Cookies and Cream Cupcakes and Cocktails!

(So, I have so many things to post about from Christmas, but I’m waiting on some pictures taken with my mom’s camera. So, stay tuned for vanilla bean lavender ice cream, chocolate icebox pie, prime rib and, of course, pictures of dogs wearing clothes!!)

We had our monthly (well, sometimes it goes more than a month) Cupcakes and Cocktails at Melanie’s house last week. We were just planning to have a laid back party, so I thought these cupcakes would be perfect. They were easy to make and who doesn’t love cookies and cream?

I think I over-baked them because they were pretty dense, which is not my preference when it comes to cupcakes. I just couldn’t get the center to set enough to get a toothpick to come out clean. I ended up baking them for about 22 minutes. They weren’t my favorite that I’ve made, but everyone really seemed to like them. I might try again, but I will reduce the baking time to 18 minutes and go from there.

Cookies and Cream Cupcakes from Annie’s Eats

Yield: 24 cupcakes
Ingredients:
For the cupcakes:
24 Oreo halves, with cream filling attached (I used an entire box of Oreos for the whole recipe)
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 just put them in a bag and beat them with the handle of a knife to get large chunks.)

For the frosting:
8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
6 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature (I used 8T. butter)
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
4 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
2 tbsp. heavy cream (I would cut this down to 1T. next time. The icing was a tid bit runny, even after refrigerating for a while.)

For garnish:
Oreo cookie crumbs
24 Oreo cookie halves (I, for the life of me, couldn’t cut the Oreos in half and make them not crack. I tried everything. Hence, some of them looking really gnarly!)

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. (I would not do this next time. It was just kind of weird to me, but again, everyone else loved them.) 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.

And, I can’t talk about a C&C and not post pics!

Caroline joined in the fun!

My favorite girls! (Erin, we miss you!!)