Oreo Cupcakes

We had a cook out a couple weekends ago and since I didn't have to make real people food, I made dessert as usual. The S'more cookies are always a hit, which you can find the recipe here. I also wanted to make cupcakes and decided on the Oreo cupcakes since the first time I made it, it was a huge hit with the kids at Chinese School. The cupcakes went pretty well with the guys at the cook out! One guy told me he ate 5 and he's never had them before and how he loved it. Another told me what's inside and I pretty much told him it's an explosion of Oreos and he almost cried haha

The cupcake definitely is an explosion of Oreos with a cream side oreo half on the bottom, Oreo crumbs inside the batter, crumbs mixed into the cream cheese frosting, leftover crumbs sprinkled on top and topped with half of Oreo's Birthday oreo on top. I ended up running out of the regular oreos and had to use the birthday ones, which I personally didn't really like in taste. The one thing I did different for these cupcakes was I cheated and used white cake box mix. It was easier and less hassle because there's nothing I hate more than busting my butt if say no one at them. Plus, this cook out was semi-planned by my husband and his co-worker. Men + Party planning = A very stressed out wife! Men just do not plan things in advance period.

Homemade cake batter recipe can be found here. Someone commented saying that I didn't use enough butter, but I might of written it down as 1/2 a stick but maybe meant 1/2 a cup (1 stick). I made these back in 2010, so I honestly can't remember what I really did.



Oreo Cupcakes

For the cupcakes:
24 Oreo halves, with cream filling attached
1 box White cake mix, follow instructions in the back

For the frosting:
8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
6 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 tbsp. vanilla bean paste
3 cups confectioners’ sugar
2-3 tbsp. heavy cream
1/2 cup Oreo crumbs

For garnish:
Oreo cookie crumbs
24 Oreo cookie halves

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Line two cupcake pans with paper liners. Place an Oreo halve in the bottom of each liner, cream side up. In a medium bowl, mix up the cake batter according to the box.

Evenly divide the batter between the prepared cupcake liners. Bake for 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the frosting, combine the cream cheese and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat on medium-high speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Blend in the vanilla extract. Beat in the confectioners’ sugar until incorporated and smooth, 1-2 minutes. Add the heavy cream to the bowl and beat on medium-low speed just until incorporated, then increase the speed to medium-high and whip for 4 minutes until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Mix in oreo crumbs.

Frost the cooled cupcakes as desired. Sprinkle with Oreo crumbs and garnish with Oreo halves.

**If you are lazy like me and ended up putting the frosting on the day before, make sure you refrigerate and take out 30-40 minutes before serving**