Sweet Talk

Housemade ingredients have long been considered a virtue—better made from scratch, and even a selling point for cookbooks when recipes include iconic brands such as OREO^®.

But in recent years, as collaborations of all kinds have exploded, there’s newfound interest in calling out brands on menus. Given the cost of labor, why make an ingredient when premade already has value among consumers?

That’s the point behind collabs: Leveraging the popularity and following of a brand to boost and benefit your own, from increasing audience reach to building loyalty by association.

Iconic brands are especially helpful for selling desserts—both are typically steeped in nostalgia. Chains have led the way showcasing branded sweets, from DQ Blizzards to The Cheesecake Factory’s Toasted Marshmallow S’mores Galore—which can offer inspiration and a jumping-off point. But independent restaurants need to level up to stand out, pastry chefs say. Here are some ways of achieving the "wow factor" by leveraging established brands.

Create an Experience

Campfire nostalgia has kept s’mores as a favorite treat, especially during the summer and fall. Pastry chefs have played with the trio of ingredients—a chocolate bar, marshmallows and graham crackers—in innumerable ways, and there’s no sign of it stopping. At Olmsted in New York City, a small container of fiery hardwood charcoal accompanies ingredients for diners to make their own s’mores at the table.

Also in New York, Spot Dessert Bar offers Harvest as a tasting sensation experience. There’s layered soft cheesecake, strawberries, chiffon cake, whipped cream, OREO cookie pieces, milk tea and raspberry sorbet, presented in one order.

Take It Apart

Pastry chefs are known for deconstructing a dessert. Chris Ford, formerly head of pastry at The Four Seasons Los Angeles hotel in Beverly Hills, California, began applying such an approach early in his career, including a time when he made OREO cookies and grounded them into a powder, to use as a flour for macarons filled with vanilla cream. More recently, Ford applied the approach to his many iterations of s’mores – including a whole wheat snickerdoodle that substitutes for graham crackers. It’s topped with a vanilla marshmallow dome that’s torched and drizzled with a chocolate sauce, made from chocolate sold at his recently-launched business, Butter Love And Hard Work.

At Posh Pop Bakeshop in New York City, the banana pudding cake exemplifies its grandness through its form and presentation. It features two layers of vanilla cake filled with banana pudding and vanilla wafers. It’s then topped with two scoops of banana cream and more vanilla wafers – along with crumbled wafers in the layers and on the sides of the cake.

Surprise with the Unexpected

Big and bold turns heads, which also creates FOMO. Ice cream floats with signature draft sodas at Fitz’s in St. Louis arrive at the table in large stein mugs, topped with three generous scoops of ice cream and a large mound of whipped cream. The Trolley Car, which features cream soda, vanilla ice cream and generous amounts of OREO cookies, is a menu regular which is promoted on National OREO Day.

Cupcakes using OREO are ubiquitous, either using the classic cookie in frosting or as a garnish, but Baked & Wired in Washington, D.C., takes a different approach. The sandwich cookie is baked in the batter, and it’s also topped with a butter cream infused with OREO.

Sustainability plays into the unexpected at Andie’s Eats in New York City. Cake scraps left over from constructing whole cakes fill portable single-serve to-go cups in a variety of flavors called cake cups. They include Funfetti cake layered with OREO cookies, and frosting made with OREO.

Rethink the Usual

While certain classic desserts that highlight legacy brands—think OREO cheesecake or banana pudding with Nilla^® wafers—draw diners with familiarity, slight tweaks can work as a selling point and lead to a sale.

Dessert Republic in San Francisco replaces ladyfingers with Nilla wafers for a twist on tiramisu, while Home Slice Pie in Denver uses them as the crust for its tangy lemon pie. Janie’s Life Changing Baked Goods in Manhattan uses OREO cookies as a crust for its pies, and the same can be used with belVita Breakfast Biscuits. Bagel Miller (formerly Baker Miller), in Chicago, used belVita biscuits as the crust for its lemon curd tart.

Boba drinks in the last few years have become more mainstream, but usually feature fruit variations. More recently, milk tea is appearing on such menus featuring OREO cookies. OREO Milk Tea at Ming’s Bubble Tea in Chicago says, “Take your love for OREO cookies to the next level. Delight in the combination of crushed OREO cookies, creamy organic milk and a hint of sweetness, creating a heavenly indulgence that will please both your taste buds and your inner cookie lover.”