Yankee Doodle Dandy
What you need for July 4th is an easy semi homemade dessert that says All American. We present a Yankee Doodle Dandy of a cupcake topped with homemade Oreo Buttercream Frosting!
The song “Yankee Doodle” was a distinctly British ditty that was once sung to mock the poorly clad American colonists. The town of Bellerica, Massachusetts claims to be host to the event that had the British changing their tune and inspired the colonists to adapt “Yankee Doodle” as an American song.
It is here in Massachusetts in 1775 that the British militia used the song once too often to infuriate the poorly clad colonists who protested the King’s rule and taxes. A resident of Bellerica, Thomas Ditson was tarred and feathered by the British for attempting to purchase a musket. The British incorporated this occurrence in new lyrics to “Yankee Doodle”. The young colonists etched this mockery into their memories.
The American Minutemen included Thomas Ditson, and although angered by the ridicule of the superiorly dressed and equipped British militia, the band of early Americans found the ability to laugh at their own appearance, for they were indeed a shoddy and poorly outfitted army. They took to singing the song in defiance of the well outfitted British.
All the brave Minutemen needed were to stick a feathers in their caps to feel united, no need for fancy uniforms. During the Battle of Lexington and Concord, the Minutemen made British captives dance to the tune. The song was all ours now and “Yankee Doodle” was played at the British surrender in Saratoga.
The ingredients used for our easy dessert are all American too. The first ingredient we will use to pay tribute to our heritage are Drake’s ® Yankee Doodle cupcakes, those delicious cream filled devil’s food cakes. Drake’s was first started by Newman E. Drake in Brooklyn, New York, where he sold pound cake by the slice. Drake’s later developed devil dogs, yodels, ring dings and coffee cakes, and more. Who doesn’t remember the how much a part of our American childhood dessert memories, especially in the Northeast – we were sure nothing was better than the sheer ecstasy of a Yankee Doodle with a glass of cold milk.
The second element to our dessert is Kraft Philadelphia Brand ® cream cheese that hails from Chester, New York. Dairyman William Lawrence developed the scrumptious soft cheese in 1872. Eight years later they named it ‘Philadelphia’ cream cheese for the City of Brotherly Love was also respected as the city of fine foods. This helped to market it as a gourmet cheese and sales took off.
Finally our beloved Nabisco Oreo ®, the number one selling cookie in America will be the third major component to our dessert. Developed in Chelsea, New York in 1912, it was somewhat mound shaped and was called the Oreo biscuit. It shape flattened out in 1916. Through the years its name changed several times but it 1974 it was dubbed the Oreo Chocolate Sandwich cookie and the name has endured until today.
Now it’s time to put some sparkle in your July 4th celebration with our All American dessert. Not only will you be able to top off your barbecue but you will be able to share some food history along with it!
Ingredients:
2 boxes Drake’s Yankee Doodles ®
Light Cream Cheese Frosting – Perfect for the Summertime!
1 8 ounce package Kraft Philadelphia Brand® cream cheese
½ pound Unsalted Butter
2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 box of Confectioner’s Sugar
12 crushed Nabisco Oreo® cookies
12 Additional cookies to cut in half for decoration
Baking Instructions:
Cream butter
Add cream cheese and incorporate well. Add vanilla, heavy cream, confectioner’s sugar and crushed Oreos®.
Top cupcakes with frosting.
Cut remaining cookies in half with a sharp knife and quick motion. Decorate tops of cupcakes.
Refrigerate cupcakes in an airtight container.