Extreme Cookies n' Cream Cupcakes

Hello again! Been busy enjoying what the season has to offer...pumpkin picking, apple fests, decorating for Halloween...very busy...but very happy. 

Isn't that really what it's all about? Well, that AND the hokey pokey, but I digress.  I do that a lot when typing...it's like an internal monologue...like you're watching yourself on TV and you're the narrator. 

Hmmm...anyway...my latest installment.

So...I guess I have self-appointed myself the "birthday baker" at work.  I like to bake, they all like to eat what I bake...it's a win-win.  Just no cookies...I'll totally eat like half a dozen before they make it onto the cookie sheet and probably another half dozen before they're out of the house.  Not a win in any way, trust me! So I usually choose cupcakes.  They're portioned out, no one else has a bigger/smaller cupcake (I won't sneak one because there has to be 24 per my insane rationalization).  Sometimes I'll do mini's...but I think portion control goes out the window on those though...they're dangerous in my book. You rationalize in your head...Well...they are MINI cupcakes...so if I have 3 or 4 I still have only REALLY eaten 1 regular cupcake...no one will ever know. 

Am I right?

I'm losing you, aren't I?

So I asked for a few suggestions and the major consensus for the October birthdays was "Whatever you want to bake". Did get a suggestion for Mudslide cupcakes, but I made those not so long ago and wanted to try something different. So I got out one of my many cake cookbooks and trolled the internet for ideas based on cookies and cream. I figured, I haven't done those before...so...why not!  

So this post is double duty.  People at work get cupcakes, I get a post...again a win-win.  I should buy some lottery tickets and see if all that win-win spills over to that.  

That would be Sweet! 

Word! (yes, I know I'm too old to use such vernacular, just let it be)

So back to cupcakes.  As I said I went looking around and this is basically a little bit from a cookbook and a little from the internet and a little from me.  The reason I dubbed them "extreme" is because there is SO much cookies n' cream going on all up in these babies...your head might literally explode from it...totally...I'm not kidding...they should have a warning label on them...extreme. :-)

So here we go...

Line your cupcake liners with an Oreo

Crush remaining cookies

 

Mix up your cake ingredients.

Stir in cookie crumbs

Mix up your pudding (this stuff is lethal)

Fill up your cupcakes with the pudding (go easy, not too much)

Mix your frosting

 

Stir in (yet more) cookie crumbs

Get ready to frost these babies!

And here you go!

Because they wouldn't be complete without decoration

BAM!  Extreme!

DIRECTIONS

For the cake

• 24 whole Oreo cookies 
• 1 cup finely crushed Oreo cookies (divided)
• 1 box of plain white cake mix
• 1 cup of sour cream
• 1/2 cup of vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup of water
• 3 eggs (I used large)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the filling

• 1 box of Jell-O Oreo instant pudding and pie filling mix
• 1 1/2 cup milk

For the icing

• 1 stick of butter, room temperature
• 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 3 3/4 to 4 cups of confectioners sugar
• 1/2 cup crushed Oreo cookies
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3-4 tablespoons of milk

For garnish (to add insult to injury)

•  24 mini Oreo cookies

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Line 24 cupcake pans with cupcake liners.
3. Place 1 Oreo into the bottom of each liner.
4. In a zip top bag place remaining cookies and crush up until you have about 1 1/2 cups.
5. In a large mixing bowl, mix cake mix, sour cream, oil, water, eggs and vanilla with a hand mixer until all ingredients are incorporated. 
6. Scrape sides of bowl and mix for another 1 to 1 1/2 minutes.
7. Fold in 1 cup of crushed cookie crumbs.
8. Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full (about 2 heaping tablespoons, give or take). The batter will be somewhat stiff, you may have to use a toothpick to spread it out around the cookie.
9. Bake for 18-20 minutes. (Until toothpick comes out clean)
10. With a handle of a wooden spoon, poke a hole in each cupcake when they come out of the oven until you feel you've hit the cookie on the bottom (don't break through the cookie) .
11. Cool completely.
12. While the cupcakes are cooling mix up your pudding mix and milk, let it set, fill your completely cooled cupcakes.  If you don't have a cake decorating bag, that's fine. Just use a zip top bag and cut a hole in corner to fill holes in cupcakes.

Make your frosting

1. With hand mixer, in a bowl, mix butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy.
2. Add vanilla extract, mix until incorporated.
3. Slowly add powdered sugar and 3 tablespoons of milk and mix until you have a light and fluffy frosting (a minute or so).
4. You may need to add the last tablespoon of milk to the above until you have reached the desired consistency. 
5. Scrape down sides of bowl and fold in 1/2 cup of crushed Oreo cookie crumbs. (Make sure they're finely crushed if you plan on piping frosting onto cupcakes with a small tip).
6. Frost cooled cupcakes as desired.
7. Garnish with 1 mini Oreo per cupcake.
8. Dig in!

Thanks for tuning in!