Birthdays, Gratitude, and Homemade Oreos

Feeds:: Posts; Comments

Birthdays, Gratitude, and Homemade Oreos

November 8, 2011 by Ms. T

Today is my mom’s 60th birthday. That’s her on the left in the photo below, with her brothers, circa 1955.

It’s days like today that really make me wish I lived closer. But since I couldn’t be there to celebrate with my mom, I wanted to send something that would really make her smile. Something homemade and thoughtful. Something you couldn’t buy at Amazon.com. That’s when I stumbled upon this recipe for homemade Oreos on the smitten kitchen blog.

My mom has always had a thing for Oreos. She grew up in a 1950’s household with two parents who were astonished and amazed by the conveniences of “modern” food. Jell-O, Cool Whip, Velveeta–anything that came in a package and never ever lost its color or “flavor” held a special place in my grandmother Phyllis’ heart and kitchen. (Let’s just say that neither my mother nor I got our love of cooking from Phyl.)

When my mom got older and started her own household in the 70’s, the pendulum swung in the other direction. We were a home-grown, home-cooked, health food kinda family before the word “organic” was even invented (or discovered by marketers). Even our peanut butter required laborious stirring before it could be slathered on whole grain bread and dutifully gummed down.

Junk food was strictly verboden. Except of course, when we visited my grandparents. Their house was always stocked, and my grandmother made sure the cookie jar was filled to the brim with Jaynie’s favorite: Oreo cookies. My mom would go on a three-day bender of Oreos and Hershey’s kisses, only to repent with kale smoothies when we got home.

Now that my grandparents are no longer around, it’s probably been years since my mom’s even had an Oreo. So I hope that today, on her birthday, she pours herself a tall glass of ice-cold milk and enjoys a few of these–hell, maybe even the whole box. And I hope the sugar rush kicks in and makes her feel like she’s 6 years old again. Not that she’s ever had any problem looking or acting like a kid. If my mom is any indicator, 60 is the new hip.

Happy birthday, Mom. Thanks for teaching me that home cooking always trumps junk food. But today, you can have your cookies and eat them too.

For the Oreo cookie recipe, go to smitten kitchen, since I definitely can’t say it any better than she did. And you should see her mouth-watering photos. It’s a great recipe, and she is right: you’ve been warned.

Posted in Cookies & Candy, Dessert, Uncategorized | Tagged cookies, homemade oreos | 15 Comments

15 Responses

on November 8, 2011 at 7:59 pm | Reply Maral

You’ve just raised the bar, Ms. T, for daughters everywhere. And I canNOT wait to taste that homemade oreo cookie.
- on November 9, 2011 at 1:39 am | Reply Ms. T
  
  Thanks M!
on November 8, 2011 at 9:14 pm | Reply The Wimpy Vegetarian

What a beautiful post, Tiffany! Thanks for sharing your mom with us. And these cookies look killer 🙂
- on November 9, 2011 at 1:42 am | Reply Ms. T
  
  Thanks Susan. It was truly my pleasure to share–it was fun to think about how early food experiences shape us. Yes, the cookies are killer–it’s a great recipe.
on November 9, 2011 at 1:00 am | Reply Clare

What a wonderful tribute to your Mom! I wish I could taste those cookies, too 🙂 Maybe I’ll need to bake a batch of my own.
- on November 9, 2011 at 1:43 am | Reply Ms. T
  
  Thanks Clare. Let me know if you decide to make a batch…I might just be in the neighborhood 🙂
on November 9, 2011 at 2:24 am | Reply Karen @ My Pantry Shelf

T-
What a great story, thanks for sharing. I too feed my kids kale smoothies, actually it is usually spinach. I don’t think it has occured to them that many people drink smoothies that do not contain veggies. Your cookies look tremendous. I have to try them, because I too have a thing for Oreos, though rarely indulge.
Thanks for sharing,

Karen
- on November 16, 2011 at 6:20 am | Reply Ms. T
  
  Thanks Karen! Mmmm…kale smoothies and Oreos. Both good, but probably not the best combination 🙂
on November 10, 2011 at 8:11 pm | Reply Jayne

Well, After being blown away by such a lovely and clever tribute it’s time to weigh in on the oreo caper. First off, yes, the bar is set quite high. I am so lucky to have such a cool and fabulous daughter.Her thoughtfulness brought tears to my eyes. Then there is the constant temptation of those homemade oreos. I froze the bulk of them thinking it would slow me down, but it hasn’t. They are good frozen, good dunked in milk, they sing when dunked in dark coffee….
thanks, Tbird !
- on November 16, 2011 at 6:26 am | Reply Ms. T
  
  My pleasure, mom. (Seriously. I ate all the Oreos that wouldn’t fit in the tin.) Glad you liked the gift, and glad you’re not mad at me for publishing photos of you from decades gone by 🙂
on November 22, 2011 at 11:24 pm | Reply Maral

“Tbird” 🙂
on November 28, 2011 at 1:18 am | Reply TasteFood

What a wonderful post and tribute. I love the idea of homemade oreos.
- on November 28, 2011 at 5:21 am | Reply Ms. T
  
  Thanks TasteFood–it’s a great recipe. They taste exactly like Oreos…except better. In my imagination, this is what they tasted like back in the day when “Mrs. Nabisco” used to make them for her grandkids, prompting them to say “Nana, these are so good, we should sell them!”
on December 7, 2011 at 7:29 pm | Reply Lauren

Tiff – These posts make me miss you even more. And the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree – both you and your mom are wonderful. Happy birthday to her and sending love from CT to you! Lauren
- on December 8, 2011 at 5:29 am | Reply Ms. T
  
  Aww, thanks Lauren! I hope all is well in your (ever-expanding) world 😉 Let’s catch up soon.