Cookies and Cupcakes!

I apologize for the lateness of this blog. Here it is, Monday and I baked these on Friday. I decided that my whatever cupcakes I was going to make on Friday needed to have something inside them, it was either going to be chocolate, fruit, cream, or candy filling. So as I'm researching (yes, it is technical research) recipes, I stumble upon this beauty from Confection Ink. It has an Oreo baked into the bottom! What better combination?!

I felt like such a child baking these, and couldn't help but eat most of the cookies as I baked them. :)

Over all, they came out pretty awesome. A few changes I would have made would have been putting a thin layer of batter in the cupcake liner before adding the Oreo. It would have made the cookie softer and a little bit less intrusive than it was sitting rock hard on the bottom. Still, I liked taking the cookie off and eating it first anyway :) The other change I would make is in the icing... I think just a simple vanilla buttercream recipe with crushed Oreos in it would have been a little bit easier and taste better. The Crisco in the icing threw me off a bit. Emma Jean helped me make the icing, and she was not a fan of it either. Either substitute butter for Crisco or make a different icing.

The cupcakes themselves were AMAZING!! So rich and moist. A total win. I am saving this recipe for the chocolate cake recipe. YUM.

So, without further ado, Oreo Cupcakes!

CUPCAKES
2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
3/4 cups cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 package instant chocolate pudding
3 eggs
1cup sour cream
1/2 cup oil
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water (or strong brewed coffee – I would have used this but my coffee maker isn’t working!)
24 Oreo cookies, with one side twisted off and reserved for the frosting.
Preheat oven to 350. Line cupcake pans.
In a large bowl whisk together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt and pudding mix. Add oil, eggs sour cream and vanilla. Beat on medium speed until well blended (about 2 minutes) Continue beating while slowly adding in the boiling water. Beat about 30 seconds after adding the water.
Put the Oreo with one side twisted off cream side up and fill cupcake liners about 1/2 way. Bake 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out mostly clean. Let them cool completely on cooling rack.

ICING
1 cup milk
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup butter -at room temperature
1/2 cup Crisco
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
24 Oreo cookie tops -crushed
 Place milk in a small saucepan.  Sprinkle the flour over the milk, 1/4 cup at a time and whisk until smooth.  Place the saucepan over low heat and stir constantly until the mixture becomes thick pulls into a ball.  Remove from the heat and put ball into a bowl. Place plastic wrap directly on the surface of the mixture and tuck around it to make sure there is no exposed parts.  Refrigerate until cooled to room temperature or colder (at least 30 minutes). In a large bowl, cream the butter and Crisco.  Add the cooled flour milk mixture and beat until well blended.  Mix in the vanilla.  With the mixer on medium speed, gradually add the sugar and then continue to beat the icing a
fter adding the sugar for an additional 10-12 minutes until noticeably whiter and creamy. Add Oreo crumbs and mix until just blended.