Tuesday, April 24, 2012

100 Years of Oreos

 
The Oreo cookie is celebrating its centennial this year, along with the sinking of the Titanic and the establishment of the Girl Scouts of America. The Oreo cookie was introduced on March 6, 1912, by the Nabisco company. Nabisco, by the way, is short for National Biscuit Company... NaBisCo.  Since its introduction, the Oreo has become the nation's best-selling cookie.

Honestly, I've yet to meet the person who doesn't appreciate an Oreo cookie now and then. (The main character in Jennifer AlLee's recent release "The Mother Road" binges on Oreos after her husband asks for a divorce. Oreos, after all, are a natural painkiller. Right?)

Those crunchy, dark-chocolate wafer cookies sandwiched around a creamy white filling that cannot be replicated are simply delicious.
The changing face of the Oreo, from 1912 to present, via The New York Times
Personally, I'm a Double Stuf fan (introduced in 1975), but Oreo fundamentalists (they're out there, trust me) swear by the original version and declare all recent additions to the cookie family heretical and blasphemous.
Whatever you think about the latest versions of the Oreo (I like to think of them as different denominations), I believe the following statement can be applied to them all:
The grace of God is like an Oreo cookie,
sandwiched between layers of gratitude. 
Yes, I have discovered spiritual truth in a cookie.

Hey, God talked to Moses from a bush and spoke to Balaam through a donkey ... if He wants to reveal Himself through a cookie, I'm not gonna argue with Him.

We NEED God's grace. Grace is power. It's God's "almighty" added to our "I think I can."
It's how we overcome obstacles, how we conquer temptation, how we accomplish what appears to be impossible in obedience to God's direction. Grace is God's power, His goodness, His ability, all wrapped up in one wonderful package.

Gratitude — simply being thankful for all that God has done for us in Christ Jesus — is like those chocolatey layers of crunchy goodness on either side of the stuffing. Gratitude for the air you breathe, for the relationships you have, for the place you live and the body in which you exist.

As a child I wished I could avoid those cookie layers and stack up the yummy white stuff. As an adult, I've learned to appreciate the cookie part of the Oreo­, much like the grown up ability to enjoy onions and garlic and other flavors children turn up their noses at. 
We'll call it maturity, and with maturity comes gratitude. Not just a greedy grasping for the grace of God, but an appreciation and awareness of the price that was paid to make that grace accessible to us.

Need God's grace for something in particular today? Try starting with the cookie layer of gratitude!

Are you a dunker? Or do you split the cookie from the stuffing? Do you nibble around the edges and then bite off the cookie part? How many stuffing portions have you stacked together before you yielded to yumminess and ate your cookie? (I think my record is four stuffings to one pair of cookies.)
 
About the Author: Niki writes fiction, blog posts, articles in the local newspaper, grocery lists, and Facebook status updates. She can be found at her own blog, In Truer Ink, in addition to posting here. She was a 2009 finalist in the Faith, Hope, and Love "Touched by Love" contest.


26 comments:

  1. well, thankfully, I can really sink my teeth into this post because I recently started to eat chocolate again nod as it turns out, restarted my love affair with this cookie.

    Sadly, I won't buy a whole package but I have found a way to enjoy.... my local Mennonite store (bulk dry goods, plus produce and deli and cool stuff like books and such) offer chocolate candy-like treats that are in bulk and individually wrapped. One of my top two favorites is an oreo knockoff dipped and covered in milk chocolate.

    I know.. it's not a 'real' oreo (doesn't' even call for a trademark thankfully) but it sure tastes good. I used to be a twister but I outgrew that.

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  2. Mmm. Anything dipped in milk chocolate is yummy, IMHO. Faux Oreo or no. : )

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  3. you're up early.
    did you eat too much chocolate?

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  4. i'm a double stuffer. it's the only version my toddler knows. he likes to lick, pull, scoop out the middle and then hand mommy the cookie parts before asking for "more cookie puh-luh-luh-leeez".

    i'm a dunker of late because of all the extra cookie handed to me. unless i eat one when my little Guppy is napping, the cookie part is all I get *heh*

    Now that I think about it, I've been much more greatful for a lot of things since my little Guppy was born.Or at least more aware of the need of greatfulness. Hmmmm...

    I'd have to say that I'm usually in need of a double stuffing of Grace though. I will definitely start with the cookie layer in the future.

    Great post!

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  5. Yes, *yawn* I am up entirely too early today. Unfortunately, it's not due to chocolate ingestion, just couldn't get back to sleep after hubby left for work.

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  6. Ha ha, DebH! Your comment reminded me of the times I hid in the pantry to sneak an Oreo without my little ones' knowledge.

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  7. I'm an oreo purist. I like the original and eat it together.

    Sadly, I think my oreo days are behind me, though. I still occasionally have one of the Paul Newman organic version. Not really the same.

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  8. Dina, an organic Oreo just sounds wrong.

    I love the Oreo milkshake at Jack in the Box. Another fast food chain claims to have an Oreo "frozen treat" but they don't use real Oreos. I can tell. I think that's false advertising.

    Dunking Oreos is not appealing to me. My Grandpa used to dunk his Oreos. I don't like soggy cookies.

    I'm a stacker. I usually stack eight plain cookies together (shameful, I know) and eat them before I eat the sides with the Heavenly creamy goodness. But if one cookie doesn't twist off right, I eat it. It does not go into the stack. I can never eat just one Oreo.

    I like the vanilla Oreos, too.

    If I am ever lucky enough to have a dog again, I plan to get a Scottie and a Westie. Their unScottish nicknames will be Uh-Oh and Oreo.

    I think I need to leave for work early and make an emergency stop at the grocery store. I have a sudden craving...

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  9. Dina, I tried to comment earlier and it disappeared into cyberspace somewhere.
    I think you are far too young to give up Oreos, my dear. : )

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  10. Suzie, you crack me up. I must confess, the ones that don't twist off cleanly are devoured immediately, as well. I figure those don't count.

    And I love your idea for the doggies!

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  11. I remember making our own double stuffs before the package came out. I thought they stole the idea from me.

    I was a simple dunker, as long as I had nice cold milk. But then, on an afternoon when I had waaay to much time on my hand and too many Oreos to be safe, I discovered the joys of dunking them in milk until they get nice and soggy, but just before they fall apart--putting them on a plate and setting them in the freezer for 10-15 minutes. I call them frozen Oreos, and they are amazing. Eat them with a fork.

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  12. So Barb, basically they stole your Oreo cookie ice cream and shake idea, too. Shameful. Simply shameful.

    But I am so glad you came up with the idea! Yum!

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  13. LOL,Suzie. Mine is more like the cookies and cream ice cream--without the cream. As if you ate all the frozen oreos and left the vanilla ice cream behind.

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  14. Niki, I agree I'm too young, and if you would please explain that to my digestive system and blood sugar, I would greatly appreciate that.

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  15. LOL, Dina, will do. I'm having my own disagreements with my digestion of late. : ) Maybe if I talk to you yours you can talk to mine.

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  16. Barb, that is an awesome idea! I am not a big ice cream fan, but a frozen Oreo without the cream sounds delish!

    Has anyone had a deep-fried Oreo? We made them for a youth fundraiser one year. I preferred the deep-fried Twinkies, but we sold out of those Oreos long before the Twinkies were gone!

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  17. Talk about a twist - on a history post and not just a cookie. LOL

    Whoops, I'm sorry. I didn't mean just a cookie because an Oreo can never be just anything.

    I can't have one or I'll eat the whole package. It's funny because I'm not into dark chocolate.

    I try to make an Oreo last for 3 bites. Alas, I can bite one third off okay, but then the next two thirds seem to end up in my mouth at the same time no matter what I do. Of course, I never pop the whole thing in my mouth at once... well maybe I did once or twice when I heard footsteps... but usually I don't.

    Great post, Niki. I believe it's the first time I've heard of God being referred to as a cookie. Great analogy, though. :)

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  18. Thanks, Anita!

    I, too, have been known to shove the entire cookie in my mouth at once. Sometimes it just has to be done that way.

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  19. Mmmm... now I'm craving Oreos! I'm a double-stuff gal. Gotta pull them apart, eat one cookie half, then scrape off the cream with my teeth, then eat the other cookie. I cannot bring myself to eat the cookie and the cream together... it's just not the same!

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  20. Anita, can you GUESS what we'll be snacking on while we're on the train? Or should I say - devouring?

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  21. Oreo are yummers but personally I still think Jammie Dodgers and Jaffa cakes or the ultimate. Delightful sticky jam and and delightful Orangey stuff sandwiched between biscuits (sorry cookies) or encased in chocolate.

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  22. Mm, Anna, those sound spectacular!

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  23. They is most spectacular but I shan't keep talking about them because I will want them all the more and I could easily scoff a whole packet!

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  24. Fun post and discussion!

    But...I don't like Oreos.

    I know! I know! (I'm ducking my head in shame.) They just never did anything for me. I'd choose a nutter butter over an oreo any day.

    Hope I don't get kicked out of the Inkies. ;)

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  25. Bwhahaha. We will, in the spirit of our faith, show Oreo-haters mercy and grace, Susie. : )
    Nutter-Butters are OK, too, I suppose.

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  26. No mercy to Jaffa Cake haters though!

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