Cookies 'n Cream Cupcakes with Oreo Cream Cheese Frosting

We hardly buy ice-cream for ourselves, and it's usually the kids who ask for it, so we would often end up with Paddle Pops or Frozen Yoghurt ice-cream in the freezer. Last weekend, we happened to chance upon Connoisseur ice-cream which were selling at half price at the supermarket. I wasn't that excited by the flavours but decided to try out Cookies and Cream anyway. I must say it was sublime! It was hard to stop myself from eating more of it, and everytime I opened the freezer, it's just there staring at me. I can't bring myself to finish the whole tub, so now it's sitting in the freezer with barely a scoop left in it. I'm saving it for the kids. Really. Just don't let me do the scooping.

My recent obsession with cookies and cream led me on a quest to make these cupcakes. I found a number of recipes on the web, mostly posted by oreo addicts, not that I am one, until now. I settled on a recipe by Paula Deen, that I found on Dine and Dish. I only made 2/3 of the batch, and I used a different recipe for the frosting (see below). I would have used 2 cups of icing sugar, but I didn't have enough, so I substituted with some white chocolate instead.

Here is the recipe:

Cookies and Cream Cupcakes (from Paula Deen Best Dessert Special Collector’s Issue)

• 1 1/2 cups butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 Tbs baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• 14 coarsely crushed cream-filled chocolate wafer cookies (Oreos)
• Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe follows)
• Garnish: miniature cream filled chocolate wafer cookies

1. Preheat oven to  180°C / 350 °F . Line 28 muffin cups with foil liners.
2. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar at medium speed with a mixer until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla.
3. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add to butter mixture, alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture, beating just until combined after each addition. Stir in crushed cookies. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups. Bake for 16 to 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool in pans for 10 minutes. Remove from pans, and cool completely on wire racks. Spread or pipe Cream Cheese Frosting evenly over cupcakes. Garnish with cookies, if desired.

Cream Cheese Frosting
(I did not use this frosting, but made the one below instead. Alternatively, you can add crushed oreos to this recipe):

• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 12 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
• 9 cups confectioners’ sugar (I only used 6 cups and the frosting was great)

In a large bowl, beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed with a mixer until creamy. Beat in cream until combined. Gradually add confectioners’ sugar, beating until smooth.

I made an alternative frosting using the following recipe, enough for the 2/3 batch of cupcakes I made:

Oreo Cream Cheese Frosting

250g (8 oz) cream cheese, softened

1 1/2 cups icing sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

60g (1/4 cup) butter, softened

50g white chocolate, melted (optional)

Pinch of salt

10 oreos, crushed

Method:

To prepare the frosting, beat butter and cream cheese till creamy. Gradually add icing sugar and beat till combined. Beat in the vanilla extract, chocolate and a tiny pinch of salt. Gently fold in the cookie crumbs with a spatula. Put in a piping bag and pipe onto the cooled cupcakes.