one in a cupcake liner so they’re easy to pick up without knocking the face off the cookie beside it.

They’d also be really cute on a Halloween snack board with popcorn, pretzels, chocolates and a few other easy treats. If you want something creamy in the middle of the tray, add a bowl of this 3 Ingredient Pumpkin Fluff with cookies or apple slices for dipping. Between the pumpkin fluff, ghost pretzels and this goofy little crow flock, your Halloween table will look like you put in way more effort than you actually did.

If you’re taking them to a party, transport them flat in their storage container and arrange them on the serving tray when you arrive. That’s much easier than driving across town with a bunch of loose candy eyeballs rolling around the passenger seat.

Thanks so much for stopping by the blog today! If you make these Oreo Crow Cookies, please leave a comment and a star rating below. I love hearing how the recipes worked out for you….. and if you’re feeling so inclined, I’d love to see a photo of your creations!

~Joanne