Cookies as Cupcakes

Ever since last summer when I made the chocolate chip cookie dough cupcakes Kate has been asking me to make more.  Recently Kate's friend Isabelle mentioned that she thought Oreo cookie cupcakes would be good too.  Kate being Kate, thought this was a grand idea and who better to ask to make them than me.   Apparently the idea of making these cupcakes herself never entered Kate's mind.

So here I am, just one day into my new kitchen and I'm not sauteing with the aid of my new hood.  No... I'm baking Oreo cookie cupcakes.  (It is true that I am doing this in my new ovens but the hood makes for better copy.)  Anyway, I have engaged in yet another multistep cupcakes project at my daughter's urging.

Melting the chocolate with hot coffee.

There were several recipes for Oreo cookie cupcakes on the internet but none that really captured that Oreo-ness I was after.  So I picked and chose amongst the recipes and came up with my take on the
Oreo cookie cupcake.

The Oreo pieces tossed with flour so they don't sink to the bottom of the cupcake.

The "double stuff" at the bottom of each cupcake.

Ready for the oven.

First of all, they are delicious but moreover, they are adorable.  They kind of look like what an Oreo would look like if it was a cupcake.  Each cupcake has at the bottom one Oreo wafer with the "double stuffed" cream attached.  The top wafers are broken up in the batter and baked into the cake.

Right now I am all about cream cheese frosting.  Why not?  And this frosting, studded with Oreo cookie crumbs, is rich and divine.  Topped with a mini Oreo cookie, these cookies are really picture perfect.  See what I mean?

The finished product.

Recipe:  Double Stuffed Oreo Cupcakes
(Adapted from Cooks Illulstrated, May/June, 2010)

Ingredients:



3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/3 cup Dutch-processed cocoa
3/4 cup hot, strong-brewed coffee
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons bread flour 
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
18 Oreo halves, with cream filling attached


Directions:


Preheat oven to 350°F and line a muffin pan with cupcake liners. Twist Oreos in half and set aside the extra cookies for later. Place the side with cream filling in the bottom of each cupcake liner, cream-side facing up.  Reserve remaining tops.

Place chocolate and cocoa in a medium bowl and pour the hot coffee over the mixture. Whisk until smooth and transfer to the refrigerator to cool completely, 20-30 minutes.

Whisk 3/4 cups flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda together in a medium bowl; set aside.

Cut the reserved Oreo tops into quarters.  Place them in a bowl and toss with remaining 2 tablespoons of flour.

Whisk oil, eggs, vanilla, and vinegar into the cooled chocolate mixture until smooth. Add flour mixture and whisk until batter is smooth.  Add the reserved Oreo tops and flour and combine well.

Divide batter evenly among muffin pan cups, filling each 3/4 full. Bake until cupcakes are set and firm to the touch, 17-20 minutes. Allow to cool in pans 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.

Oreo Cookie Frosting


Ingredients:



8 oz cream cheese at room temperature
1 stick butter at room temperature
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
3-4 cups powdered sugar
6 tablespoons Oreo cookie crumbs
18 mini Oreo cookies


Cream butter and cream cheese until fluffy.


Add vanilla extract. Slowly add powdered sugar and Oreo cookie crumbs.  Whip until light and airy.


Assemble the cupcakes:

Once cupcakes have cooled completely, using a large star tip, frost with cream cheese frosting. Garnish each cupcake with a mini Oreo cookie.