This weekend was filled to the top with Oreos.  I made these Oreo cheesecake cupcakes for the BF’s co-workers, and then I made these cupcakes for the BF.   Well, in his honor, at least.

You see, he sent me the original inspiration for this recipe.  Oreos, in my opinion, are pretty much the most perfect cookie in existence.  The quintessential cookie.  Crisp cookie, creamy filling, and once dunked in milk it will lead your tastebuds to immediate bliss.

Immediate.

The only way to make Oreos better?  Mix them with more chocolate, more cream, and even more Oreos, for maximum Oreo consumpion.  These cupcakes have an Oreo cookie base, then chopped Oreo cookies mixed into the cake batter, Oreo crumb frosting, and the tiniest cutest little Oreo right on top.

That’s right, we have four layers of Oreo here, people.  Four!

The only problem I had was the frosting.  This is probably the only frosting I have ever made that I would recommend chilling just a bit before using (although my kitchen tends to be a bit warmer than the average kitchen anyway).  I had much better success using a spatula to spread the frosting than I did attempting to pipe it.  This may be partly because I hand-crushed the Oreos for the frosting instead of using a food processor, so they weren’t uniformly-sized and therefor didn’t come out of my piping bag evenly.  So, using a food processor to make your crumbs may help, but the easiest fix for me was just to spread the frosting with a spatula instead.

Oreo Overload Cupcakes

Makes: 24 cupcakes

Printable Recipe

For the Cake:

24 Oreo cookies, whole (I used birthday cake Oreos)

12 Oreo cookies, coarsely chopped (I used regular)

1 recipe your favorite chocolate cake – I used this one (halved), but this one would work too, or even a box mix will do

For the Frosting: 

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened to room temp

1 (4-ounce) stick unsalted butter, softened to room temp

3 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

12 Oreo cookies, finely crushed*

24 mini Oreos

Make your cake

1.  Preheat oven and line 24 cupcake wells with liners.  Place 1 whole Oreo in the bottom of each cupcake liner.

2.  Make your cake according to directions, stirring chopped Oreos in at the end.  Fill each well 2/3 full with batter and bake until done.  My cake recipe took 24 minutes to bake as cupcakes.  Once baked, remove from cupcake tins and cool completely on a wire rack.

Make your frosting

1.  Whip butter and cream cheese together with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.  Scrape down sides and add vanilla extract, beating again to incorporate.

2.  Add powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time, beating carefully after each addition to avoid exploding powdered sugar all over your kitchen.  After the last bit is mixed in, scrape down the sides and beat on medium-high until light and fluffy.

3.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add in the Oreo crumbs, beat again until well mixed.  Allow to chill just slightly so it is easier to handle and spread on cupcakes, topping with a tiny Oreo cookie, if desired.

* Using a food processor for your frosting crumbs will help to ensure you end up with a smoother, more uniform frosting.  I ended up spreading my frosting with an offset spatula, glopping some on top of each cupcake and then letting it set for a bit and then came back to actually spread the frosting a later.  Of course I didn’t find this out until the last couple of cupcakes (that had been sitting with glopped frosting on top)…