Oreo Cupcakes

We are very big Oreo fans, and these cupcakes are pretty amazing. I've made Oreo cupcakes before and had hoped to post them, but they weren't quite what I had wanted. I did a little recipe research and decided to make these yesterday and they are definitely winners. This is a dense cupcake, which I LOVE! I had some double stuf Oreos that I bought accidentally so I ended up using some of those. The original recipe has the crushed Oreos sprinkled on the top, but I mixed mine in the frosting. In the recipe process, it seemed kind of strange to me to cream the butter and add the milk and vanilla instead of the sugar. The butter and milk just don't mix very well together, but you end up beating everything at the end for a few minutes so it doesn't really matter. After they bake, they'll be just below the tops of the papers, but look amazing after you pipe on the frosting,

Oreo Cupcakes

adapted from beantownbaker.com
1 pkg Oreo Cookies (36 cookies)
2 1/4 cups flour, plus 2 TBSP for the Oreo chunks
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 2/3 cup sugar
3 large egg whites, at room temperature

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Insert 24 liners into tins.
2. Twist apart 24 Oreos. Place the wafer with filling on it, filling side up, in the bottom of each paper liner. Cut other wafers in half. Save 24 halves to place in the frosting. Crush the other wafer halves to mix into frosting. Set aside.
3. Cut the remaining 12 Oreo cookies into quarters with a sharp knife. Toss with 2 TBSP flour and set aside.
4. In a medium bowl mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
5. In a large mixing bowl cream the butter until fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Add the milk and vanilla and mix to combine.
6. Add the dry ingredients to butter mixture. Mix until integrated. Stir in sugar. With an electric mixer on low speed, beat for 30 seconds. Turn the mixer up to medium speed and beat for 2 minutes. Add the egg whites. Beat for 2 more minutes. Stir in the quartered cookies.
7. Fill the cupcake liners 3/4 full (I use a large scoop that holds 3 TBSPs.) Bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of cupcakes comes out clean. Cool cupcakes completely in the pan.

Oreo Cream Cheese Frosting
8 oz cream cheese at room temperature
1/2 butter at room temperature
1/2 cup shortening
2 tsps vanilla
7 cups powdered sugar
2 TBSPs milk
1/2 cup crushed Oreo wafers

Place the cream cheese in the bowl of your mixer. Beat on medium-high until completely smooth, 3-4 minutes. Add the butter and shortening and continue to cream until fluffy. Add vanilla extract. Add powdered sugar and mix until incorporated, scraping down sides as needed. Beat on medium-high for 2 minutes. Mix in reserved crushed Oreos. Pipe or spread onto cupcakes and top with 1/2 Oreo wafer.

Note to self: After making these for a 2nd time I changed the amount of cookies inside the batter. A 14.3oz. pkg of oreos has 36 cookies. Original recipe called for 45 cookies which I guess is a family size pack? 12 oreos quartered is enough though. *2/6/16 Changed frosting recipe to add shortening. MUCH BETTER.