Death By Oreos Cupcakes

Today I am sharing with you some very exciting news! I was recently awared two more awards! Jen over at Love Food Cook Food awarded me the Kreativ Blogger Award and the Sunshine Award.  Her blog is fantastic and you should all head on over there and check it out! Thanks Jen for noticing my blog!!!

For the Kreativ Blogger I am supposed to share 10 things about myself:

• I love running and I am training for a half marathon
• I am a SENIOR (as of last week) at UW-Madison
• I am a future math teacher
• I have a permanent bruise on my leg (weird right?)
• I have been in 10 community theater productions
• This summer I am the site director at a day camp
• I can't survive without coffee
• I eat an apple with some peanut butter every day and I make sure that I am always fully stocked on these supplies
• When I was in middle school, I only wore one contact
• I have two cute kitties named Ricky and Lucy :)

For the Sunshine Award, I am supposed to share some of my favorite things (I hear a song coming on...)

• Favorite Color: Purple!
• Favorite Animal: My cats are pretty awesome, but I'm also a big fan of penguins
• Favorite Number: 21
• Favorite Drink: Kiddie Cocktail 
• Facebook or Twitter?: Facebook
• Passion: Sharing my cooking creations and teaching
• Getting or Giving Presents?: Getting!-Not because I am selfish, but because giving stresses me out and I feel like I can never pick out the perfect present! Getting presents is much less stressful because I truly appreciate whatever I get.
• Favorite Pattern: Polka-Dots!
• Favorite Day of the Week: The weekends of course! I get to sleep a little!
• Favorite Flower: Not a huge flower fan, but it is super romantic to get them as a surprise on Valentine's Day:  

Of course, I was also planning on sharing a fantastic recipe with you all.  So, before I tell you about some other fantastic bloggers who deserve these awards...Death by Oreos Cupcakes inspired by Food Snots.  I got the recipe for the chocolate cupcakes from 52 Kitchen Adventures and then I went to town with the oreos!  Seriously, there are oreos on the bottom, smashed in the middle, and of course, in the oreo cream cheese frosting! Yum!

Death By Oreos Cupcakes

Ingredients:
1 package of regular oreos
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
8 oz light cream cheese
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup powdered sugar

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare 16 cupcake wells.  Place a cupcake wrapper in each well and 1 whole oreo on the bottom. Take half of the remaining oreos and roughly chop them.  Place the roughly copped oreos in a small bowl off to the side.  With the other half of the oreos, place them in a food processor and chop until finely ground.  Place in a small bowl off to the side.
2. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Beat in eggs one at a time until well combined.
3. In a small bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder.
4. In a separate small bowl, whisk milk and vanilla.
5. Alternate adding the dry ingredients and the milk to the butter mixture, starting with the dry ingredients and ending with the dry ingredients.  Mix until well combined. Stir in the roughly chopped oreos.
6. Scoop batter into the cupcake wells so that they are half full.  Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let cool.
7. Make the frosting: Beat the cream cheese until light and fluffy.  Slowly, beat in the powdered sugar until well combined.  Mix in the vanilla.  Finally, mix in the finely ground oreos.  Frost the cooled cupcakes and...
Enjoy :)

And now...drum roll please...I give you some fabulous bloggers who are super KREATIV and full of SUNSHINE :)

• From Calculus to Cupcakes-another great blog about food and math! 
• The Healthy Bites-delish food ideas that are good for you!
• Fragrant Vanilla Cake-amazing photos of delicious treats that are reinvented
• A Dash of Megnut-another college girl cooking her way through life :)
• Melanie's Mixtures-Melanie is a co-worker who does a beautiful job with her blog
• The Inventive Vegetarian-great blog for awesome vegetarian ideas
• Juanita's Cocina-the food over here is always amazing! I want to eat everything that I see!
• The Messy Baker-amazing photography!
• The Realistic Nutritionist-awesome ideas for healthy food, plus super fun stories!
• The Healthy Everythingtarian-another Madisonian/runner/healthy eater! Inspiring!

Please stop by these blogs and enjoy them as much as I do!