What are OCookieOs and Where Did The Idea Come From??
We get that question often, so let’s get into the origin story:
OCookieOs are a gluten-free, high protein, cookie-donut fusion that were created by Accident! Seriously.
It all started back in 2019 when one of our Sons began having some medical issues, he was breaking out in crazy blister like rashes. We went to the pediatrician who referred us to a dermatologist, then hepatologists, & gastroenterologists, to try to determine the cause. After many specialists, lab tests, and a biopsy we discovered that he had elevated liver enzymes, but they were not able to pinpoint the culprit.
At home we had to start paying attention to what was causing his flare ups…were the antagonists food, clothing, or the environment? We had to take all of these antagonists into consideration. Oddly enough our Son seemed to have flare ups to certain shirts and when I’d bake muffins & cookies. The doctors told us to start eliminating these things.
A certain brand of shirts?? Fine. Muffins…Ok! Fresh baked homemade cookies?? NO! The Pandemic was just starting, we were all home constantly and I was baking everything. We had no choice but to figure out how to deal with both simultaneously. So we had to get rid of some shirts and figure out the common ingredient in cookies & muffins that cause reactions?? Gluten…gluten is everywhere!! That was when we began our journey.
As a Mom of four boys, who were all literally stuck at home, like everyone during that time…I needed to be able to make snacks to have on hand, at all times, and I had to be able to bake cookies!
I started doing research on gluten-free flours, coconut flour, tapioca flour, chickpea flour, rice flour, oh my goodness the list goes on…but these gluten-free flours come in small packages at a hefty price compared to All Purpose Flour and I had no idea how to use them.
I learned that I could make Oat flour and Rice Flour at home…I made and tried them both and Oat Flour was the clear winner for me. I didn’t know it then, but that’s when I began creating our first recipe, from homemade Oat flour. I later learned Oats weren’t created equal, but we’ll save that topic for another time.
The cookies were delicious and filling. I began making them constantly, until one day my boys asked me to try to make donuts. Let me tell you, I tried…and tried…but I could not get a rise, my attempts at donuts looked like flat bagels.
Then, Scott, my better half, (in front of our Sons), said, “If you can’t make donuts, why not make a cookie-donut?”
This, got the boys excited and presented an interesting alternative to my donut failure.
So I made some revisions to my oat flour Cookie recipe and gave it a try and…Wow! These had crispy edges like a cookie and were soft on the inside like a cake donut…they weren’t perfect but, they were delicious! Our youngest Son, began calling them Cookie-Os…and we were like, “Oh…they are Cookie Os” and we’ve called them, “OCookieOs”, ever since.
Although, the name remains the same, our recipes have changed quite a bit. We’ve added more protein to help make them even more filling and we’re working on Low Sugar recipes for all of our flavors. We have modified our packaging to make OCookieOs more convenient, and to be honest, they look so much prettier than they did in the beginning! We are constantly learning and evolving thanks to our mistakes, repetition, and our customer’s gracious feedback.
As for our Son, who’s crazy rashes started this journey, he has completely changed his lifestyle. His flare ups come on less and less and his last labs shown his liver enzymes are pretty close to normal, which is all huge relief.
And there you go, that’s how OCookieOs were created…completely by accident.
Thanks for taking the time to learn a little more about our journey.
Nichole @OCookieOs