Happy 100th Birthday, Oreo!

Oreo just celebrated its 100th birthday, and to celebrate, we have a delicious Oreo recipe, some Oreo trivia, and also look at the question: how can we let kids "be kids"--and how can adults get in on the fun, too?

My Little Cupcake Cupcake Pops No-Bake Recipe

1 package Oreo cookies, 8 oz. package cream cheese

In a food processor, grind cookies until they are fine crumbs. Hand-mix with cream cheese. Chill dough for 10 minutes.

Preparing Cupcake Shapes:
Roll chilled dough into 1-inch balls and place into mold. Press, wipe off excess dough from sides of mold. Open mold and remove cupcake. Place finished cupcakes on parchment paper and chill additional 10 minutes.

Dipping:
Dip base of cupcake in melted chocolate wafers, then add stick for pops. When dry, dip top of cupcake in your choice of melted colored candy wafers. Add sprinkles to decorate.

Recipe provided courtesy of My Little Cupcake

Oreo Fun Facts

To mark their centennial, Oreo released a number of fun facts. Did you know that:
--The first Oreo cookie was sold in Hoboken, New Jersey?
--50 percent of all Oreo eaters pull apart their cookies before eating, with women twisting them open more often than men?
--foreign specialty Oreo flavors include green tea ice cream--green tea flavored creme with a "cooling sensation" that simulates ice cream (China); orange ice cream (Indonesia); and x3, or "por tres"—three layers of cookie, and two layers of cream (Argentina)?
--Oreo Way, formerly known as West 15th Street between 9th and 10th avenues in New York City, is where the first Oreo cookie was made?

Kids, parents alike need more time to "be kids"

A new study by Oreo says that around the world, the spirit of childhood — "the chance for children and adults alike to enjoy simple, carefree moments" — may be on the decline. Oreo reports that most parents surveyed believe today's kids are growing up quicker than previous generations--seven out of 10 parents say their children should have more time to "just be kids."
The same goes for parents--59 percent of parents worldwide say they don't have fun on a daily basis and 54 percent say they rarely experience the feelings of delight they did when they were children.
“As we regularly talk with consumers worldwide, we consistently hear about the importance of experiencing the carefree feelings of childhood at any age,” said Sheeba Philip, global brand director for Oreo. “We believe this sentiment is more important now than ever before, so we conducted this research to learn more about the spirit of childhood worldwide."
While the report suggests the spirit of childhood may be at risk, parents’ desire to have fun with their children isn't weakening. Three out of five parents say spending time having fun with their kids is more important to them than it was to their own parents when they were growing up. More than half of parents surveyed in countries like Mexico, Peru and India say they would trade part of their salary in exchange for more time with their kids. And, four out of five parents surveyed across all 20 countries even say having fun as a family is “more important than anything else." Despite this overwhelming desire, 59 percent of adults are not spending moments of carefree fun on a daily basis.