Cookies N' Cream Cupcakes

It's 8am right now, and I've been up since about 0530 :/ As a Marine, my husband has to get up before the sun to be off to work. Some days I can fall back asleep for a few hours, but most days I end up staying up and waiting until normal people are awake so I can start my day. If I could, I'd be cleaning, vacuuming and sewing at 6am to pass the time but I don't think my neighbors would particularly like that! So I'm sitting here in bed, fine tuning the look of my blog and realizing that I have a lot of recipes that I need to post on here! I've made several batches of cupcakes for my husband's shop and many yummy new dishes for my husband since he came home from his most recent deployment.This is one of them! He loves cookies and cream anything, so I told him about this Oreo cupcake recipe I'd found through Pinterest and he asked me to make it. Can't say no to him.
It's a lot simpler than it looks, I don't like to make complicated things, it's not too sweet and the Oreos add a crunch when a cupcake is normally soft. The bottom is an Oreo, topped with white cake mix, frosted with a cookies and cream icing...YUM!!! Let's dive right in and see this bad boy...

What you'll need:

~1 box of white cake mix (will make about 24 cupcakes)

~2 packages of Oreos 

~2 cans of frosting (you can make your own, I didn't want to so I picked a whipped cream frosting from the store)

~Chocolate chips (optional, I used them for garnish)

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350, or temperature stated on cake box.

2. Mix cake batter according to box directions (you'll need egg whites, vegetable oil, and water).

3. Line cupcakes tins with foil liners (they bake better than paper ones and the design, if there is any, isn't ruined) and place an Oreo on the bottom of each liner.

4. Fill tins about 3/4s full with cake batter, filling in the gaps between the Oreo and the liner so the cookie will attach to the cupcake during baking (don't overflow the tin)

5. Bake until done, about 15-20 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

6. DO NOT OVERBAKE! You don't want the cookie becoming too crunchy, it should be a little softer than a normal Oreo. Cool cupcakes for about 45 minutes before frosting.

For frosting: 

1. Make your frosting or put canned frosting in large bowl. 

2. Get out your blender/food processor and put some Oreos in it (I use about 12) and blend until there are no large chunks left. You don't want them getting stuck when you pipe the frosting onto the cakes. 

3. Pour Oreos into frosting and mix well, then pipe onto cooled cupcakes with your favorite tip. 

4. Garnish with chocolate chips and edible pearls (I used both, they looked so pretty!)

Original recipe (I did not use the filling): http://www.confessionsofacookbookqueen.com/2011/04/cookies-and-cream-cupcakes/