Today is….wait for it….National Strawberry Picking Day. And since it’s peak strawberry eating season (April – June), these little bursts of natural sweetness make the perfect afterschool or anytime snack. And so to celebrate, we’re hand-picking (pun intended) our top 5 things to dip strawberries into…once they’ve been picked, of course.

1. Tillamook French Vanilla Bean Yogurt – Light and naturally sweet, it’s like they were made for each other!

2. Lemon Curd – Tart, sweet…perfect. If you’re like us and believe everything tastes better with lemon curd, then this is a must try.

3. Peanut Butter – Give your apples a break and try something a little more seasonal with this yummy ode to PB&J.

4. Tillamook Sour Cream + Dark Brown Sugar – For the cheesecake lover in all of us, this is the perfect bite sized treat.

5. Nutella – Few things are simpler or more delicious than this decadent combo of chocolate, hazelnut, and strawberries.

How do you dip? Let us know at Facebook.com/Tillamook or on Twitter @TillamookCheese.

By Tillamook

It’s that time of year again! It’s time to pack away your winter clothes and celebrate the arrival of spring. Out with the old and in with the new. It’s time to say goodbye to those mystery leftovers on the top shelf and give your fridge the TLC it deserves. As the temperature begins to rise, you might find yourself spending more and more time outside of the house and busy as ever! Solution!? Create a snack drawer in your fridge for easy on-the-go options! The idea came from a friend of mine with two busy kids. While there aren’t any kids running around my house, I’m not ashamed to admit this tip works great for any age!

Designate a drawer and stock it with Tilla-Moos, or cheeses that you’ve pre-sliced and cubed in serving size containers or baggies. I’ve also got a variety of Tillamook Yogurt and some veggies that I’ve pre-cut, washed, and bagged in mine.

What’s your favorite grab-and-go snack!?

By Amalya

Oregon is home to so many delicious foods! While Tillamook Cheese is always the first food I think of when I dream of tasty Oregon treats, hazelnuts are a close second. Often called filberts in Oregon, these distinct little nuts have been combined with desserts by many great chefs for hundreds of years. With an Oregon themed dinner party on the horizon, I knew I needed to combine these tasty nuts with Tillamook Ice Cream to make the perfect Oregon inspired dessert.

First step: Make the meringue!
Yields: 16 disks for 8 sandwiches

Ingredients
1½ cups toasted hazelnuts
1½ cups sugar
5 egg whites
Pinch of salt
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon almond extract

In a food processor combine the toasted hazelnuts and 1½ cups sugar. Mix until the nuts are as fine as the sugar. Use a spoon to fluff up the nuts and make sure there are no large nuts left.

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Using a pencil and a round glass about 3 inches in diameter, trace 8 circles on each sheet. Flip the sheets over so the pencil side is down.

In a mixer, beat the egg whites on low speed until they foam. Add the salt and cream of tartar. Continue beating until soft peaks form. Leaving the mixer on, slowly add the 3 tablespoons of sugar, vanilla, and almond extracts. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat until hard shinny peaks form. Turn mixer off and using a spoon fold in the almond-sugar mixture. Place the meringue in a pastry bag and starting with the outside of the circle, pipe the mixture onto the cookie sheets ending in the middle of each circle. Place in oven and cook for 1 hour or until the meringue will move around on the sheet when poked. Take out of the oven and allow to cool completely.

Once the meringue disks have cooled. Take out your favorite flavor of Tillamook Ice cream. (I used Tillamook Mudslide but I suspect many other flavors, like Espresso Mocha, would be delicious.) Let the ice cream melt a little so that it is easily molded without breaking the meringue cookie. Place a scoop of ice cream on top of a meringue disk, smash it down so it’s level and place another disk on top. Wrap each cookie in saran warp and place in the freezer until you are ready to eat!

These little Oregon treats are great for a quick dessert whenever you’re ready for a Pacific Northwest snack!

By Kelly

This cheesy appetizer is an easy and delicious addition to any gathering

When it comes to cooking it’s easy to get stuck in a rut, making the same few things for dinner or having the same breakfast cereal for weeks. Every time it’s my turn to bring an appetizer, I seem to come up with the same three or four ideas. I was invited to a birthday party recently and sure enough, I was assigned to bring the appetizer. Over the phone, I mentioned that I was going to try my best to come up with something new and creative. My friend got quiet and then said, “But I asked you to bring the appetizer because we all love your spinach dip.” Well, what’s a girl to do but bring a spinach artichoke dip.

My recipe has been adopted from The Pioneer Woman. My ingredient list is slightly different but the cooking instructions are the same. It turns out, even “The Best Spinach Artichoke Dip Ever” can still be made better with Tillamook!

Ingredients
6 tablespoons Tillamook Salted Butter
4 tablespoons chopped garlic
10 ounces fresh spinach (you can use less if you get spinach in a bag that has less than 10 ounces)
Salt
Pepper
2 cans artichoke hearts
3 tablespoons flour
1½ cups whole milk
5 ounces cream cheese
½ cup feta cheese
½ Tillamook Shredded Italian Blend
1 cup grated Tillamook Pepper Jack Cheese
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

By Kelly