Anna, from Cookie Madness, made a great find the other day at her local supermarket in Austin: Dulce de Leche Oreos. These limited edition cookies aim to pair a slightly milky caramel-flavored cream filling with the classic chocolate wafer cookies of Oreos, though Anna said that the filling tasted mostly buttery with only notes of caramel.

For some reason, the limited edition cookies are not listed on the main Oreo website, though they do get a brief mention on the wiki entry for Oreos and I finally found them listed on the Comida Kraft site, Kraft's spanish-language counterpart, which may be an indication that the cookies are not going to be mass marketed in quite the same way that the peanut butter and mint chocolate Oreos were when those flavors were first released. And buttery or not, the chocolate/caramel combination still sound like a promising one for Oreos, so keep an eye out for them.

I considered cropping the picture of these Dulce de Leche Brownies, baked by Zarah Maria of Food and Thoughts, so it wouldn't be quite so tall, but I just couldn't bring myself to cut the brownies - unless it was with a knife, of course. The recipe she used is from David Lebovitz's recipe archives. It is a fairly standard brownie recipe with dulce de leche - thick, sweet caramelized milk - spread on top. Some stores carry dulce de leche in the section with the condensed and evaporated milks, but if your store doesn't, you may have to make if yourself. David gives some tips on how to do that in his recipe for the brownies.

For a somewhat less guilty version, you could try swirling some dulce de leche on top of a batch of No Pudge Brownies before baking them, too.

I would like to thank Hershey's for finally deciding that filled Kisses were a good idea. Over the past year or so, they have released many varieties of the tiny treats, including Caramel and Dulce de Leche, in addition to special edition Kisses, which have included Cherry Cordial and the excellent Toffee and Almond. But I must say that the new Peanut Butter filled Kisses might just be the best of the bunch, particularly for peanut butter fans. The peanut butter is incredibly creamy, without being gooey or granular and overly sweet, as it is in Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. The ratio of chocolate to filling is just right and the size of the Kiss makes it perfect for grabbing by the handful for an afternoon treat. Overall, these are an exceptional variation of the original Kiss and I, for one, hope that Hershey’s keeps them around for a while.

[Photo by Nicole Weston]

Now that we know how foods gain acceptance, there are a few items poised to rise in the eyes of mainstream eaters in the upcoming year. Some of these are just making their way onto the plates of foodies, while others are already beginning to appear in widely available products. The popularity of all of these items is sure to rise over the coming 12 months.
Chimichurri is an Argentinean dipping sauce that has a spicy, intense flavor, though, like salsa, its ingredients and heat are highly customizable. Already a regular at high-end eateries, it is beginning to show up on mid-range menus, too.
Churrasco is a Brazilian style of barbeque in which fire grilled meats are both roasted on and served from a large skewer. The meal also usually includes tapas-like appetizers, which had gained tremendous popularity in the past few years.
Premium breads are fast making their way into homes across the country, with ordinary grocery stores carrying decent baguettes and fast food restaurants offering their sandwiches on ciabatta or artisan sourdoughs. There are whole chains of restaurants that have sprung up around artisan-style bread, indicating that it is only a matter of time before people can properly discern between French and focaccia.
Regional Mexican is developing the same way that knowledge of regional Italian developed over the past 40 years. Spices and dishes from the Yucatan and Oaxaca, including unusual spice rubs and moles, are fast gaining recognition as people begin to view Mexican food as having more than just meat, cheese and hard taco shells.
White Tea is high in antioxidants and has piggybacked into a larger recognition on the tailcoat of its well-known relative, green tea. Lacking the slightly grassy flavor of green tea, which skyrocketed into national sight after being widely publicized by Starbucks this year, white teas are being offered in increasing numbers by purveyors of tea.
Dulce de Leche is a creamy, caramel-like sauce made of sugar and condensed milk. Its rich taste and familiar appearance have led to a growing fondness for the treat, which has already appeared in many high end, but widely available ice creams.