Oreo Cupcakes

 My friend Stephanie, from Stephanie cooks, made these cupcakes for her son's first birthday party. They were DELICIOUS and they had a nice surprise of the other half of the Oreo on the bottom! So of course I HAD to try and find the recipe. =o) I cut the sugar in half because I felt that there was enough sugar in them already from the Oreos. I also used white whole wheat and whole wheat flour instead of all-purpose flour. (It makes me feel like they are a bit more healthy. =o))
I brought them to school and they were a big hit! My principal asked for the recipe and the vice principal couldn't get enough of them! Apparently he is a picky eater!
So overall, these are totally fabulous! 

Enjoy!!! =o)

 Recipe adapted from : Annies Eats

Oreo Cupcakes

Yield: 24 cupcakes

Ingredients

·         24 Oreo halves, with cream filling attached

·         2¼ cups all-purpose flour (I used half white whole wheat and half whole wheat flour)

·         1 tsp. baking powder

·         ½ tsp. salt

·         8 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature

·        About 1/2  cup sugar

·         3 large egg whites, at room temperature

·         2 tsp. vanilla extract

·         1 cup skim milk

·         20 Oreo cookies, coarsely chopped (I quarter them)

·         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

·         Oreo cookie crumbs (Or ground up chocolate graham crackers)

·         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.

FROSTING:

·         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. If needed, you may need to keep adding powdered sugar until you get the consistency you want.)

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