Sunday, December 25, 2011

Merry Christmas!

The Christmas tree at Disney's Castaway Cay, Christmas 2010

Merry Christmas, everyone!
And Happy Chanukah!

I'm heading to Pennsylvania shortly to spend the day with family - it'll be a bit emptier than usual this year but happy nonetheless :)
Wishing you all a truly blessed holiday with your loved ones!  I'll be back soon with new treats :)

Much love,
Angela

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Oreo White Chocolate Cupcakes





I'm back!  For good this time, I hope :)

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind of atypical schedules.  Right after Thanksgiving, we entered tech for the last show of the semester, for which I choreographed a piece.  On top of that, my poor fiancĂ© got food poisoning so he needed care.  After that, final practicals and exams began, so studying took top priority (yaaaaay...).  Only an hour after I picked up my last exam, a take-home test for my criticism class, I was in the car on the way to the airport.  After two hours of insanely fast typing, my semester was officially finished; another two hours later, I landed in Florida to reunite with Jon, meet his dad, and go to his best friend's wedding.  We spent a fantastic weekend at Universal Orlando together and had a great time hitting the parks and celebrating the marriage with everyone - it was honestly the best time I've had in months!  I wish we could've stayed there longer.
My parents came down and met us Sunday night, and the next morning I continued south with them to Vero Beach to visit my brother and his wife (and their new dog!) for the next week.

And that's where the cupcakes come in.

Thanks to crazy schedules and an insanely long distance between us, I missed my brother's birthday at the end of November, but I promised him a treat of choice while I visited.  I knew he loved white chocolate so I wanted to include that, and Oreos were a natural choice since he keeps them in the house all the time.  I had made the cupcake base before, but I decided to use a white chocolate frosting on them this time.

It was a good choice :)

The cupcakes are fluffy and full of vanilla flavor and huge chunks of Oreos - including an entire Oreo half on the bottom!  (I'd suggest finding someone totally ace at twisting apart Oreos to help with that part, or you can use a paring knife to separate the halves.) The white chocolate cream cheese frosting has fabulous flavor without an overpowering sweetness from the white chocolate - this is the stuff I could eat with a spoon.  Or a bunch of animal crackers.  Together, the combination is delectable!

If you're already all cookie'd out for Christmas or you're looking for something unique for the dessert spread, try these!  Maybe use the winter Oreos and some holiday sprinkles on top for a festive touch!  Regardless, I can tell you that they'll be enjoyed by everyone with tastebuds.

Oreo White Chocolate Cupcakes

Cookies and Cream Cupcakes
Source: slightly adapted from Annie's Eats
Yield: 12 cupcakes

Ingredients:
12 Oreo halves, with cream filling attached
1 heaping cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
4 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 + 1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk
10 Oreo cookies, coarsely chopped (quartered is a good place to start)

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350˚F.  Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners and place an Oreo half in the bottom of each cup, cream side up.
In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt with a fork.  Set aside.  In the bowl of a stand mixer, or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy.  Add the egg, mixing until it's fully incorporated, then mix in the vanilla extract.  Add half the flour mixture, beating until just incorporated.  Beat in the milk until just combined, then the rest of the dry mixture.  Fold in the chopped cookie pieces with a spatula.
Scoop the batter by quarter cup-fulls into the prepared muffin cups.  Bake for 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.  Allow to cool five minutes in the pan before removing to a cooling rack until ready to frost.

White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
Source: adapted from Baking Bites

Ingredients:
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup (half a stick) unsalted butter, softened
2 oz white chocolate, melted and slightly cooled
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 tsp heavy cream (more if needed)
2-3 cups confectioner's sugar
5 Oreo cookies, crushed (for topping)

Directions:
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, cream together the cream cheese, butter, and melted white chocolate.  Mix in the cream, then gradually add powdered sugar until you reach your desired consistency - make it stiffer if you plan to pipe it onto the cupcakes.  Frost the cupcakes as desired and top with cookie crumbs.  Enjoy!