Cookies and Cream Cupcakes

Awhile ago I spent some time making cupcakes with my dear friend Allysa who is almost exactly like me just a little more crazy. Love that girl :)
She found this recipe on Pinterest from Your Cup of Cake (she's brilliant), we of course had to choose from like 10 of her Pinterest pins and thought this recipe looked best!

I'm glad we did too because these were raved about at work!

Vanilla Cake:

24 Oreos

1 box white cake mix

2 egg whites

2 eggs

1/3 cup oil

3/4 cup buttermilk

3/4 cup plain greek yogurt

1 Tbl vanilla extract

3/4 cup chopped Oreos

Cookies & Cream Frosting:

1/2 cup butter, softened

8 oz cream cheese, softened

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

4-5 cups powdered sugar

1/2 cup finely crushed Oreos

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line cupcake tin with liners or spray with pam. 

Twist 24 Oreos and place the cream side up in each cupcake liner, reserving the other plain half for the frosting.

Sift the white cake mix in a small bowl, set aside. 

In a large bowl, whisk egg white, two eggs, oil, buttermilk, greek yogurt, and vanilla. Add the sifted cake mix and combine. Fold in the chopped Oreos.

Fill the cupcake liners 3/4 of the way full with batter and bake in oven for 15-20 minutes. Make sure a toothpick comes clean through the middle.

For the frosting, mix together the butter and cream cheese. Add the vanilla extract. Slowly add the powdered sugar, tasting as you go. Gently mix in your crushed Oreos. If you have a piping bag, fill it with your frosting and pipe on your cooled cupcakes. If you don't, use a plastic gallon freezer bag and snip the end like I had to do... Top with mini Oreos (optional but cute). Leftover crumbs? Sift on top of your icing after piped.

Oreo, Oreo Cookies

Caution: If you are currently dieting and don't want to be tempted do not read or look any further!! Because if you make these you will be sitting here wishing you worked out before starting the dough....

You know these cookies are WAY too good for your own good when you make a batch and can't stop licking the dough off a spoon that you shouldn't have picked up in the first place... If you like cookies and cream ice cream in cookie form I would recommend this cookie recipe. The pudding makes the cookie come out soft and creamy, makes them taste good days later too! :)

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, room temperature

3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 (4.2 ounce) package instant Oreo Pudding mix (see Note)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla 
2 1/4 cups flour  
1 teaspoon baking soda 
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups smashed, crumbled Oreo cookies


Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Smash about one row of Oreo cookies in a bag just until each cookies is broken up, with varying shapes and crumbs.
Mix butter, sugars, and pudding mix together until creamy. Add eggs one at a time, then vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Add one cup of the flour mixture at a time to the wet ingredients and mix until incorporated. Pour in all the smashed Oreos and mix on low for a couple seconds. Roll into 1 inch balls on a nonstick sheet and bake for 8 minutes. Wait 3 minutes before transferring over to wire rack.

Macadamia Nut Pesto

Pesto is delicious! Nick will eat the entire batch when we make Naan. This is perfectly paired as pizza sauce or in a wrap. Mmm. Mm. Mm.
Ingredients:
1 cup basil
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup grated parmesan
2 tablespoons chopped macadamia nuts
1-2 garlic cloves
Directions:
In a food processor or blender, add all ingredients and mix for about a minute. In the Vitamix, I turned it up to 7.