Dessert is a course that concludes a meal. The course consists of sweet foods, such as candy, and possibly a beverage such as dessert wine and liqueur. In some parts of the world, such as Greece and West Africa, and most parts of China, there is no tradition of a dessert course to conclude a meal.
Pastry is baked food made with a dough of flour, water and shortening that may be savoury or sweetened. Sweetened pastries are often described as bakers' confectionery. The word "pastries" suggests many kinds of baked products made from ingredients such as flour, sugar, milk, butter, shortening, baking powder, and eggs. Small tarts and other sweet baked products are called pastries as a synecdoche. Common pastry dishes include pies, tarts, quiches, croissants, and pasties.
A pie is a baked dish which is usually made of a pastry dough casing that contains a filling of various sweet or savoury ingredients. Sweet pies may be filled with fruit, nuts, fruit preserves, brown sugar, sweetened vegetables, or with thicker fillings based on eggs and dairy. Savoury pies may be filled with meat, eggs and cheese or a mixture of meat and vegetables.
Oreo is a brand of sandwich cookie consisting of two cocoa biscuits or cookie pieces with a sweet fondant filling. It was introduced by Nabisco on March 6, 1912, and through a series of corporate acquisitions, mergers and splits both Nabisco and the Oreo brand have been owned by Mondelez International since 2012. Oreo cookies are available in over one hundred countries. Many varieties of Oreo cookies have been produced, and limited-edition runs have become popular in the 21st century.
Nabisco is an American manufacturer of cookies and snacks headquartered in East Hanover, New Jersey. The company is a subsidiary of Illinois-based Mondelēz International.
A toaster is a small electric appliance that uses radiant heat to brown sliced bread into toast.
Newtons are a Nabisco-trademarked version of a pastry filled with sweet fruit paste. "Fig Newtons" are the most popular variety. They are produced by an extrusion process. Their distinctive shape is a characteristic that has been adopted by competitors, including generic fig bars sold in many markets.
Pop-Tarts is a brand of toaster pastries produced and distributed by Kellogg's since 1964, consisting of a sweet filling sealed inside two layers of thin, rectangular pastry crust. Most varieties are also frosted. Although sold pre-cooked, they are designed to be warmed inside a toaster or microwave oven. They are usually sold in pairs inside Mylar packages and do not require refrigeration.
A tart is a baked dish consisting of a filling over a pastry base with an open top not covered with pastry. The pastry is usually shortcrust pastry; the filling may be sweet or savoury, though modern tarts are usually fruit-based, sometimes with custard. Tartlet refers to a miniature tart; an example would be egg tarts. The categories of "tart", "flan", "quiche", and "pie" overlap, with no sharp distinctions.
A toaster pastry is a type of bakers' confection. They are thin rectangles often made of rice bran, molasses, flour, syrup, and shortening, which on one side usually has a coating of icing that has been dried with starch. They contain sweet, syrupy fillings, often fruit preserves or other flavoring ingredients such as chocolate or cinnamon. As the name suggests, toaster pastries are often heated in a toaster or oven. They are already fully cooked, however, and may be eaten unheated as well.
The fig roll or fig bar is a cookie or biscuit consisting of a rolled cake or pastry filled with fig paste.
A pie iron—also called pudgy pie iron, sandwich toaster, snackwicher, toastie maker or jaffle iron—is a cooking appliance that consists of two hinged concave, round or square, cast iron or aluminium plates on long handles. Its "clamshell" design resembles that of a waffle iron, but without that appliance's honeycomb pattern. Pie irons are used to heat, toast and seal the sandwich.
Shredded wheat is a nontrademarked breakfast cereal made from whole wheat formed into pillow-shaped biscuits. It is commonly available in three sizes: original, bite-sized and miniature. Both smaller sizes are available in a frosted variety, which has one side coated with sugar and usually gelatin. Some manufacturers have produced "filled" versions of the bite-size cereal containing a raisin at the center, or apricot, blueberry, raspberry, cherry, cranberry or golden syrup filling.
Toaster Strudel is the brand name of a toaster pastry convenience food, prepared by heating the frozen pastries in a toaster and then spreading the included icing packet on top. The brand is historically notable for being stored frozen, due to innovations in 1980s food manufacturing processes.
Toast is sliced bread that has been browned by radiant heat. The browning is the result of a Maillard reaction altering the flavor of the bread and making it firmer. The firm surface is easier to spread toppings on and the warmth can help butter reach its melting point. Toasting is a common method of making stale bread more palatable. Bread is toasted using a toaster or a toaster oven. Toast may contain acrylamide caused by the browning process, which is suspected to be a carcinogen. However, claims that acrylamide in burnt toast causes cancer have not been proven.
