Oreo surprise cupcakes

Almost everyone loves Oreos.  And almost everyone loves cupcakes.  So it's always fun to combine the two into one treat!  Like "Death by Oreo" (mini) Cupcakes....or Triple Oreo Yellow Cake Cupcakes.

This time, I went for what I call "Oreo Surprise" Cupcakes.  From the outside, it just looks like a simple vanilla cupcake with vanilla icing, topped with a sprinkling of some chopped Oreos (I really wanted to finely crush the Oreos and coat the entire dome of icing in Oreo crumbs a la the rainbow cupcakes, but I was too lazy and didn't want to make my food processor dirty, so I just crushed them with a hammer....I'm serious).  But when you bite inside, there's an Oreo in the bottom!  SURPRISE!

The background: I wanted to make a cupcake that was vanilla-vanilla without being boring (if you've read this blog before, you should know how I feel about vanilla).  But I didn't want to lose the vanilla flavor (the triple Oreo yellow cake cupcakes have crushed Oreos in the cupcakes as well as the icing).  So I stuck with the clever idea of using an Oreo in the bottom, but leaving the vanilla/yellow cake cupcake alone.  I have to say the finished product is great if you want to spice up a plain old vanilla cupcake with barely any added energy.  But if you're looking for the super-Oreo-y flavor, stick with the Triple Oreo Yellow Cake Cupcakes (or if you're like me a favor chocolate, the "Death by Oreo" ones).

Cupcakes 
From none other than Smitten Kitchen

I halved the recipe and ended up with 24+ cupcakes

Ingredients:

4 cups plus 2 tablespoons (480 grams) cake flour (not self-rising)
2 teaspoons (10 grams) baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon (5 grams) table salt
2 sticks (1 cup, 1/2 pound or 225 grams) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups (400 grams) sugar
2 teaspoons (10 ml) pure vanilla extract
4 large eggs, at room temperature
2 cups buttermilk (475 ml), well-shaken

24 Oreos (I used double stuffed, since that's what I had)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 12-cavity cupcake pans with paper liners.  
Place one Oreo in the bottom of each cupcake liner.

Sift together the dry ingredients EXCEPT for sugar in a medium bowl.
In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until pale and fluffy, then beat in vanilla.
Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well and scraping down the bowl after each addition.
At low speed, beat in buttermilk until just combined (mixture will look curdled).
Add flour mixture in three batches, mixing until each addition is just incorporated.

Bake until golden on top and cooked throughout (the cupcakes took about 17 minutes, give or take a few).

Cool in pan on a rack 10 minutes.

Classic Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
From SavorySweetLife

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), softened (but not melted!)

3-4 cups confectioners (powdered) sugar, SIFTED (I used 3 cups)

¼ teaspoon table salt

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

4 tablespoons milk or heavy cream (I used heavy cream, since thats what I had....and only ended up using 2 Tbsp)

Food coloring, optional

Several Oreos, crushed (or pulverized in a food processor, which was my original goal)

Directions:

Beat butter for a few minutes with a mixer with the paddle attachment on medium speed.
Add 3 cups of powdered sugar and turn mixer to the lowest speed (so the sugar doesn’t blow everywhere) until the sugar has been incorporated with the butter.
Increase mixer speed to medium and add vanilla extract, salt, and 2 tablespoons of cream and beat for 3 minutes. 

If your frosting needs a more stiff consistency, add remaining sugar. If your frosting needs to be thinned out, add remaining milk 1 tablespoons at a time.

Assemble the cupcakes

Pipe vanilla icing onto the cupcakes.
Sprinkle the top of the cupcake with crushed Oreos.