My blog plan for today was to write about Maine's Republican Senator, Olympia Snowe, a moderate who just announced she would not run for re-election. Then I discovered that today is the 100th Birthday (or anniversary, whichever term you prefer) of the Oreo Cookie and I felt mysteriously drawn to write about the Oreo Cookie. (Once again, pizza won out over broccoli.)
I know few individuals - maybe none - who do not like Oreo Cookies. (True, those individuals with celiac disease and those with diabetes either cannot eat Oreos or must severely limit their intake of the packaged cookie.) The Oreo brand is produced by the Nabisco Division of Kraft Foods - a multi-faceted food conglomerate. Nabisco advertises the Oreo as a "cookie sandwich", not a "sandwich" cookie - how many people mistakenly refer to the Oreo as. Since the Oreo was "invented" around 1912, it has produced a rich history of recipes associated with it. Although one might think the Oreo is most popular with children and tweens/teens, a surprisingly high percentage of Oreo lovers are adults. I can remember feeding a number of adults before a concert this past Christmas season. I had lovingly and painstakingly made four different kinds of Christmas cookies and had them cleverly arranged on decorative plates. Once arranged, I decided that the plates needed more color and I subsequently purchased Christmas-colored Oreos. Guess which type of cookie disappeared first?
Of course, the cookie part is always dark - chocolate - in nature. It is the filling that changes color depending on the season. During the Holly Daze, you can purchase Oreos with red and green filling colors. Now, with Easter being the next major Fifth Avenue trap, you can purchase Oreos with spring-inspired, pastel-colored fillings.
Oreo cookies are the basis for some very tasty recipes, among them "Dirt" - a combination of crumbled Oreos, Cool Whip and gummy worms. Both kids and adults like "Dirt". Oreos also make the best basis for cheesecake - that is, if you want a dark-colored crust. Otherwise crumbled 'Nilla Wafers work well for a vanilla-themed crust. But, with a cheesecake filling, who cares about the crust? Lastly, there is little better tasting than crushed Oreos folded into softened vanilla ice cream.
Then there are the variations on how to eat an Oreo Cookie Sandwich.
How do you eat your Oreos? In one fell-swoop bite? Tiny bites around the circumference of the cookie? Two bites? Do you take apart your Oreo and lick off the filling from each side? Do you dip your Oreo, whole, into a glass of milk? Do you prefer to eat your Oreo with white or chocolate milk as a "side"?
Just as with eating pizza, people do have their own personal-preference procedures on how to eat their Oreo Cookie Sandwiches. I say if you have a procedure that gets the cookie from the package to your tummy, stick with it!
Happy Birthday, Oreo. I'll bring broccoli tomorrow.
Ancora imparo
