Cookies and Cupcakes

Today was a baking day for me.  It was windy and cold outside so it felt good to stay inside.  I listened to Christmas music, had several cups of coffee and put on my baking thinking cap.  My sister has requested Cookie-n-Cream cupcakes for her birthday later this month but I didn't have a recipe I loved for this flavor combination.  I decided to "sandwich" vanilla cake between two layers of chocolate cake.  The effect turned out exactly like I was hoping for and resembled everyone's favorite sandwich cookie, the Oreo.

I sprinkled the top of the cake batter with crushed Oreos before baking for a little extra crunch and flavor.  It added a nice look and the cupcakes looked good enough to eat coming right out of the oven even before frosting.  I could tell somethings was amiss though.

Unfortunately I got a bit distracted during the baking process.  I was cleaning up all my dishes and was singing along to all of my favorite Christmas carols.  This may not sound like a bad thing but because of this I let the cupcakes bake a little too long.  The result was a batch of good cupcakes but not great cupcakes.  Just a little too dry for my liking.  I knew I could salvage the batch with a great batch for frosting and that I did. 

The frosting turned out great!  It was sweet and creamy just like the filling of an Oreo cookie.  I then topped each one with a mini Oreo.  I think this recipe will be perfect for my sister's birthday.  I will make sure to be a little more attentive to my cupcakes next time.  It was hard today though, I get sucked in to those Christmas carols and suddenly I'm in a Winter Wonderland instead of my kitchen.

My night ended with a dinner out with dear friends.  Over glasses of wine and many laughs we enjoyed a scrumptious Italian meal at Carmella's.  For anyone going, I highly recommend the house made ricotta ravioli.  Delizioso!