In these times which ain’t too comfortable, comfort foods like Oreos come in handy. Here’s a great recipe for the classic Oreo cookie.
Oreo cookies, the favorite little cream-filled cookie. Delicious and wonderful with milk. For years to actually taste these morsels you would have to find them at your supermarket. And you were limited by only 2 sizes, medium and small. Until now.
Here is an easy and quick recipe for making your own oreo cookies, and as a plus they are vegan!
At one time Nabisco actually conducted a study that determined that 50 percent of Oreo consumers twist the cookie apart before eating it. I guess this is important information, since it concerns the worlds top-selling cookie. Historians at Nabisco aren’t sure who came up with the idea for this sandwich cookie back in 1912, but they do know that it was introduced along with two other cookie creations that have long since died.
Funny how-to video for the Oreo cookie recipe
The name may have come from the Greek word for mountain, oreo, which would once have made sense because the first test version was hill-shaped. When the Oreo was first sold to the public, it was much larger than todays cookie, but it kept shrinking over the years until Nabisco realized it had become too small and had to enlarge it again to todays current 1 3/4-inch diameter.
In 1975, Nabisco figured we couldn’t have too much of a good thing, so the company gave us Double Stuf Oreos, with twice the filling. But why stop there? Now you’re free to pile as much “stuf” on your cookies as you like.
Oreo Cookie recipe
INGREDIENTS
COOKIE
1 18.25-ounce pkg. Betty Crocker chocolate fudge cake mix
3 tablespoons shortening, melted
1/2 cup cake flour, measured then sifted
1 egg 3 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons brown paste food coloring (optional
FILLING
1/2 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
2 tablespoons hot water
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Combine the cookie ingredients in a large bowl. Add the water a little bit at a time until the dough forms. Cover and chill for 2 hours.<br>
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
3. On a lightly floured surface roll out a portion of the dough to just under one 16th of an inch thick. To cut, use a lid from a spice container with a 1 1/2-inch diameter (Schilling brand is good). Arrange the cut dough rounds on a cookie sheet that is sprayed with a light coating of non-stick spray. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove wafers from the oven and cool completely.
4. As the cookies bake, make the filling by combining the filling ingredients with an electric mixer. <br>
5. When the cookies have cooled, roll a small portion (heaping 1/4 teaspoon) of the filling into a ball (just over 1/4-inch in diameter), and press it between two of the cookies. Repeat with the remaining cookies.<br>
Makes 54-58 sandwich cookies.
*This is an optional step to help recreate the color of the original cookie. If you do not use the paste food coloring be sure to change the amount of water added to the wafer cookies from 3 tablespoons to 1/4 cup. The food coloring gives the cookies the dark brown, almost black color. The coloring can be found with cake decorating supplies at art supply and craft stores.
Tidbits
If the dough seems too tacky, you can work in as much as 1/4 cup of flour as you pat out and roll the dough. Use just enough flour to make the dough workable, but not tough.
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The Legend of the Oreo
Oreo is a popular sandwich cookie made by the Nabisco division of Kraft Foods. Since its 1912 introduction, Oreo has become the best selling cookie in the United States, through the 20th century and into the 21st.
History
20th century
The “Oreo Biscuit” was developed and first produced by the National Biscuit Company (today known as Nabisco) in 1912[2][3] at its Chelsea factory in New York City, which was located on Ninth Avenue between 15th and 16th Streets.[4] Today, this same block of Ninth Avenue is known as “Oreo Way.”[4] The name Oreo was first trademarked on March 14, 1912.[5] It was launched as an imitation of the Hydrox cookie manufactured by Sunshine company, introduced in 1908.
The original design of the cookie featured a wreath around the edge of the cookie and the name “OREO” in the center.[7] In the United States, they were sold for 25 cents a pound in novelty cans with clear glass tops.
The Oreo Biscuit was renamed in 1921, to “Oreo Sandwich.”[8] A new design for the cookie was introduced in 1924.[7] A lemon-filled variety was available briefly during the 1920s, but was discontinued.[7]
In 1948, the Oreo Sandwich was renamed the “Oreo Creme Sandwich”; it was changed in 1974 to the Oreo Chocolate Sandwich Cookie.[8] The modern-day Oreo design was developed in 1952 by William A. Turnier,[9] to include the Nabisco logo.
The modern Oreo cookie filling was developed by Nabisco’s principal food scientist, Sam Porcello.[4][10] Porcello held five patents directly related to his work on the Oreo.[10] He also created a line of Oreos covered in dark chocolate and white chocolate.[4][10] Porcello retired from Nabisco in 1993.[4]
In the mid-1990s, health concerns prompted Nabisco to replace the lard in the filling with partially hydrogenated vegetable oil.
21st century
Starting in January 2006, Oreo cookies replaced the trans fat in the cookie with non-hydrogenated vegetable oil.[11][12][13][14]
Nabisco began a marketing program in 2008, advertising the use of Oreo cookies in a game called DSRL, which stands for “Double Stuf Racing League.” The DSRL was introduced one week prior to Super Bowl XLII. This sport had also been endorsed by football brothers Peyton Manning and Eli Manning.[15] Sisters Venus and Serena Williams have also joined, and challenged the Mannings to a race, which aired in an ad on January 18, 2009.[16] Another campaign started for Golden Double Stuf Oreo cookies with the brothers being challenged by Donald Trump & “Double Trump” played by Darrell Hammond; the date for this competition was January 24, 2010. The Mannings won in both cases. A new ad campaign is currently revolving around a ‘Hooded Menace’ threatening to take over the Double Stuf Racing League, and Eli Manning and Stufy (the DSRL mascot) needing some help airing beginning on or around September 14, 2010. Six days later, it was announced that Shaquille O’Neal and Apolo Ohno joined Oreo Double Stuf Racing League vets Eli Manning and Venus Williams.
In April 2011, Oreo announced its special edition Oreo cookies with blue cream in promotion of the 2011 3D computer animated film Rio. The promotion included stickers inside each package of cookies. Two types of contests were also announced: first, by completing an album of stickers, consumers could win three movie passes and medium snack bar combos; second, by finding winning stickers in packages with prizes, including a trip to Rio de Janeiro, backpacks, cinema passes for a year, and 3D glasses. The promotion ended May 30, 2011,[17] and was available in Ecuador, Peru, and Colombia.[18]
The rainbow Oreo cookie in support of Gay Pride month
In June 2012, Oreo posted an ad displaying an Oreo cookie with rainbow colored cream to commemorate Gay Pride month.[19] The cookie itself is not being manufactured or available for sale. The ad prompted some negative backlash on Facebook, including the creation of a Facebook page calling for a boycott of Oreo.[20] Kraft have stood by their promotion stating “Kraft Foods has a proud history of celebrating diversity and inclusiveness. We feel the Oreo ad is a fun reflection of our values.”[21] The Gay Pride ad was followed during 2012 by a series of ads commemorating other holidays and events, including a red, white and blue cream Oreo for Bastille Day, a stream of cookie crumbs for the appearance of the Delta Aquarid meteor shower, and a cookie with a jagged bite taken out of it for Shark Week.
Etymology
No one seems to know where the name ‘Oreo’ came from, but there are many theories, including derivations from the French word ‘Or’, meaning gold (as early packaging was gold), or the Greek word ‘Oreo’, meaning beautiful, nice or well done.[8] Other theories are that the ‘re’ from cream was ‘sandwiched’ between the two Os from cookie, or the word ‘just seemed like a nice, melodic combination of sounds’.
Production
According to a statement from Kim McMiller, an Associate Director of Consumer Relations,[citation needed] a two-stage process is used to make Oreo cookies. The base cake dough is formed into the familiar round cookies by a rotary mold at the entrance of a 300-foot-long oven. Much of current Oreo production is done at the Kraft/Nabisco factory in Richmond, Virginia. Oreo cookies for the Asian markets are manufactured in Indonesia, India and China. Oreo cookies for Europe are made in Spain and in Ukraine for consumers in several CIS countries. Oreo cookies sold in Australia are manufactured in China or Spain depending on flavor.
Varieties
In addition to their traditional design of two chocolate wafers separated by a cream filling, Oreo cookies have been produced in many different varieties since they were first introduced, and this list is only a guide to some of the more notable and recent types; not all are available in every country.
Other shapes
Double Stuf Oreo (introduced in 1974)[31] have about twice the normal amount of white cream filling. Available in peanut butter, original, cool mint or chocolate cream. In the UK they are called Double Stuff Oreo (note the double ‘f’) and are currently only available in original.
Football Oreo football-shape Oreos, introduced in 1976
Big Stuf Oreo (introduced in 1987)[31] were several times the size of a normal Oreo. Sold individually, each Big Stuf contained 250 calories (1,000 kJ)[32] and 13 grams of fat. They were discontinued in 1991.
Mini Oreo, originally released in 1991,[33] are bite-sized versions of ordinary Oreo cookies. After being discontinued in the late 1990s they were re-released in 2000 along with the redesigned 2001 Dodge Caravan as part of a promotional tie-in with DaimlerChrysler[34] Their 1990s packaging consisted of a “miniaturized” version of the full-size cardboard tray and box used in packaging at the time. Their current packaging consists of an aluminum foil bag.[citation needed]
“Triple Double Oreo”, for sale in the US in summer 2011, combine three wafers with two layers of creme, one vanilla and one chocolate.[35]
Triple Double Neapolitan Oreos, are similar to the original triple double oreos, but are three vanilla oreo cookies, with chocolate filling between the first and second cookies, and strawberry filling between the second and third.
100 Calorie Pack Oreo (Oreo Thinsations in Canada) are miniature, thin, hexagonal versions of Oreo with no creme-filling, and come individually portioned into 100 calories (420 kJ) pouches.