Oreo Cookie Cupcakes

My step-daughter is having her sweet 16 party this weekend and I was in charge of the sweets.
I ended up deciding on orange creamsicle fudge, chocolate dipped pretzels and last but not least, Oreo cupcakes. They are fun, kid-friendly and easy to make.

What is even greater is the fact that the bottom crust of the cupcake is an Oreo cookie. All you need to do is put one whole Oreo cookie into the base of each muffin liner then fill with batter. This batter is heavy so the cookie stays at the bottom rather then floating up. And the cupcake has a brownie like consistency which truly makes these INCREDIBLE.

I finished them off with a simple buttercream that has the addition of 1 heaping tablespoon of crushed Oreo crumbs. Then I wrapped it all up with another Oreo cookie nested into the fluffy buttercream. Buttercream tends to have a yellow undertone thanks to, obviously, the butter as well as the added vanilla extract. I wanted to keep the frosting as white as possible so I added a few drops of Wilton's White-White Icing Color. It made a huge difference ! The icing was perfectly white and really showed off the added oreo crumbs extremely well.

This recipe makes a load of cupcakes - I made 24 but other readers have a lot more. I only needed 12 but rather than trying to halve the recipe I just omitted the cookie base in 12 of them and once baked and cooled, popped them into the freezer (unfrosted!) to be enjoyed at a later date. An option you too may want to consider if you can't use them up all at once.

Any chocolate sandwich cookie will do but if you get your hands on a package of Oreos then go for it. They are the best!

Let's Begin!

RECIPE:
*altered source recipe: Oreo Cupcakes, Annie's Eats
WHAT YOU NEED

CUPCAKES

24 Oreo cookies, regular size, for bases
24 Oreo cookies, regular size, used to top off the cupcakes once frosted
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
12 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups buttermilk, at room temperature

FROSTING
150 grams unsalted butter at room temperature
300 grams powdered sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 heaping tablespoon Oreo cookie crumbs

MAKE IT

CUPCAKES

PREHEAT oven to 350F
LINE 2 muffin pans (12 muffin cups each) with paper liners

PLACE an Oreo cookie in the bottom of each liner
IN A LARGE BOWL, sift together first 5 cupcake ingredients
ADD SALT and stir until combined
IN BOWL OF STAND MIXER, fitted with paddle attachment, beat butter 2 minutes HIGH speed
GRADUALLY add in brown sugar and beat MED/HIGH speed for 5 minutes
ADD VANILLA and mix until blended
ADD EGGS, one at a time combined thoroughly after each addition
ADD 1/3 flour mixture, mix until just combined
ADD 1/2 cup of buttermilk again mixing until just combined.
REPEAT pattern ending with buttermilk
WITH a cookie scoop, dollop batter on top of cookies in paper liners. Do not fill liners to the top. Keep it around 1/2 full
BAKE 18-22 minutes until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean
LET COOL in pan 5 minutes then transfer cupcakes to cooling rack. Let cool completely before frosting

FROSTING

IN BOWL OF STAND MIXER, fitted with paddle attachment, beat butter until very soft and fluffy - approx. 4 minutes HIGH speed
ADD sifted powdered sugar.
BEAT slow speed until mixture starts to combine then increase to MED speed for 1 minute
INCREASE speed to HIGH and beat for 5 minutes
SCRAPE down sides of bowl
ADD CREAM, vanilla extract and cookie crumbs
BEAT 2 minutes MED speed

PIPE onto cupcakes.
TOP with another Oreo cookie

ENJOY !




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