Chocolate Cupcakes with Oreo Cream Cheese Frosting

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The Oreo– milk’s favorite cookie. It’s tried and true and tasty. Who doesn’t remember sitting at the kitchen table as a child splitting your Oreos apart, licking the creme off the inside and dunking what’s left in a big glass of milk? (And if you were one of the “others” who kept your Oreos whole before eating them…well…I’m sorry you’ve been doing it wrong all your life).

Despite the crazy flavors of Oreos Nabisco seems to be whipping out one after the other (Cookie Dough, Banana Split, Cotton Candy, Limeade????), I am confident that the classic Oreo will always be my favorite. In fact, the Oreo is the base for one of my favorite types of cupcakes. And I mean literally– this cupcake actually sits on top of an Oreo cookie. So, if you want to throw your cupcake-eaters for a delicious black-and-white, cookies & cream surprise when they bite into this cupcake, follow the recipe below for a new twist on an old favorite.

You can make this recipe with any cupcake base. I chose my favorite chocolate-fudge base because, well, it’s fudgy and chocolaty. First, preheat your oven to 350F degrees, and line 24-cupcake holders with liners. Stick one Oreo at the bottom of each cupcake liner.

To make the cupcake bottom, melt 1 stick of butter with 4 oz of semi-sweet baking chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl for about 1 minute. Stir until smooth. You might need to stick this mixture back in the microwave for 15-second intervals to melt it completely. Set aside.

Next, stir together 1 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 1/2 cups of flour, 1 tsp of baking soda, 1 1/2 tsp of baking powder, and 1/2 tsp of salt in a large bowl. In another bowl, whisk 4 large eggs, 1 cup of sugar, 1/2 cup of light brown sugar, 2 tsp of vanilla extract, until smooth.

Then add the chocolate/butter mixture and whisk together until combined.  Alternate adding the flour mixture and 1 cup of buttermilk, until the ingredients are just combined. The batter will be very thick. Do not over-mix.

Pour the batter into your liners on top of the Oreo you placed there before, about 2/3 of the way up. Bake these cupcakes for about 18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of a cupcake comes out clean. Set aside to cool before frosting.

To make the Oreo cream cheese frosting, use an electric mixer to beat an 8 oz bar of cream cheese with 1 stick of butter for about 3 minutes, or until well-blended. Add in 2 tsp of vanilla extract, and slowly add up to 4 cups of powdered sugar (you might want to add more or less powdered sugar based on your desired consistency for the frosting). Using a food processor, crush up 12 Oreos into fine pieces, and slowly stir them into your frosting.

Once your cupcakes have fully cooled, use a frosting piping-bag to swirl the cream cheese frosting onto the cupcake. Garnish with a mini Oreo (or a full-sized cookie if you know that bigger is better!) and enjoy what I think must be milk’s favorite cupcake!

Recipe

Cupcake Ingredients (makes 24 cupcakes)

• 1 cup (2 sticks) of unsalted butter
• 4 oz of semi-sweet baking chocolate
• 1 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp of baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp of baking powder
• 1/2 tsp of salt
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 24 Oreos

Frosting Ingredients

• 8 oz (1 bar) of cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) of butter, softened
• 2 tsp of vanilla extract
• 4 cups of powdered sugar
• 12 Oreos, finely crushed

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