Toffee Crunch Cupcakes

YUM. These are so good! Moist chocolate cake with a hint of coffee flavor, and studded with toffee pieces... Semisweet chocolate ganache topped with more toffee pieces, and finished with a dollop of caramel frosting. Pretty much a toffee lover's dream. Aka... my dad's! He loved these so much he couldn't stop thanking me for making them. Like I didn't want to, lol. I used toffee bits from the store and they worked great! The only thing I dislike about them is once you open the bag, you pretty much have to use the whole thing. Otherwise, they go bad very quickly. Luckily this recipe only left about a 1/4 cup left. 

I cut the recipe in half because 30 cupcakes is definitely unnecessary for my circumstances :) I also didn't use the caramel swiss meringue buttercream recipe in the original recipe. I instead made a regular caramel buttercream with about 5 tbsp. softened butter, beat until fluffy, then added about 2 cups powdered sugar, and 1/4 cup caramel sauce and a pinch of salt. I beat at about medium speed until fluffy and it was great! These are my estimates so you may have to add more or less of sugar, milk, etc. I'm sure the swiss meringue buttercream is wonderful but I just haven't aquired a taste for that kind yet. I'll definitely make these again :) Here is the recipe. Enjoy!

 Yum :D

Source: http://www.annies-eats.com/2011/11/04/toffee-crunch-cupcakes/

Cookies and Cream Cupcakes

Hi! This is my first blog post :) okay well these cupcakes...are just too good. They taste just like an oreo! The cream cheese frosting is not overpowering but just right. I love these and will definitely make them again. Only thing I changed was that I used the halves of the oreos without frosting in the batter, instead of chopping up 20 additional whole oreos for it. They were still amazing. 

Cookies and Cream Cupcakes

For the cupcakes:
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 (I quarter them)

For the frosting:
8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
6 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
4 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
2 tbsp. heavy cream

For garnish:
Oreo cookie crumbs
24 Oreo cookie halves

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. Yield: 24 cupcakes.

I love how you can see the design of the oreo!

Delicious.