Oreo Cupcakes

When I made these (one day last week) it had been  yet another winter day in Kansas.  We had been having 70 degree weather and as usual for Kansas we had a snow storm the next day.  So what better to do than to bake.  I have made oreo cookies before and have been on a cupcake kick so thought I would made an oreo cupcake.  I adapted a recipe from good ole Betty Crocker, which is a basic vanilla cupcake and then after I had them in the oven thought I would search the net for an icing to put on them.  Didn't have much luck but did find a blog that made these cupcakes just like I did.  Here is her link, she has some great things.  Pop over and visit.  Guess great cooks and bakers get on the same wave length at times.  Yes, I think I'm a great baker and cook. :)  In the end I made a vanilla butter cream frosting with a tiny bit of Chocolate Liqueur. If I didn't tell you, you would never know it's there.
Makes 24 cupcakes or 48 mini's.
Bake 350 degrees for approximately 20-22 minutes (until tester comes out clean)
You'll need 24 oreo cookies or you can do 12 without the cookie on the bottom and 12 with just the crumble mixture.
Dough:
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup half and half mixed with 1/2 cup water( *can use reg. or 2% milk)1/2 tsp salt
1 2/3 cup sugar
7 TBL egg whites (I buy the egg whites in the container)
In a bowl beat butter until fluffy.
In a separate bowl combine, flour, salt and baking powder, set aside.
Add the vanilla and milk to the butter and beat for about 2 minutes.  Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture and beat for about 2 minutes.  Add the sugar and beat until well incorporated.  Before putting batter into cupcake liners twist the cookie apart and put the side with the cream on the bottom of the liner, cover with mixture to about 3/4 full.  As you can see I did 12 square cupcakes and 12 regular ones.  The round ones have the cookie in the bottom.
See...

 Here they are without the icing.

And them iced

And a peek without the liner.

These would be a great treat for the kids.  They just love finding a surprise in the snacks.  With the cookie part on the bottom it gives it a bit of a crunch too.  This is a fun cupcake.  Hope you'll give it a try.
Thanks for stopping by, have a wonder day and Remember to Find the Time to Do all the things YOU love.
Donna