Two of my favorite things! Well, 3 if you count the Oreos...

Let's see if I can accurately express how much I love my birthday.  Yes, I know what you're thinking - everyone loves their birthday!  Sure, I guess.  But when mine comes around, I commandeer the entire month of October.  I rename the thirty-one day block to "Steftober" and invite everyone to celebrate daily.  Do I take it too far?  Probably.  Does "obsession" come to mind when friends refer to my DOB?  Yes, absolutely.  But why limit such a momentous occasion to one day?

My second favorite is a little more widely enjoyed by a broader audience.   They are the finishing touch we all love to add to just about any dessert.  They top even the icing on the cake.  Or they can simply be found snugly adorning the fringes of an ice cream swirl.   Yep, we're talkin' 'bout sprinkles.

These colorful confections don't just look lovely as a topping, they also add a taste and textural pop to their host snack that is just delightful.  To me, there are few things as wonderful both visually and gastronomically as a coating of rainbow sprinkles tightly wrapped around a vanilla cone.

If I ever become the kind of rich that affords me the opportunity to be excused as an eccentric coot, I promise you that I will fill a swimming pool with rainbow sprinkles and take daily dips - Scrooge McDuck-style.

So, I know you're thinking the obvious now - birthday cake with rainbow sprinkles is probably on my list of favorite things.  You're correct.  But as it turns out - I'm not alone!!

My mind was blown just a little bit last week when my mother, in honor of Steftober, handed me a package of Birthday Cake Oreos.  WHAT?! you say?  BIRTHDAY CAKE OREOS, I repeat - louder and with more oomph this time.  Look, I knew O-R-E-O was into innovation for seasonal snacking (colored creme for current holidays is a long-standing tradition), but I had no idea it could house this kind of party inside.  As it turns out, 2012 marks the 100th year of the creme-filled chocolate biscuit.

So here's what you get - the traditional Oreo chocolate wafers on the outside (adorned with one big birthday candle instead of the classic wreath design), and on the inside - birthday cake flavored creme with rainbow sprinkles.  Oh, be still my sprinkle-loving birthday-obsessed heart.  It's as if Nabisco knew that I'd be celebrating, too!

They are as delicious as the original, if just a tad sweeter due to the vanilla frosting-like filling.  The sprinkles really bring the party to life with bright splashes of pinks and greens and yellows and blues against the white creme canvas that we all know and love.

I may even forgo the traditional glass of milk with this cookie in favor of a flute of Champagne.  Happy 100th to Oreo, and happy Steftober to me!!