Chocolate Bytes: Multicultural Oreos

Had to share this article about Oreos that appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle today.

Whether it's green tea Oreos in China, a chocolate and peanut variety in Indonesia, or banana and dulce de leche Oreos in Argentina, a lot rides on Kraft's efforts to develop alternatives to the iconic cookie-and-cream combination. The 100-year-old sandwich cookie, a $2 billion brand, is going global in a big way. Emerging markets will account for about half of Oreo sales this year; over the past five years, emerging markets including Asia and Latin America have been the major drivers of the brand's growth. Thanks to the overseas push, overall Oreo sales grew nearly 25 percent in 2011.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/05/06/BU6Q1ODA9H.DTL#ixzz1uBczdGR0

Let me know what flavor you would fancy.

Birthday Cake Oreo: 100th Birthday Limited Edition

For some reason I missed these Birthday Cake Oreos.  In celebration of the 100th Birthday of the Oreo Cookie, Nabisco has launched a limited edition "Birthday Cake" Oreo.

The Birthday Cake Oreo is the same cookie design albeit with a different stamp, but the filling is the iconic vanilla cream mixed with rainbow sprinkles. I'm a party sort of person, so sprinkles (confetti) is perfect! I found these limited edition cookies at Target, but you'll find them in lots of other stores. Get them while they're sweet!

Happy Birthday, Oreo!

Happy Birthday, Oreo! Oreo Recipe Round-Up

Oreo Ad: 1960

Today is the 100th anniversary of Oreo Cookies, and my friend Louise over at Months of Edible Celebrations has a Centennial Celebration and round-up of Oreo recipes from all over the Web.  Be sure and pop on over.

The Oreo is America's Favorite Cookie! This cookie debuted on March 6, 1912 by the National Biscuit Company (Nabisco, now owned  by Kraft). The original Oreo was packaged as a Trio: the Mother Goose, the Veronese, and the Oreo Biscuit. Oreo was the most popular, and soon was a stand-alone, well as far as cookies go, because you always need milk with Oreos!

In 1921, Nabisco dropped 'Biscuit' from the name and called it 'Oreo Sandwich'. In 1948 it was called the 'Oreo Creme Sandwich' and today it's marketed as the Oreo Chocolate Sandwich Cookie.  Over the years there have been many variations -- Mini Oreos, Double Delight,  Triple stuffed, Lemon-Cream, Chocolate Covered Mint Oreos, Halloween Oreos--even Oreo O's Cereal made by Post. For  a much more complete and terrific history of Oreos go to Months of Edible Celebrations 2008 post. For those who are interested in cookie history, the Hydrox chocolate sandwich cookie predated Oreos by four years. Read more here.

So how do you eat your Oreos? Do you dunk them? Do you open them and lick the filling and then eat the cookies? 

Over the years (not 100 years!), I've posted several recipes for Oreo-based tasty treats. Here's a round-up with an additional easy recipe for Oreo Truffles. This Oreo Truffle recipe is from the source: Kraft. You'll find similar recipes all over the Internet. This is so easy, and you'll only need Three Ingredients: Oreos, Cream Cheese and Chocolate. Yum! I substitute fair trade organic dark chocolate for the Baker's, but if you don't have any, Baker's is fine.

OREO TRUFFLES

Photo: Kraft

1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
1 pkg. (15.5 oz.) OREO Cookies, finely crushed (about 4-1/4 cups), divided
2 pkg. (8 squares each) BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, melted

MIX cream cheese and 3 cups cookie crumbs until well blended.
SHAPE into 48 (1-inch) balls. Dip in melted chocolate; place on waxed paper-covered baking sheet. Sprinkle with remaining cookie crumbs.
REFRIGERATE 1 hour or until firm. Store in tightly covered container in refrigerator.

Hint: for Dipping, use two forks to make it easier (and less messy) or a special dipping utensil you can find online or at a kitchen store. I melt chocolate in a double boiler, but if you're careful, you can melt it in the microwave. Go back through some of my other truffle recipes for more hints and tips.

And here's the promised Oreo Recipe Round-Up from DyingforChocolate.com. I'm sure there were more, but this was a quick search. Check out Months of Edible Celebrations' post today for more recipes from around the Web.

Oreo Ad: 1962

I also love the Oreo Cake Pan from Williams Sonoma. And, be sure and go to the end of this post to see a photo of an Oreo Wedding Cake and an Oreo elevator Ad.

OREO RECIPE ROUND-UP

Chocolate Covered Deep Fried Triple Double Oreos 
 
Oreo Tempura (but I like the other one above better)
  
Chocolate Peppermint Pie with Peppermint Oreo Crust 
  
Oreo Cheesecake
  
Oreo Crust for Pumpkin Cheesecake (using Halloween Oreos)

Homemade Oreos

Oreo Wedding Cake

Oreo Elevator Ad

Have an Oreo Today! Happy Birthday, Oreo!