The Oreo cookie has come a long way from our childhood days of dipping them in milk. March 6 marks the 100-year anniversary of the cookie.
And whether dipped in milk or split in half only for the frosting, pastry chefs around New York are using their Oreo childhood memories as inspiration to create lavish desserts.
“The best items from our childhood are replicated by pastry chefs. Things that you remember eating, that bring back a pleasant memory, are what inspires dessert,” says Katzie Guy-Hamilton, pastry chef at New York Central and contestant on Season 2 of “Top Chefs: Just Desserts.”
From cupcakes to milkshakes, here are the Oreo dishes sure to satisfy every sweet tooth.
Oreo Zeppoles
$10 for six, LAVO
39 E. 58th St.
212-750-5588
“We all love fried dough,” says chef John Deloach. With that simple thought, he created LAVO’s best-selling dessert — served with a vanilla sundae on the side to dip the melted cookie in.
Cookies & Cream cupcakes
$1 per cupcake,
Baked by Melissa
109 E. 42nd St., 212-842-0220
7 E. 14th St., 212-842-0220
529 Broadway, 212-842-0220
2325 Broadway, 212-842-0220
526 Seventh Ave.,
212-842-0220
Every list of Oreo desserts needs a cupcake. While there are many Oreo-themed cupcakes in NYC, Baked by Melissa’s mini Cookies & Cream cupcakes offer the perfect, bite-sized Oreo fix.
Dirt Cake
$9, New York Central at the Grand Hyatt
109 East 42nd St.
646-213-6865
www.hyatt.com/gallery/nycghgrandcentral
Guy-Hamilton has created an Oreo version of Dirt Cake, which she makes with cream cheese, pudding and Oreo cookies. The cake taps into childhood memories for the pastry chef: She used to cook it at the summer camp where she worked. She describes it as “rich and intense,” but with a texture that makes it a home run.
Cookie Shake
$8, Max Brenner
841 Broadway
646-467-8803
Drink your cookies: Max Brenner’s Cookie Shake features white chocolate cream and Oreos blended and served in Max Brenner’s signature Alice Cup.
Birthday Cake
$10, STK
26 Little W. 12th St.
646-624-2444
Don’t be fooled by the name — you don’t need a special occasion to have STK’s Oreo-inspired dessert. Pastry chef Ashley Palma said she likes to create items on her menu that take clients back in time.
Follow Mary Ann Georgantopoulos on Twitter @marygeorgant
