Cookies and Cream Cupcakes

I love February!  It’s not January (January always mean cold here in Colorado, although you wouldn’t really have been able to tell that towards the end of the month) and it’s not March (the snowiest month in Colorado – uugh).

 

I felt like February needed to be celebrated so I made it Cookies and Cream Cupcake Month!  Go check out the real American Food Holidays.  You’ll get a kick out of what we Americans will celebrate – apparently everything!

 

This was an adaptation of the best white cake recipe ever.  The original recipe came from from one of the amazing Baked cookbooks and I adapted it a bit for high altitude.  I don’t normally re-post recipes but this additional adaptation was so good I felt it was worth it.

 

Cookies and Cream Cupcakes

adapted from The Whiteout Cake in Baked, New Frontiers in Baking

makes 24 cupcakes

2 c. cake flour (2 1/2 c. cake flour at sea level)

1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour (3/4 c. all-purpose flour at sea level)

1 T. baking powder

1 t. baking soda

3/4 t. salt

1/2 c. unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 c. butter flavored crisco

1 1/2 c. sugar (1 3/4 c. sugar at sea level)

1 T. vanilla extract

1 large egg

1 1/2 c. ice cold water

3 large egg whites

1/4 t. cream of tartar

10 oreo cookies (crushed) – reserve 1/3 of this for the frosting

24 oreo cookies for topping off cupcakes

 

Sift the flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt together into a bowl, set aside.  In an electric mixer fitted with a paddle, beat the butter and crisco on medium high speed until creamy.  Add the sugar and vanilla and beat again until fluffy.  Add the egg and beat again, scraping down the bowl periodically.  Alternate adding the flour mixture and cold water in 3 or 4 additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture.  Scrape down the bowl and beat on medium high speed for about 30 more seconds.  In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar until soft peaks form.  Fold this egg white mixture into the batter.

Fill paper lined muffin tins about 1/3 full with batter, sprinkle a few crushed oreos on top and then dollop with a little more batter.

Bake at 360 degrees Fahrenheit (325 at sea level) for 18 to 20 minutes until golden brown on top.

 

Let cool completely and then frost with the Cookies and Cream Frosting…

 

Cookies and Cream Frosting

1 c. unsalted butter at room temperature

8 oz. whipped cream cheese

4 to 5 c. powdered sugar (depending on how sweet you like frosting)

1 t. vanilla extract

2 to 3 T. milk

 

Beat the butter and cream cheese on high speed until fluffy.  Add the vanilla and half of the powdered sugar.  Slowly pour in the milk and beat on high speed until fluffy.  Continue to add powdered sugar and beat until desired consistency is achieved, half and half and some of the powdered sugar.  Beat slowly until incorporated and then on high until fluffy.  Slowly add in the remaining powdered sugar until the desired consistency is achieved.    Add in the crushed oreos and beat just until incorporated.  Generously pipe onto cupcakes.  A few times a not-crushed-enough oreo got stuck in my piping tip but it was nothing a skewer couldn’t fix.

 

Top each cupcake off with an oreo pressed into the frosting.

 

So good!

Posted on February 8, 2013
This entry was posted in baking, cakes, cookies, cupcakes, desserts and tagged cookies and cream, cupcakes, february, high altitude baking, oreos, white cake.