Today is Oreo's 100th Birthday!!

Bet you don't know what today is do ya?  I didn't either until my wife told me!

Tuesday, March 6, 2012, marks a momentous occasion in history — Oreo cookie's birthday. And it's not just any birthday; Oreo is turning the big 100. That's right, Oreo fans around the globe have been twisting, licking, and dunking America's favorite cookie for an entire century.

According to The New York Times, it all started on March 6, 1912, when The National Biscuit Company sold its first Oreo sandwich cookies to S.C. Thuesen, a grocer in Hoboken, New Jersey — and the rest was history.

The New York Post reports that the Oreo cookie was born at what is now a New York tourist hotspot and home to Food Network Studios, Chelsea Market. Chelsea Market was once the headquarters for the National Biscuit Company, which would later go by Nabisco. While the headquarters, the owning company, and the cookie itself have undergone many changes throughout the years, the world's love for Oreos has continued to grow. The design on the outside of the classic cookie alone has changed three times, from a simple wreath around the Oreo name to today's complicated design complete with a serrated edge.

While it was always a sandwich cookie, the Oreo started out as the "Oreo Biscuit" sold alongside two other cookies: The Mother Goose and the Veronese. By 1921, the Oreo had surpassed its cookie counterparts and was sold on its own as the "Oreo Sandwich," and later as the "Oreo Crème Sandwich." The cookie the world knows and loves today is dubbed the "Oreo Chocolate Sandwich Cookie," although it comes in many forms. Oreo Cookie variations have included a lemon-cream flavor, Double and Triple Stuf Oreos, and even an "inside-out" version that featured vanilla cookies with chocolate filling.

Over the years, various countries have released their own special Oreo flavor profiles. For example, the best selling Oreo in Argentina is the "Duo," a package that includes some cookies with banana filling and others with dulce de leche filling. In China, consumers can purchase green tea ice cream-flavored Oreos and a variety called "Double Fruit" that has different fruit-flavored fillings.

Since they were first baked in 1912, more than 362 billion Oreos have been consumed worldwide. Now, 100 years later, Kraft Foods is planning a centennial birthday bash for all the Oreo lovers out there. While the celebration is mostly made up of a new marketing campaign featuring the slogan, "Celebrate the kid inside," there is also an edible way to participate in the Oreo celebration. Kraft Foods created a limited-edition cookie called the Birthday Cake Oreo. From the outside these special cookies look like the classic Oreo, but when consumers twists open the cookie, they will find frosting speckled with colored sprinkles.

Now here is a simple recipe-

Chocolate Dipped Oreo Pops:

Ingredients;

U.S. Metric Conversion chart

10 lollipop sticks

10 double-stuff Oreo cookies

1 1/2 cup(s) (9 oz) semisweet chocolate chips

1 1/2 tablespoon(s) solid vegetable shortening

Decoration: green sprinkles (jimmies), candy-covered chocolate drops (ice cream topping)

Directions

1.Line a baking sheet with wax paper. Insert a lollipop stick into cream filling of each cookie.

2.Melt chocolate and shortening in a small bowl in microwave; stir until smooth.

3.Dip 1 cookie pop into melted chocolate, letting top of cookie rest on bottom of bowl for support. Spoon melted chocolate over cookie to coat. Transfer to lined baking sheet, using a fork to support pop from underneath if needed.

4.Sprinkle around edge with sprinkles, making a "wreath." Add chocolate drops. Let stand until set. Repeat with remaining cookie pops, remelting chocolate as needed. Wrap in food-safe cellophane or plastic wrap; tie with bow for gift-giving.

Enjoy!