Oreo Cupcakes

Back in July, my friend Casey found out he had skin cancer. He was nervous about the surgery, so the day before a group of us got together to hang out. Of course, he wanted cupcakes, and he wanted cookies and cream frosting.

This is what I came out with. The cupcake is a chocolate base with Oreo cookie chunks, and the frosting is a vanilla buttercream full of Oreo crumbs. The Oreo filling added such a sweet taste to the frosting, and it was delicious. Casey ate 6. In one day. I think it's safe to say that he enjoyed them.

Here are the recipes I used. Really though, you can just make your favorite chocolate cake recipe and add in some Oreo pieces.

Oreo Cupcakes from HERE

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 1/4 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup hot water
24 Oreos, broken into pieces

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line tray with 12 baking cups. Place Oreo pieces in the bottom of each cup.

Mix the flour, cocoa, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl using a wire whisk. Add the eggs, oil, vanilla and milk and mix well until thoroughly combined. Add the hot water and mix until combined. Transfer the batter (it will be very liquid) to a large measuring cup and then pour batter into each baking cup about three quarters full. Bake for 16-18 minutes.

Cookies and Cream Frosting

1 cup (2 sticks) butter

1 pound powdered sugar

2-3 tablespoons milk

Oreo cookie crumbs

For my crumbs, I just put about 12 or so Oreos in the food processor and pulsed them into crumbs.

Beat the butter on medium high speed until it is light and fluffy. Star

t adding in powdered sugar in 1/2 cup batches, and beat until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Slowly add in milk until you have reached the consistency you are looking for. Finally, with the mixer on low speed, add in your Oreo crumbs. I used quite a bit of crumbs because I wanted my frosting to really taste like the cookies. If you prefer a not so chocolaty frosting, just use a small amount.

Perfect Carrot Cupcakes

I love carrot cake. It has always been one of my favorites. I recently came across a recipe that called for crushed pineapple. My first thought was "Gross. I hate pineapple."

Even though I think pineapple is totally not tasty, I decided to try it out anyway.

I altered it slightly and made 2 versions. Both were tasty, but one was clearly the favorite among everyone who tried them.

The frosting was sooo yummy. I had to stop my mom from licking the bowl! It really is the perfect cream cheese frosting, and I've made it quite a few times since I made these cupcakes back in July.

Carrot Cupcakes

2 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp cinnamon

2 cups sugar

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, at room temp

4 eggs, at room temp

1 tsp vanilla

2 1/2 cups grated carrots

1 cup crushed pineapple, drained

1/4 cup flaked coconut

Preheat the oven to 350*F. Line cupcake pans with liners.

In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and sugar. Mix to combine, and set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter and sugar. Add in eggs one at a time, beating well after each egg. Blend in vanilla. Add in pineapple, carrots, and coconut, mix on low to combine.

Slowly add in the dry ingredients and blend just until no floury streaks remain. Don't over-beat the batter, or your cupcakes won't be as fluffy.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the tops spring back when lightly touched. Cool in the pans for 3 minutes, then move to a rack to cool completely. Frost when completely cooled.

Perfect Cream Cheese Frosting

1 (8-oz) package of cream cheese, room temperature

1 stick butter, room temperature

2 cups powdered sugar

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in powdered sugar in 1/2 cups increments, mixing well after each addition. Keep adding the sugar until you reach your desired sweetness. I found that 2 cups was perfect for how we like it, but you may use more.

Is this thing on?

Hello?

I'm starting this blog for two reasons.

1. I want some way to keep track of all the different flavors I test out.

and

2. What better way to do so than through a blog?

Hopefully you become inspired to try out some new recipes, or at least enjoy looking at the pretty pictures!