Taste Test: Reese's Oreos

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As an early Memorial Day display of patriotism, I’m combining two very American things - being opinionated and eating Oreos - into a surely delicious post.

We’ve seen a rapid and uninhibited boom in the Oreo universe in the past 2-3 years. My childhood cookie aisle stocked maybe four types of Oreo - original, double stuf, reduced fat and lunchbox-friendly minis - in a variety of sizes. I’m a double stuf girl, so my only decision was about upgrading to the family size packs.

Now, according to their website, there are 28 - yes, over two dozen - different Oreo cookies (not including different types of packaging or Oreo-related products like pie crust). The varieties include somewhat sensible, although already old hat flavors like golden (vanilla wafers), ratio-changers like mega stuf (for all you folks who double up your cremes), chocolate-covered cookies (we’ve been making those at home years) all the way to the bizzaro creme flavors like birthday cake, cookie dough and marshmallow crispy.

Snackworks. com

Their most recent flavor experiment brings Oreo together with another incredibly prolific brand - Reese’s. Reese’s has at least 11 different products produced in-house, with countless others like Bryer’s BLASTS ice cream, where they guest star. And I will be the first to admit, we are a Reese’s house. I’m pretty sure J bleeds peanut butter and chocolate. Every stocking, Easter basket and birthday cake features some sort of Reese’s combo. Obviously, we were very excited to see this pairing!

In February, J and I provided a truly scientific (wink wink) study on Nabisco’s limited edition release, red velvet Oreos. You can read that review here. We’ll base this review on the same criteria as the red velvet. First, we’ll discuss the two major flavor features of the cookies: the wafer and the creme. Next, we’ll discuss their structural integrity by testing both their “twist” and “dunkability.” Finally, I am adding another analysis (and suggestion) for achieving  “the perfect bite.”

Without further ado, let’s review.

The Cookie:

Unlike the red velvet variety whose wafer tasted different (and were red, duh!), these cookies had the signature Oreo flavor and appearance. There was a sense that the texture had been tweaked because these wafers were incredibly crunchy and when eaten separately, felt harder. Otherwise, same old, same old - and that’s a good thing!

The Cremes:

An exciting feature of the Reese’s cookies is that there are two different cremes inside each cookie! I do believe this is a first for Oreo (at least on the same layer - they do have a triple decker cookie with two different layers of creme). Half of the creme layer is peanut butter and half is chocolate. J said it best with, “it’s close to the spirit of Reese’s (cups) but reminds me more of Reese’s sticks.” I think it’s got a Reese’s pieces feel to it. (Every Reese’s lover is a connoisseur, really). If you’re looking for an exact copy of a Reese’s cup, this isn’t it, but it’s got the peanut butter and the chocolate in good balance. I really enjoyed the peanut butter side, especially the texture. Where the red velvet cookie’s creme had been grainy (and cloying) from so much sugar, this was actually good. It had a very pleasant taste, a lot like real Reese’s pb and upon further inspection, had actual flecks of peanuttiness that contributed to the Reese-like texture. I haven’t done enough “research” to know if this is the same chocolate creme they use in other varieties. The chocolate half seems like a generic chocolate flavor, not too sweet and not too chocolatey. Being butted up against pb it does take on a little of that flavor, too. A bite with a mixture of both cremes is pretty darn good and thankfully, not too sweet.

The Twist

I need two things for a good twist - the cookie stays intact and the creme stays on one wafer, not a smear on both. The red velvet variety’s sugary creme was a mess and stuck to both cookies. This cookie twisted perfectly. The harder cookie held up and the creme stuck tight to a single wafer.

Dunkability

Oreos demand milk. As such, they have to be structurally sound enough to take a good dunk in a glass of milk. I like either a fraction-of-a-second splash or a long super-softening soak for my Oreos. These held up pretty well, maybe not as sturdy as a traditional cookie, but didn’t dissolve into a mess. Through a series of tests, J determined that a 10-second submersion yields the best results for a soft, milk-logged cookie that isn’t yet mushy.

The Perfect Bite

If you’re looking for a perfect bite, I wouldn’t twist and double up cremes or eat it open-faced. I suggest going in for the traditional sandwich and giving it a dip in milk (at least 5 seconds). Make it even better by trying to put the “seam” of the creme between your front teeth so you get a bite of both sides, not just one flavor of creme. Yum!

For more LEGO-y goodness, follow J on Instagram here. 

A peanut butter cup it’s not, but a good cookie, absolutely. The flavor is tasty, the Oreo-design is on point and they’re delicious with milk.

I think the main thing keeping it from being a better copy is the unsurmountable texture and experience differences. A Reese’s cup almost instantly melts in your hands and coats your mouth in creamy chocolate. It’s one of those warm and fuzzy experiences that takes you to childhood, just like unwrapping the silver foil of a Hershey bar. Eating a cookie, no matter the flavor profile, can’t match the melty, gooey feel of tearing open an orange packet.

Also, it would be very remiss of the cheap curmudgeon in me to not mention the ridiculous pricing of these “special” cookies. A standard pack of the (now) “regular” Oreos - original, golden, double stuf, and reduced fat - costs $2.98 at Wal Mart and contains 36 cookies. The quirky packs are noticeably smaller and awkwardly shaped containing only 24 cookies, but still priced at $2.98. I read the cost-per-ounce breakdowns while grocery shopping - especially when comparing brands or bulk vs. small packages - and this one just doesn’t work out. I get it, it’s a limited edition product, but c’mon, just price them fairly!

Taste Test: Red Velvet Oreos

Apparently inspired by an viral online hoax, Nabisco has thrown down the product development gauntlet and release a limited edition run of red velvet Oreos.

I love red velvet desserts. It's not just my penchant for food coloring that does it, but there's something so homey and beautiful about a red velvet cake. Red velvet is primarily flavored by loads of chocolate, but the addition of buttermilk and/or vinegar adds tangy-ness and depth that you don't normally get with plain chocolate. And cream cheese icing is a gift from Heaven. I love cream cheese as is - on bagels, club sandwiches, in cheese cake or just straight from that silver packaging - but it's really superb when manipulated in a sweet way. Creamy icing with a perfect balance of tartness and sugar paired with deeply earthy cake is the best of the best, to me. It's really a riff on Southern culture as a whole - our food, our attitude and way of life - sweet and smooth with a bite, and an outward appearance that's just a little too much.

A favorite red velvet recipe -- brownies. Click HERE for the recipe. 

Needless to say, I was thrilled that the rumor came to fruition and that they're now available at our local Ingles market. Up to this point, I have refused to try any of the bastardizations of a classic that Nabisco has tried to pawn off as an Oreo. I have no desire to eat a cookie that tastes like watermelon, peppermints or birthday cake; so this taste test is truly an act of faith - that Nabisco and the institution of red velvet won't let me down.

First, let me say that anymore Oreos are a ripoff; $4 for a pack is absurd. We caught these on sale for 2/$5.50 but the "specialty" packs are smaller, this one being the smallest one yet with only "about" 20 cookies. The packaging is almost an afterthought because of the small size; it's off center! Stay tuned for this summer's Rick Moranis blockbuster, "Honey, I Shrunk the Oreos."

Secondly, they aren't that pretty. Red velvet cakes vary in coloration from bright, brilliant reds to deeper, wine-like hues. I love assertive red velvet cakes; part of what sets them apart is their color, so let it shine through. These cookies are on the darker side and almost look brown. You eat with your eyes first, and I think it'd be a more effective product if the coloring was more bold.

But those aren't the make or break cookie critiques. Let's look at the critical quality points of an Oreo: the cookie, the creme, the twist and the dunkability.

Simplicity at its best, an Oreo has two distinguishable, judge-able parts. 

The Cookie: 

Eaten on their own, the cookie wafer is noticeably sweeter than the traditional chocolate wafer. And it does have the deeper, signature flavor that distinguishes red velvet from plain old chocolate. I was impressed with the cookie and enjoy eating them post-twist as much as I do the original flavor. 

The Creme:

This creme is Sweet, with a capital "s." It does have the tangy flavor of cream cheese but the sugar factor is on over-drive. It felt like the creme in these sandwiches was actually creamier that the traditional cookie's, like icing; smooth and soft. But it was actually gritty from the sugariness. 

LEGO Amanda is thrilled (or scared) that these cookies match her sweater vest...

I once did an exercise with elementary students about instructions and how to read/write for detail. They had to write step-by-step directions on how to eat an Oreo. Their answers varied in degrees of success, but the true lesson was that everyone eats Oreos differently (this is a good diversity exercise, too!). Despite our varied methods, most people have at least experimented with twisting the sandwiches apart and dunking them in milk. 

The Twist:

I am a habitual twister. Traditional Oreos have a great structure and texture such that you can almost always twist the top and bottom cookies into two independent parts. One free of creme and the other with a smooth, unblemished layer of creme. I like to twist, eat the plain cookie, peel the creme off in one sheet, eat it in one bite then finish the now-naked cookie. Probably because this sweet creme is so soft and creamy, it sticks to both cookies and makes for a messy twist. Technically that's just an aesthetic issue, but those built in Oreo-eating habits are hard to break. 

The Dunkability:

Drinking big glasses of milk wrecks my stomach, but if there are Oreos around, I'll pour a cup just for dunking. There's so many different schools of dunkers. J is of the soft, but not too soggy camp. I barely get my Oreos wet before I pull them back out. But sometimes, I do enjoy letting a cookie almost disintegrate in the cup. Again, probably because of the creme, the structural integrity of the cookies is compromised. In milk they start falling apart drastically quicker than their normal counterparts and get softer faster. If you're pro-soggy cookie and you use a spoon to cradle your cookie mess, you'll love these. If you seek a gently softened Oreo or are dipping with your fingers, you need to make a mad dunk in and out to get the perfect consistency. 

I would say that this experiment did not hurt my love for red velvet but didn't improve my opinion of Nabisco's recent Oreo tampering. They're pretty good and fairly true to the intended flavor but they're not the Oreos of my childhood. I love the plain chocolate and vanilla cookies. They're 100 years old and we still buy them. My overwhelming sentiment is, that like so many things in life, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. 

Clean Energy Snacks

We're still keeping up our clean eating but one of the biggest struggles is with finding good snacks. Dinners are easily cleaned and can make for lunch leftovers, breakfasts are incredibly easy to "clean up," but snacks are a weakness. The snacks we ate on our challenge were great but you still miss the "old" snacks like cookies and cakes; and the exciting thing about this recipe is that it has all the yumminess of a hearty cookie but with clean, fresh ingredients.

First, let me say I've struggled to name these - I adapted them from a recipe that referred to them as "balls," but when I told my dad that I ate a "clean energy ball" he said "Is that something from Candy Crush?" And let's be honest, I tutor part-time and any of my kids over the age of 7 would laugh uncontrollably if I told them I made some delicious balls; and c'mon you know you laughed at SNL's classic Baldwin Schweddy balls segment.

This snack is a no-bake recipe with fruit, nuts,  peanut butter and chocolate - all the good things that make for an easy, yet sinful, snack; so I've settled on calling them Granola Truffles. Sounds delicious, right? And they are.

The hardest part of the whole recipe was "harvesting" the fresh coconut from it's shell - that is way too much work for me. However, once I got the meat peeled away from the hair brown layer (wow, not helping the innuendo of the balls post), my Ninja blender did all the work; and it also took care of pulverizing the dates.

I can't say enough nice things about medjool dates (or my Ninja). If you enjoy sweets, dates are perfect to eat plain or slip into recipes that need a sugary boost. They are remarkably sweet, so in recipes where you mix them with more bland or savory flavors, the sugariness still comes through clearly. In this recipe, the dates are the only boldly sweet item and they tie all of the flavors together and brighten the peanut butter, which unlike "traditional" pb isn't full of corn syrup.

This recipe makes about two dozen, 70-calorie truffles which keep in the fridge for a long time without going stale or drying out. And unlike some sweet snacks, these aren't sticky or hard-to-eat. I grab two in my hand and run out the door and they don't make a mess, which is remarkable because I'm a disgusting eater. And even more remarkably, they're filling. With the oats, peanut butter and nuts, they're full of long-lasting protein, perfect for an afternoon pick-me-up or mid-morning munch.

 Granola Truffles

Ingredients:

3/4 c old fashioned oats
1/2 c natural peanut butter
1/4 c unsweetened shredded coconut, toasted
6 medjool dates, pitted
2 T raw, unsalted pistachios
2 T dark chocolate (or cacao nibs)
1 T chia seeds

Method:

In a food processor, pulse the dates until they are pulverized and form a ball.

Place dates and remaining ingredients in a medium-sized bowl and mix thoroughly with your hands.

Using a tablespoon, pack mixture level to spoon and turn out onto parchment paper.

Store in an airtight container in the fridge.

Brown Butter Oatmeal Cookies with Chocolate Chips and Peanut Butter

I have a love/hate relationship with cookies.

I would say that I am more apt to and better at cooking sweets and even though J has the bigger sweet tooth, I enjoy trying new desserts and baked goods. However, cookies are on the bottom of my "love to bake" list.

I know of very few other dishes that are so deceptive. Cookies are a culinary catch-22.  "Bake until the edges are golden brown" is incredibly vague and I usually debate "is the middle raw?" until the golden brown edges indicate a dark brown bottom. And, they're one of the few items that can completely change consistency - for the worse - in a matter of minutes AFTER they're cooked. A golden-brown-edged cookie that is so tender on the pan can be hard as a rock when cooled. So essentially, I should be pulling them out when the centers are raw so that maybe they'll have a chance to be soft later on.

All that ranting aside, we had an almost 24-hour snowstorm yesterday and it may be a relic behavior from our prehistoric days, but severe weather makes me insatiably hungry. I knew I needed to bake.

Seven inches of beautiful snow!

 J'd bought groceries on Monday but didn't include my snowstorm, junk food staples; so I was working on random pantry items. Amazingly, I found a recipe that allowed me to finish off three near-empty baking supplies and made a delicious new treat.

These cookies are fairly simple, but do require some time. Making good brown butter is easy but needs constant attention. I've eaten dishes cooked in/with brown butter and the time and cooking really does add a noticeable flavor difference - it makes for a deeper, nuttier, heightened flavor. As Carla Hall says on The Chew, when cooking, the flavor is in the brown!

I'd never made my own brown butter before and learned a few tricks. For more info visit this article and video tutorial. 

• This should be obvious, but isn't - make your brown butter in a light colored pan. Dark, anodized pans will prevent you from telling if your butter is still yellow, brown, or burnt. Duh!
• Slicing the butter into tablespoon-sized chunks will move the process along faster than dropping in an entire stick.
• Be patient and constantly stir - this can go bad QUICKLY. Stir, stir, stir and keep an eye on the color. Again, this will sound like deceptive cookie talk but when it starts to turn light brown, go ahead and pull it off of the heat or it will black quickly. 

Also, this recipe was originally intended to have a caramel center (the dough "wrapped" around a melting caramel square) but we don't do a lot of caramel in the house and thus didn't have any in the pantry. I thought I could do the same and have a melty ball o' chocolate in the middle, but that is far too time consuming. I would suggest that you can add some mix-ins like nuts or chocolate chips, but stir them in at the end before chilling, this will save a lot of time and effort - and will essentially turn this into a low-maintenance drop cookie.

I love oatmeal cookies because they're so much more hearty. They feel more stout and to me, more homey. They feel more like something my grandma would give me than a super sugary, no-filler cookie. This recipe is for a well-balanced cookie. All of the components blend so well together to create a cookie that isn't over-the-top in sweetness, nuttiness, chocolate or texture - to me, they're just right. They are just sweet enough- by mixing brown and white sugars they have a depth of sweetness from the molasses that just makes you all warm inside (as opposed to sugar high). And the dollop of peanut butter on top adds a great richness that again, isn't over-powering, but compliments the sweetness well. Cooked peanut butter doesn't give the same flavor as you might get from other chocolate-peanut butter recipes that's overpowering. It actually gets deeper and more rich and looses some of it's sugar, this is a much more refined faux-Reeses pairing.

Brown Butter Oatmeal Cookies with Chocolate Chips and Peanut Butter

Ingredients:
1 stick butter, cut into T chunks (see above on brown butter)
1/2 c white sugar
1/2 c packed brown sugar (dark or light, your choice)
1 large egg
1 t vanilla extract
1 1/4 c all-purpose flour
3/4 c old fashioned oats
1/4 t salt
1/2 t baking powder
1/2-1 c chocolate chips (or other "mix-ins")
peanut butter

Method:

Preheat oven to 350.

In a small sauce pan, melt butter on medium/low heat to create brown butter. Follow directions in tutorial above. Remove from heat.

In a bowl mix sugars, egg, and vanilla together. Slowly add the butter to temper the eggs. Mix until well combined.

Mix in oats, flour, salt and baking powder until dough forms. Add in any chocolate chips, nuts etc. here.

Place in fridge for 20 minutes to chill.

Drop heaping tablespoons of dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Top each cookie dough ball with a dollop (around a tsp.) of peanut butter.

Bake for 12-14 minutes or until the cookies are golden.

Allow to cool for 10-15 minutes before eating (the peanut butter will be like lava!). These do become "crunchier" when fully cooled, so microwave a few seconds when enjoying later.

Cookie Swap Part 2: Four-ingredient gluten-free peanut butter cookies

Getting ready for tomorrow's cookie swap at my Grandma's I've been making last week's linzer cookies and my mom's standby peanut butter cookies and fudge sandwiches.

If you're in a pinch for time and don't want to spend a lot of money on dried fruits, chips and oats try this four-ingredient recipe. It's quick, easy, and gluten-free. I have two family members with celiac disease (gluten intolerance) and this recipe is great for them without sacrificing any flavor.

Like most peanut butter cookies, these are dry not gooey and with the optional fudge filling make for a great sandwich. And of course, who doesn't love the classic combo of peanut butter and chocolate? From my unprofessional research into the vast universe of pre-made icings, most canned frostings are also gluten-free.

I hope you enjoy this recipe for your own cookie swaps or other special occasions - I actually made these in lieu of a cake for Jordan's birthday two years ago, and yes, I do think they played a special part in our love story. Take that, engagement chicken.

Peanut Butter (Fudge Sandwich) Cookies

Ingredients:

1 c peanut butter 

1 c granulated sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 container chocolate icing of your choice (optional)

Method:

Preheat oven to 350. Mix peanut butter, sugar, egg and vanilla with a hand mixer. Scoop dough into tiny balls and place on a cookie sheet. Use a fork dipped into sugar to press an x into each cookie. Bake for 8 minutes. The cookies will seem underdone, but as long as the edges are lightly golden brown, they're done. They'll seem very soft, but will cool to the perfect texture. 

After they've cooled spread approximately 1 T icing between two cookies. If you're really trying to impress - swap the icing for only the best spreadable condiment ever, Nutella!

Note: These are great served at room temperature, but even better eaten from the fridge or after a few hours in the freezer. 

How to wow at this year's cookie swap: Linzer tart cookies

I think cookie swaps are one of the most adorable and accessible holiday party options. At the holidays, everyone is over-tasked, tired and broke; and the prospect of cooking a big meal for the entire family or bouquet of friends is daunting and exhausting. And too often, menu traditions can become old and we grow tired of cooking and eating the same things year after year. Cookie swaps allow for quick, inexpensive prep and countless recipe options.

I have a few trusty cookie recipes that I love and can always fall back on - mom's (unintentionally) gluten-free peanut butter cookies (which can be made into delicious fudge sandwiches), red velvet gooey butter cookies, and a classic chocolate chip cookie. However, ever since my parents bought a hard-backed 100+ page cookie cookbook when I was a child, I've loved experimenting with new recipes. And today, as a holiday gift for my boss and a test-run for my grandmother's cookie swap this weekend, I made raspberry linzer tart cookies.

My boss is a Brooklyn native through-and-through who has opened my eyes to many Yankee foods and culinary words (red sauce = gravy? what?), and linzer tarts are one of his favorite obsessions. I've looked for a year for a bakery making linzer tarts, but they they have no idea or contain either almond flour, almond extract or toasted almonds - and he has a serious nut allergy that I tirelessly protect him from. But today I found a delicious and incredibly easy nut-free recipe for the linzer cookies.

They do require several "resting" periods, but those respites actually allowed me time to clean up and rearrange between steps. Chilling times, excluded, these cookies are no more time consuming than any other recipe; because really, making uniform "dump cookies" where everything's mixed in one bowl and dropped onto sheets is pain in the ass.

The dough for this recipe makes a flaky, drier-than-most, subtly sweet shortbread-like cookie. If you enjoy shortbread, this is a great recipe - just nix the filling and cut it into any shapes you like. Also, this would be a wonderful base for those who love the Girl Scouts' Samoas/Caramel deLites. All you'd need to do is a top with a caramel/coconut mix (as easy as mixing shredded coconut with caramel ice cream topping) and drizzle with chocolate.

The filling is traditionally raspberry or strawberry preserves (with or without seeds, it's up to you) but this could be done to suit your palate. Apricot, currant or fig preserves would be great between the two cookies; just make sure it is a very thick, not watery jam, jelly or preserve. And imagine how impressed your friends would be if you'd made the preserves yourself too (that's next year's goal).

With linzer tarts, you cut the dough into circles and then cut a shape of your choice (traditionally a heart or spade) into half of the circles (I didn't have small shape cutter, so I used a tiny shot glass), so that when you sandwich the jam in between two cookies you have a pretty window to view the preserves. This stacking gives you a perfectly balanced cookie - the dough is very plain and the jelly can really pop and hit sweet and/or tart notes without being overpowering.

And we eat first with our eyes, so let me just say that these are BEAUTIFUL cookies. Just look at them! They look old fashioned without being heavy-handed and they give this air of sophistication, as though they're from some high end bakery or someone's grandma spent hours slaving away over them. They look wonderful as large cookies, but I also made mini sandwiches out of the tiny cutouts and they were gorgeous too! (And perfectly portioned for little kid tea parties).

If you're looking to impress and be the talk of the cookie swap this year, I highly recommend this recipe.

Nut-free Linzer Cookies

Ingredients:
3/4 lb (3 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
1 c granulated sugar
1 large egg at room temperature
3 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1/4 t kosher salt
1 t vanilla extract
3/4 c thick preserves (I used raspberry)
powdered sugar for dusting

Method

Preheat oven to 350 and line baking sheets with parchment paper.

With an electric mixer, blend sugar and butter together until light and creamy. Add the vanilla and egg, beat until blended.

In a separate bowl, mix the salt and flour, then add them slowly to the butter and sugar mixture, mixing on low until the dough starts to come together.

Turn the dough onto a floured surface and shape into a flat disk. Split dough into two pieces, wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.

Roll the dough into 1/4" thick and cut 2 3/4" rounds with a plain or fluted cutter. Try to make sure your dough is even, so that you don't have cookies which are thicker in different parts. The thinner cookies will be easier to eat, too.

With half of the rounds, cut a hole in the middle of each round. Place all cookies (even the cutouts) onto sheets and chill for 15 minutes. These cookies don't rise much, so you can really cram them onto the pan, just make sure they lay flat or they will be curled or angular.

Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes, until the edges just begin to brown. You won't think they're done, but once the edges start to hint at golden color, pull them.

Allow to cool to room temp. Spread preserves on the flat side of each solid cookie - around 1 T per cookie - and sandwich with a cookie with a cutout. Press gently to make sure they stick.

Dust the top of the cut-out cookies with powdered sugar.

Remember the warmer the cookies get, the more likely your preserves are to drip. I keep mine in the fridge until I'm ready to serve them or keep them in a cool place while left out.