Deliciousness in a Cute Wrapper!

So I have this awesome friend who is a fabulously talented cook.  She's a great friend in this awesome cyberworld of ours, and even though I've never actually met her, I feel like we've been friends for years.  So how do I know she's an amazing cook, because every recipe I've tried of hers quickly becomes a family favorite, 5-star rated, add to the recipe box (not just a printed copy) kind of recipe.  So when Ginny posted pictures of this incredible oreo cupcake on facebook, I knew I had to try it. If I'd had unsalted butter on hand, I would have made them that minute.  I now have unsalted butter stored in my freezer just in case I want to make these. :) So here it is, the best oreo cupcakes in the world.

Cookies and Cream Cupcakes

Picture from Simply Yum!

Yield: 24 cupcakes

Ingredients:
For the cupcakes:
24 Oreo halves, with cream filling attached
2¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
8 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 2/3 cup sugar
3 large egg whites, at room temperature
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup milk
20 Oreo cookies, coarsely chopped (I quarter them)

For the frosting:
8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
6 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
4 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
2 tbsp. heavy cream

For garnish:
Oreo cookie crumbs
24 Oreo cookie halves

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Line the wells of two cupcake pans with 24 paper liners. Place an Oreo halve in the bottom of each liner, cream side up. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt; stir together with a fork to blend and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter and sugar and beat together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Blend in the egg whites one at a time, beating well after each addition. Blend in the vanilla extract. With the mixer on low speed, beat in half of the dry ingredients just until incorporated. Add the milk and beat just until combined, then mix in the remaining dry ingredients. Gently fold in the chopped Oreos with a rubber spatula until evenly incorporated, being careful not to over-mix.

Evenly divide the batter between the prepared cupcake liners. Bake for 18-20 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pans 5-10 minutes, then 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.

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

Recipe from the awesome Ginny of Simply Yum!

My only tips or changes to this recipe are:
1. The first time I made them I put the oreo in the bottom of the cupcake wrapper as it said, and it stuck big time to the wrapper.  I think we only had just a couple of cupcakes where we didn't leave the oreo in the bottom.  So the second time, I just left that out and we didn't miss them at all, in fact that giant oreo in the bottom was, dare I say, a little too much at least for us.
2. I'd would lightly spray the wrapper to make it come off a little easier.  Those oreos really stick to it, and make it a little hard to peel off the wrapper nicely.  But really, with cupcakes this good, who cares if the wrapper takes a little work to get off.  Also, the spray in the wrapper might remedy the problem above.
3.  Use cute wrappers. There are so many cute ones now, why use the boring pastel pink, yellow, and blue ones. A cupcake is awesome, but a cupcake in a cute wrapper makes anyone's day a little brighter. :)
4.  Make sure you have people to share these with or you will eat these all in no time flat, seriously!

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