Welcome to the Kitchens

Welcome to my stop on the Historical Romance Author Holiday Cookie Hop!

To enter my individual GIVEAWAY, also stop by my Fun for Readers room: https://www.heathermccollum.com/fun-for-readers/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of my all time favorite cookies! It’s won my neighborhood cookie exchange six years in a row! Enjoy!

Magic Oreo Balls

 Ingredients:

1 Package of Oreos,

8 oz brick of cream cheese (I add a little more for extra creaminess)

Chocolate to melt (I used semi-sweet chocolate chips melted in a cast iron pot on LOW)

White chocolate to decorate

Instructions:

  1. Crush Oreos
  2. Soften cream cheese and mush together with crushed Oreos (I wear disposable gloves)
  3. Make Oreo “meatballs” and refrigerate for 10 minutes
  4. Dip “meatballs” in melted chocolate and refrigerate
  5. Melt white chocolate and drizzle over top

Tips:

Small balls are better than large. They cover easier and look prettier. 

Put the balls into the refrigerator while you melt the chocolate for dipping. The balls dip cleaner when they are cold. Also refrigerate after they are dipped while you melt the white chocolate for decorating. Store in the refrigerator.

Place on a pretty plate interspersed with red sour cherry candies for a burst of color or put them into miniature muffin papers for a nice presentation.

Take your time. When I rush, they don’t turn out. And don’t get any water in the melting chocolate.

 

So what’s the history behind the famous Oreo cookie? 

From ThoughtCo.com 

“In 1912, Nabisco had an idea for a new cookie, though it wasn’t exactly its own—two chocolate disks with a creme filling in between had been done already by the Sunshine Biscuits company in 1908, which called the cookie Hydrox. While Nabisco has never named Hydrox as its inspiration, the Oreo cookie invented four years after the world was introduced to Hydrox closely resembled the biscuit that preceded it: two decorated chocolate discs with white creme sandwiched between them.

Despite its potentially suspicious origination, the Oreo made a name for itself and quickly surpassed the popularity of its competitor. Nabisco made sure to file for a trademark on the new cookie soon after its creation on March 14, 1912. The request was granted on August 12, 1913.

When the cookie was first introduced in 1912, it appeared as an Oreo Biscuit, which changed in 1921 to an Oreo Sandwich. There was another name change in 1937 to Oreo Creme Sandwich before the company settled on the name that was decided upon in 1974: Oreo Chocolate Sandwich Cookie. Despite the roller coaster of official name changes, most people have always referred to the cookie simply as an “Oreo.”

So where did the “Oreo” part even come from? The people at Nabisco aren’t quite sure anymore. Some believe that the cookie’s name was taken from the French word for goldor (the main color on early Oreo packaging).

Others claim the name stemmed from the hill-shaped test version that never even made it to store shelves, inspiring the cookie prototype to be named the Greek word for mountain, oreo.

Some speculate that the name is a combination of taking the “re” from “cream” and sandwiching it, just like the cookie, between the two “o”s in “chocolate”—making “o-re-o.”

Still others offer the bare explanation that the cookie was named Oreo because it was short, fun, and easy to pronounce.

Though the true naming process may never be revealed, that has not affected Oreo sales. As of 2019, it was estimated that 450 billion Oreo cookies have been sold since 1912, planting it firmly at the top of cookie sales and winning over the hearts of millions.”

Rosenberg, Jennifer. “A History of the Oreo Cookie.” ThoughtCo, Apr. 5, 2023, thoughtco.com/history-of-the-oreo-cookie-1779206.

 

 

 

Historical Romance Author Holiday Cookie Hop Link List

Heather McCollum

https://www.heathermccollum.com/kitchen/

Alanna Lucas

https://alannalucas.com/

Allison B. Hanson

https://allisonbhanson.wordpress.com/

Anna St.Claire

https://www.annastclaire.com/contests

Tara Kingston

https://www.facebook.com/TaraKingstonAuthor

Celeste Barclay 

Www.celestebarclay.com 

Michelle McLean

https://michellemcleanbooks.com

Katherine Bone

https://www.katherinebone.com/

Kathryn Le Veque

https://www.facebook.com/kathrynlevequenovels

Terri Brisbin

https://terribrisbin.com/news/2023/12/09/its-the-holiday-historical-cookie-sweets-hop-2023-grab-your-biscotti/

Melanie Rose Clarke

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1159564541120841

Brenna Ash

https://www.brennaash.com/parlor

Gina Conkle

https://ginaconkle.com/

Deb Marlowe

https://www.debmarlowe.com/historical-holiday-cookie-hop.html

E. Elizabeth Watson

https://eelizabethwatson.com/holiday-hops/

Jane Charles

https://www.janecharlesauthor.com/christmas-fun

Amy Jarecki

https://amyjarecki.com/historical-romance-holiday-cookie-hop-2023/

Collette Cameron

https://facebook.com/collettecameronauthor

Lauren & Devon Royal

https://www.laurenroyal.com/3.0/contest/

Maeve Greyson

https://www.facebook.com/AuthorMaeveGreyson

Aurrora St. James

https://www.aurrorastjames.com/contests 

C.H. Admirand

https://www.facebook.com/CHAdmirandAuthor 

Emily Royal

https://www.facebook.com/eroyalauthor 

Margaux Thorne

https://www.facebook.com/groups/6874808775895296/

Jennifer Seasons

https://www.facebook.com/people/Jennifer-Seasons-Romance/100089138023579/

Aubrey Wynne

https://www.aubreywynne.com

Elizabeth Ellen Carter

https://elizabethellencarter.com/dreaming-of-white-christmas-traditional-australian-treat/

Sara Adrien

https://www.saraadrien.com/

Eliza Knight

https://elizaknight.com/news/

Ruth A. Casie

https://ruthacasie.blogspot.com/2023/12/historical-romance-cookie-hop.html

After you collect the names of all 30 recipes, e-mail the list of authors with their treats to Heather@HeatherMcCollum.com with the subject line: Historical Romance Authors are Sweet. One winner will be chosen on Wednesday, 13 December and announced on the FB event page and on my website: https://www.heathermccollum.com/ .

 

 

 

In days past, castle kitchens were sometimes built as separate buildings in an attempt to protect the living quarters from potential cooking fires. It was also helpful when the walls were made of stone.

Here are some examples of kitchens from the 15th and 16th centuries. 

Menzies Castle Kitchen

Kitchen is #2 with the Great Hall #1 right next door.

Hampton Court Kitchen – you can see where the constant cooking fires have scorched the wall.

Here in McCollum Castle, I have some recipes located on the right upper side under More From the Kitchen.

Enjoy!