DIY

How To Make the Perfect Fried Oreo

Whoever thought that dipping cream-filled cookies in batter and deep frying it in greasy, fattening oil would be a fabulous idea...thank you. I truly appreciate your genius. I made these delicious little treats yesterday when I went home for the weekend and, if I do say so myself, they came out looking and tasting amazing! No one in my family could stop at just one or two! The idea behind fried Oreos is that you dip an Oreo cookie into a batter of flour, milk, sugar, and an egg. I have seen people use pancake mix in place of those ingredients. Here, I'll share my secrets to amazing fried Oreos!

1. Replace whole milk with buttermilk.
I usually substitute buttermilk for regular milk in my baking because buttermilk gives my cake or cupcakes an overall more moist texture. The buttermilk in the fried Oreo dipping batter definitely gives the dough a lighter and slightly buttery taste, which is good because you don't want a doughy taste to ruin Oreos for you!

2. Less is more - go light on the sugar. 
If you're making your own batter for dipping the Oreos in, you might not want to go sugar-crazy. Oreos are already sweet and you don't want an overly sweet fried dough to accompany it. I used just three tablespoons of sugar in my batter to accompany 1/2 cup of flour.

3. Don't be afraid to get your fork dirty. 
I used a fork to help coat the Oreos with my batter. Once the Oreos were covered, the slits in the fork let the excess batter drip back into the bowl. You don't want too much dough around your Oreo. I also used the fork to lower the Oreo into the hot oil. My fried Oreos came out looking really neat using this method.

4. Go for the gold. 
You want the dough to turn slightly golden brown when frying - that's when you know you've hit the mark! The dough is perfectly cooked and the cookie will be nice and gooey on the inside. Make sure you don't burn them! They will not take too long to get to that light golden brown!

Follow these four tips and you'll just about have perfect fried Oreos in the palm of your hand!

DIY S'mores Breakfast Bars 

The popular campfire treat has become enjoyable even without the need for a campfire. We see s'mores flavored drinks from Starbucks and in many other tasty treats. Does not having those warm, crackling orange flames take away from the experience? Maybe. But as a college student who's always looking for creative ways to enjoy breakfast, I was willing to omit the wood-burning for now.

Yes, you read me right - I made these delicious s'mores breakfast bars in the comfort of the kitchen in my dorm building! These are super easy, require minimal effort, and are absolutely delicious! The ingredients and materials I used are:

• Cascadian Farms Graham Crunch cereal 
• Marshmallow fluff
• 2 Hershey's chocolate bars 
• two spoons 
• one mixing bowl 
• one small plastic storage bowl 
• microwave 

Step 1: Break up the chocolate bar into squares and place them inside a microwave-safe bowl. The chocolate takes a bit of time to melt so you'll want to soften and slightly melt it beforehand. 

Step 2: Measure out the desired amount of cereal. When the chocolate comes out of the microwave, add the cereal and a few spoonfuls of marshmallow fluff. Mix it all together thoroughly. 

Step 3: Microwave the mixture for just 5-10 seconds to get it gooier. Afterwards, spoon the concoction into the plastic storage bowl. Make sure it's evenly spread out. 

Step 4: If you have a mini fridge, put it in there for about 30 minutes to set. If you don't have a mini fridge in your room then it's cool - they will just take a little longer to set. Once set, cut into them and enjoy! 

Why I'm in love with them:

• This is not just a sweet snack; I used actual cereal so it's great for putting a spin on a boring bowl of cereal and milk! 
• The cereal I used is organic, relatively low in sugar, and high in fiber so it's a great way to get that graham cracker taste without the usual amount of sugar and more fiber. 
• These breakfast bars are surprisingly less sweet than most granola bars on the market. You're probably wondering how this is even possible if I used chocolate and marshmallow fluff but rest assured I can never lie to you! This is a huge plus for me because I feel that though most granola bars claim to be "healthy" they taste beyond sweet, which defeats the purpose. 
• They are super easy to make and don't require many ingredients! 

These delicious s'mores breakfast bars are a great twist on breakfast and something you can just grab and go. Get creative and try other combinations with other cereals.