Twist, lick and — cue milk — dunk. Call it the classic approach to eating an Oreo, the iconic cookie first fashioned a century ago at the original Nabisco bakery on West Fifteenth Street in Manhattan.
Today, Oreos come in 46 different products in the United States, from classic sandwich cookies to “creme filled” brownies.
Oreos have gone global, too. They’re sold in more than 100 countries and made in 21 bakeries around the world. Green tea ice cream Oreos are sold in China, banana-dulce de leche Duos in Argentina. According to Kraft Foods, parent of the Nabisco brand, annual worldwide sales are $1.5 billion.
That’s a lot of twisting, licking and dunking.
But there’s more to Oreo enjoyment than the standard M.O. In honor of the cookie’s 100th birthday, Food & Drink scouted out snacks, ice creams and cakes — each ideal for summer — that are made with Oreos.
(Purists: Some recipes call for packaged foods besides Oreos. Relax. Packaged foods have a place in American food and pop culture. And Oreos no longer contain trans fat.)
You might start with Oreo upside down mini cheesecakes featuring whole cookies lining the bottoms of muffin cups and chopped cookies stirred into the batter. Or with crisp treat pops made by inserting lollipop sticks into Oreo, rice puff and marshmallow bars, then dipping them in chocolate.
Mini Oreos, available nationally for 20 years, are baked in the middle of surprise cupcakes. Coarsely chopped Oreos are layered in a chocolate and vanilla ice cream cake that calls for only those three ingredients.
Two cakes also incorporate chopped Oreos. For a black and white tube cake mingling white and devil’s food batters, it’s the chocolate that receives the Oreos. For a pound cake, the cookies are simply stirred in.
Your first instinct might be to make the recipes with chocolate Oreos, and that’s absolutely fine. But with so many Oreo flavors and forms, it’s easy to substitute and experiment beyond the original sandwich cookie.
OREO UPSIDE DOWN MINI CHEESECAKES
19 Oreo Cookies, divided
2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
Heat oven to 350 F. Place 1 cookie in each of 12 paper-lined muffin cups. Coarsely chop remaining cookies; set aside.
Beat cream cheese and sugar in large mixer bowl until blended. Add sour cream and vanilla; mix well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating on low speed after each, just until blended. Stir in chopped cookies. Spoon into muffin cups.
Bake 20 minutes, or until centers are almost set. Cool. Refrigerate 3 hours. Remove cheesecakes from muffin pan; discard paper liners. Serve cookie-sides up. Makes 12 mini cheesecakes.
To make ahead, wrap each cheesecake with foil; place in freezer-weight resealable plastic bag. Freeze up to 3 weeks. When ready to serve, unwrap cheesecakes; refrigerate 4 hours, or until thawed.
Recipes adapted from recipes provided by Kraft Foods
OREO CRISP TREAT POPS
3 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 (10-ounce) package Kraft brand Jet-Puffed Marshmallows
5 cups crisp rice cereal
16 Oreo Cookies, coarsely chopped (about 2 cups)
4 squares semi-sweet baking chocolate, melted
1/4 cup multi-colored sprinkles
Microwave butter in large microwaveable bowl on high 45 seconds, or until melted. Add marshmallows; toss to coat. Microwave 1 1/2 minutes, or until marshmallows are completely melted and mixture is well blended, stirring after 45 seconds.
Add cereal and chopped cookies; mix well. Press onto bottom of 9-inch square pan sprayed with cooking spray. Cool completely.
Cut mixture into 18 bars. Insert lollipop stick into 1 short end of each. Dip ends in chocolate; top with sprinkles. Refrigerate 10 minutes, or until chocolate is firm.
Variation: Substitute finely chopped Oreo Cookies for the multi-colored sprinkles.
Variation: Substitute 2 melted squares white chocolate for 2 of the semi-sweet chocolate squares. Dip ends of 9 bars in melted semi-sweet chocolate, then dip ends of remaining bars in melted white chocolate. Top with sprinkles.
MINI OREO SURPRISE CUPCAKES
1 package (2-layer size) chocolate cake mix
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 egg
2 tablespoons sugar
48 Mini Oreo Bite Size Cookies
1 1/2 cups thawed whipped topping
Heat oven to 350 F. Prepare cake batter as directed on package. Mix cream cheese, egg and sugar until well blended.
Spoon half the cake batter into 24 paper-lined muffin cups. Top each with about 1 1/2 teaspoons cream cheese mixture and 1 cookie; cover with remaining cake batter.
Bake 19 to 22 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost with shipped topping. Top with remaining cookies. Frosted cupcakes can be stored in refrigerator up to 3 days. Makes 24 cupcakes.
OREO ICE CREAM CAKE
1 container ( 1 1/2 quart brick) chocolate ice cream ( about 7 inches by 4 1/2 inches by 4 inches), divided
20 Oreo Cookies, coarsely chopped, then divided
3 cups vanilla ice cream, softened
Line a 9-inch-by-5-inch loaf pan with plastic wrap. Cut chocolate ice cream crosswise in half, then cut each half into 4 slices. Place 4 slices on bottom of prepared pan; press to form even layer covering bottom of pan. Reserve 1/2 cup chopped cookies; set aside.
Sprinkle half the remaining cookies over ice cream layer in pan. Cover with vanilla ice cream; press firmly to form even layer. Top with remaining chopped cookies. Cover with remaining chocolate ice cream slices; press firmly to completely cover cookie layer. Freeze 3 hours, or until firm.
Invert dessert onto platter just before serving. Remove pan and plastic wrap. Top dessert with reserved 1/2 cup chopped cookies.
