Oreo Turns 100

Oreo, the heavenly chocolate cookie that we "twist, lick and dunk," celebrates its centennial mark. Created in March 6, 1912 at the National Biscuit Company bakery, it remained a well-loved sweet treat through the years and so they are sharing two very special recipes for Oreo fans to try and enjoy.

Happy 100th birthday, Oreo!

Oreo-Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies

photo from kirbiecravings.com

Ingredients

2 sticks softened butter

1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 tablespoon pure vanilla

3 1/2 cup flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

10 oz. bag chocolate chips

1 pkg. Oreo cookies

Procedure

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter and sugars together with a mixer until well combined. Beat in eggs and vanilla.

In a separate bowl mix the flour, salt and baking soda. Slowly add to wet ingredients along with chocolate chips until just combined. Using a cookie scoop take one scoop of cookie dough and place on top of an Oreo Cookie. Take another scoop of dough and place on bottom of Oreo cookie. Seal edges together by pressing and cupping in hand until Oreo cookie is enclosed with dough. Place onto a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet and bake cookies 9-13 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool for 5 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.

Makes about 2 dozen large cookies.

Triple-Chocolate Cookie Balls

photo from kraftbrands.com

Ingredients

1 pkg. Oreo

1 cup milk

1 package JELL-O chocolate instant pudding

12 to 16 Baker's semi-sweet chocolate squares

4 to 8 Bakers white chocolate squares

Procedure

In a small bowl, make a paste out of the pudding and the milk. Put 36 of the Oreos into a gallon-size zip-top bag and crush them (with a rolling pin or a mallet). Add the crushed cookies to the pudding mixture and stir will. Form the mixture into small balls and place on a wax-paper lined cookie sheet; freeze them for about 10 minutes.

While they're in the freezer, please the semi-sweet chocolate squares in a microwave-safe bowl and heat, stirring often, until melted. Dip the chilled Oreo balls into the melted chocolate, place them on a fresh wax-paper lined cookie sheet, and refrigerate or freeze for another 10 minutes.

Melt the white chocolate squares, and drizzle the melted white chocolate over the cookie balls using a fork or a spoon. Return them to the refrigerator to harden briefly before serving.

Makes 40 to 45 cookie balls

Hope you'll have fun in the kitchen with these two yummy recipes. Let me know how you like them (or send me samples). :)

Source: http://shine.yahoo.com/shine-food/100-years-oreo-recipes-facts-famous-cookie-194400045.html

Filed under FLAVORS

Happy Cooking # 1: Raccolta Penne in Salsa Rossa

Happy 2012!

I just want to share that I cooked my signature dishes this New Year's eve after so many years. I love food and I love cooking my own recipes or my own version of usual recipes but somehow I just didn't feel like cooking after my dad passed away some 12 years ago. It's the new year so one resolution of mine is to resume my affair with cooking (I hope to find the time and energy for it amidst my busy schedule).

Raccolta Penne in Salsa Rossa (Harvest Penne in Red Sauce)

For now, I want to share with you this healthy pasta dish that I created from scratch way back but I only deemed of giving it a name today and I will call it Raccolta Penne in Salsa Rossa or Harvest Penne in Red Sauce. It is a refreshing dish wherein you get to taste the fresh flavors of the crunchy vegetables, the meaty ground beef and the lip-smacking sauce.

You will need the following ingredients:

500 g. San Remo Penne Pasta

750 g. Del Monte Tomato or Spaghetti Sauce

50 g. Anchor Butter

500 g. ground beef

1 pc. medium zucchini, cut into chunky strips (same size as penne)

6 pcs. whole young corn, cut into chunky strips (same size as penne)

3 pcs. medium red tomatoes, remove seeds then cut into chunky strips (same size as penne)

1 pc. medium white onion, finely chopped

1 whole medium garlic bulb, finely chopped

1 medium can of button mushrooms, drained and sliced into flat pieces

3 tsp. brown sugar

3 tsp. Nestle Coffee-mate Powder Creamer

3 pinches of salt and pepper (or less or more depending on your taste)

To start, cook the penne pasta as instructed in the package. Remove from heat and strain/rinse under running water to cool and stop from being overcooked. Set aside.

For the pasta sauce, melt about 25 grams of butter on hot sauce pan. Add garlic and cook until light golden brown before adding the onions. Remove from pan and set aside. Next saute the ground beef until light golden brown and soft before adding the zucchini, young corn, mushrooms, and tomatoes. When vegetables are slightly cooked (still crunchy), add another 25 grams of butter plus the sauteed garlic and onions. Then pour a half cup of water to stop the sauteing and start the sauce-making. Put in the 750 g. of tomato or spaghetti sauce while stirring the contents of the saucepan. Add sugar to balance the acidity and add creamer to thicken the sauce. Stir constantly to blend all the ingredients. Lastly, add salt and pepper to taste.

Put penne pasta on a plate then pour the sauce while hot. Top with grated cheese if desired.

For non-meat eaters, this recipe can be done with tuna chunks and olive oil instead of the ground beef and red sauce, and it will still be yummy, I promise. My friends and former office mates have tasted the tuna version.

ENJOY! Let me know if you tried this at home, ok? :)

Filed under FLAVORS

Goldilocks' Best Kept Secrets Revealed

My early memories of Goldilocks, aside from the bedtime story, are my birthday cakes. Always excited to celebrate my birthday, I look forward to the gifts and of course, the cake, as I have a different theme every year -- from superheroes, to Easter bunny (yes, my birthday would often fall on Easter), to ballerinas, to Disney princesses, and more. Suffice to say, like me, Goldilocks has been a part of every celebration in the lives of Filipinos, be it birthdays, weddings, baptisms, graduations, anniversaries, or just about any get-together for delightful sharing and thoughtful giving through good food.

To be able to have lasted this long in the business, Goldilocks' success (and recipes) must be heavily guarded, so I was surprised to receive an invitation that said Goldilocks' best kept secret will be revealed. True enough, Goldilocks launched The Goldilocks Bakebook with the intent of sharing its best loved recipes and the Goldilocks legacy.

The brains and brawn behind Goldilocks, sisters Milagros and Clarita, and their sister-in-law, Doris, shared a passion for baking, cake-decorating and cooking and opened the first Goldilocks store along Pasong Tamo, Makati in May 1966. The two sisters pursued the same passion towards perfection, by carefully developing each Goldilocks recipe, and by building the company to what it is today. Through the years, Goldilocks has been capturing the hearts (and stomachs) of Filipinos here and abroad with the Goldilocks’ Signature bakeshop favorites, such as fluffy mamon cheesy ensaymada, ever-soft chiffon cake slices classic polvoron and mocha roll, among many others.

Cheesy Mamon

Luscious Cassava

In celebration of 45 Goldilicious years, Goldilocks writes a new chapter in its storied legacy – honoring its past while establishing a heritage for the future – through the Goldilocks Bakebook.

The Goldilocks Bakebook is a historic collection of 108 recipes, 211 pages of eye-catching photos, and an overview of the company’s beginnings. The bakebook took 7 years in the making, endless kitchen-testing, and the invaluable effort and dedication of a hardworking team in order to pass on a priceless legacy to loyal Goldilocks consumers and followers.

Colorful Rice Cakes (Puto)

Yummy Mocha Roll

Freddie Go, Sr., Chairman of the Board of Goldilocks, envisioned and began the groundwork for this fitting tribute to Mrs. Milagros Yee and Mrs. Clarita Go, the two women who have tirelessly and relentlessly pursued the perfection of each Goldilocks product.

Sweet Crema de Fruta

Merengue and Polvoron Cake

Flipping through the pages of the Goldilocks Bakebook, I was delighted to see their precious recipes and at the same time, the story and people behind the Philippines' leading bakeshop. I am excited to try the recipes one by one and make my own sweet Goldilocks moment. But the book is far from being just another recipe book or coffee table book as The Goldilocks Bakebook is a unique recipe in itself, a product of love, devotion and gratitude to millions of Filipinos who have made Goldilocks a part of their lives.

Having my Goldilocks Bakebook signed by

(l-r seated) Clarita Leelin-Go and Milagros Leelin-Yee

The Goldilocks Bakebook by Milagros Leelin-Yee and Clarita Leelin-Go (with Food Styling done by Chef Heny Sison and Food Photography done by Neal Oshima) is available in all National Bookstore branches, and select Goldilocks outlets. Get your copy now. Got mine already and will start trying out the recipes in time for the coming Christmas holidays.



Filed under EVENTS and FINDS