Oreo Cupcakes.

 So it may seem like all I blog about lately is food. Well, it's true. I have delved into the domesticated world..since I am a stay at home mom now, I have nothing else (besides obviously taking care of Banana), then to get super kick ass at baking and cooking. I do actually cook a ton too...but I am always too rushed and forget to take photos and blog. Since I only cook vegetarian in the house, I have come up with some PRETTY delicious stuff recently because you gotta get a little zaney when there is no meat involved or it can get really boring.
 I have made oreo cheesecake cupcakes before, but never oreo cupcakes. Let me TELL you, DELICIOUS. They one thing I would change, would be to use a thicker liner for the the cupcakes because the thin paper ones became stuck to the cupcake and was hard to get off....and that's just annoying.
 Imagine oreo on the bottom, mixed in with the cake and then on top too. Heaven.

a tip for when it says to use "room temperature" eggs. I seriously suck at thinking things before hand and ALWAYS forget to let butter and eggs get to room temperature. PLUS, my house is like -100 degrees so nothing really gets there anyway... if you fill a bowl with lukewarm water and let the eggs sit in for a few minutes, that will get them where they need to be ;)

cupcakes:

24 Oreo halves, with cream filling attached
2¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
8 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 2/3 cup sugar
3 large egg whites, at room temperature
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup milk
20 Oreo cookies, coarsely chopped 

frosting:
8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
6 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
4 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
2 tbsp. heavy cream

garnish:
Oreo cookie crumbs
24 Oreo cookie halves

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350˚ F.  Line the wells of two cupcake pans with 24 paper liners.  Place an Oreo halve in the bottom of each liner, cream side up.  In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt; stir together with a fork to blend and set aside.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter and sugar and beat together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.  Blend in the egg whites one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Blend in the vanilla extract.  With the mixer on low speed, beat in half of the dry ingredients just until incorporated.  Add the milk and beat just until combined, then mix in the remaining dry ingredients.  Gently fold in the chopped Oreos with a rubber spatula until evenly incorporated, being careful not to over-mix.

Evenly divide the batter between the prepared cupcake liners.  Bake for 18-20 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Allow to cool in the pans 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the frosting, combine the cream cheese and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat on medium-high speed until smooth, about 1 minute.  Blend in the vanilla extract.  Beat in the confectioners’ sugar until incorporated and smooth, 1-2 minutes.  Add the heavy cream to the bowl and beat on medium-low speed just until incorporated, then increase the speed to medium-high and whip for 4 minutes until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Frost the cooled cupcakes as desired.  Sprinkle with Oreo crumbs and garnish with Oreo halves.