O.R.E.O. In a cupcake!

Who doesn't love Oreos?

I sure do!

And that's why it intrigued me so when I saw these Oreo Cupcakes with Cookies & Cream Frosting on... my Facebook feed.  You thought I was going to say Pinterest didn't you?

I didn't exactly follow her recipe, though.  Me and Betty Crocker are kind of BFFs and walking through the store she winked at me as if to say "scratch cake?  Girl, ain't nobody got time for that!!"  So I used a boxed cake mix.

Like you don't!

Oh... you don't?

Well I did.  And I can sleep perfectly well knowing I'm not the perfect Holly Homemaker.  Thank you very much!  I did, however, use her frosting recipe (below I've extracted it from her overall instructions).  And it is AMAZING!!  I've never made frosting like that before, but I'm thinking I will in the future.

Misbehaving puppies distracted me from taking more pictures tonight.  Yes... I frequently cup their sweet little faces in my hands, hold them close and tell them they are dang lucky they are so cute!  Dang lucky!!

Here's what I did:
Step 1:  Preheat oven to 350F.
Step 2:  Put 18 liners into the individual cups of cupcake tin(s).  (Mine hold 12 so I have to use 2 tins.  I want one that holds 18... but I do not have it yet.)
Step 3:  Place an oreo into each cup.
Step 4:  Mix a chocolate cake mix according to package instructions.  Or make your own if you're all into that sort of stuff.
Step 5:  Divide cake batter equally amongst the 18 cups.  Bake.  Cool.
Step 6:  Crush 10-12 Oreos.  (It works well to put them in a ziplock bag and roll over them a few times with a rolling pin.)
Step 7:  Make frosting.
Step 8:  Spoon into a decorating bag so you can pipe it onto cupcakes.  (I tried, semi-successfully, to fake it using a ziplock bag with the corner snipped off.)
Step 9:  Decorate the top of each with another Oreo.
Step 10:  Admire your hard work for a moment then devour!  Leftovers (in the unlikely circumstance there are leftovers) should be refrigerated.

Not as pretty as my inspiration... but I promise they're gonna
look a whole lot worse than this in just a few minutes!

Cookies & Cream Frosting
In a small saucepan, combine 5 Tbl all-purpose flour with 1 cup milk.  (I used whole and the recipe I was following said she used 1% so I think you can just use whatever it is you have in the fridge for your family to drink.)  Heat over medium-low, whisking continually, until very thick.  Remove from heat.  Cover with plastic wrap pressing the film onto the surface of the 'custard' so it doesn't form a crust as it cools.  Place in the fridge for 10 minutes.

In a medium mixing bowl, beat 1 cup granulated sugar with 1 cup soft butter until smooth and fluffy.  Add 1 tsp vanilla and beat another 30 seconds or so.  Add cooled milk/flour mixture from above and beat on high until it's the consistency of stiff whipped cream.  This will take 3 minutes or more, probably more.  When you think it might be ready, get a little blob on your finger and test it.  If it isn't like whipped cream... you're not done beating it!

Stir in the crushed Oreos.

That's it!  Isn't that a different way to make frosting?

I really thought it would be less sweet because it has so much less sugar in it but it's not.  It's creamy and fluffy yet rich and light at the same time.  Delicious!!