Cookies and Cream Spurs Cupcakes

Every year my husband Jimmy and I look forward to watching the Spurs playoff games, only the past few years have not been too easy on us Spurs fans. I'll admit I don't remember a whole lot about my college days, but I clearly remember the excitement of the Spurs playoff game series when they won the championship back in 2005. Their last championship title was in 2007, which feels like a very long time ago, so I am convinced that this is their year to reclaim that title. Jimmy and my Dad are going to experience a playoff game for the first time together this Sunday, so I decided to celebrate with these lovely little black and white delights! Oreo desserts have been all over Pinterest lately, so I finally had an excuse to try my hand at them. They were fun and pretty easy to make. I struggled a bit with the frosting as it was a little too sweet for me. I forgot to taste it as I added in the sugar, so don't make the same mistake as me when you whip up your batch! They were still very tasty, and I will definitely make them again. If you are a fan of Oreos, which hardly seems like a question, you should give this recipe a try!

Oreo halves go cream up in the liners like this.

After baking, your cupcakes should look something like this.

Cheers to my hubby and Dad for getting to go to this game!

My first bite of sweet bliss!

Made these cute flags with coffee straws that I trimmed down a little. Just printed out some logos, cut them out in different flag shapes and glued them on the straws with a glue stick.

Go Spurs Go!! Future 2012 Playoff Champs! :)

Cookies and Cream Cupcakes

Yield: 24 cupcakes

Ingredients

Batter:

• 24 Oreo halves, with cream filling attached
• 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• ½ tsp. salt
• 8 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 2/3 cup sugar
• 3 large egg whites, at room temperature
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 cup milk
• 20 Oreo cookies, coarsely chopped or quartered

Frosting:

• 8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
• 6 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 tbsp. vanilla extract
• 3½  cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
• 2 tbsp. heavy cream
• Oreo cookie halves and crumbs for topping

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Line the wells of two cupcake pans with 24 paper liners. Place an Oreo halve in the bottom of each liner, cream side up. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt; stir together with a fork to blend and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter and sugar and beat together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Blend in the egg whites one at a time, beating well after each addition. Blend in the vanilla extract. With the mixer on low speed, beat in half of the dry ingredients just until incorporated. Add the milk and beat just until combined, then mix in the remaining dry ingredients. Gently fold in the chopped Oreos with a rubber spatula until evenly incorporated, being careful not to over-mix.
  
• Evenly divide the batter between the prepared cupcake liners. Bake for 18-20 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pans 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
  
• To make the frosting, combine the cream cheese and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat on medium-high speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Blend in the vanilla extract. Beat in the confectioners’ sugar until incorporated and smooth, 1-2 minutes. Add the heavy cream to the bowl and beat on medium-low speed just until incorporated, then increase the speed to medium-high and whip for 4 minutes until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
  
• Frost the cooled cupcakes as desired. Sprinkle with Oreo crumbs and garnish with Oreo halves.
  
  Recipe adapted from Annies-eats