Sister's Arrival & Death-by-Oreo Cupcakes

Here's another delicious cupcake recipe that starts with a cake mix.  One of my favorite tips for enhancing a boxed cake mix is to replace the water called for on the box with buttermilk.  The result is a much richer, more dense, homemade-tasting cake.  I made these "Death-by-Oreo" cupcakes with my little sister during winter break.  There's an Oreo at the bottom of the cupcake liner, Oreo crumbs mixed into both the batter and the cream cheese frosting, and another Oreo on top for decoration.  You can't go wrong.  Little sis will be arriving in LA in SIX HOURS :) I cannot wait to see her and to bake with her once she's here. 

"Death-by-Oreo" Cupcakes

(Adapted from the recipe at http://www.justapinch.com/)

 Ingredients:

1 package Oreos, regular size 1 package  mini Oreos, for decoration 1 box Devil’s Food cake mix (prepare according to directions on box, substituting buttermilk for the amount of water called for) 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature 1 stick butter, room temperature 3-3/4 cups powdered sugar, sifted 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix boxed cake mix according to directions, substituting buttermilk for the water, but don't bake yet! 2. Line cupcake tins with paper liners. Place a regular size Oreo cookie in the bottom of each liner. 3. Take half of the remaining regular-sized Oreos and place them in a large Ziploc bag.  Here comes the fun part! Take either a frying pan, rolling pin, or your bare fists, and crush those Oreos until you've gotten out all of your aggression (take as long as you need...might be a while for us law students). Add half of the crushed Oreos to the prepared cupcake batter.  Fill the cupcake tins 2/3 full with the batter. Bake for about 15 minutes (or according to box directions). While cupcakes are baking make the frosting. 4. Cream together butter and cream cheese. Add vanilla, then add powdered sugar slowly until blended well. (*Shortcut: canned cream cheese frosting will work just fine. I tend to avoid using it because it has trans-fat and just isn't as good as the real deal.) 5. Stir the remaining crushed Oreos into the frosting. 6. After cupcakes are cool, frost them and decorate with a few mini Oreos on top. And there you have it! Death-by-Oreo Cupcakes!

Welcome! & Lemon Bar Cupcakes...

Welcome to my blog :) I'm hoping to use this as a means to share my cooking & baking experiences with more people. I hope you all enjoy my recipes, photos, culinary stories, and rants/raves about law school.

Since returning home from Seattle six weeks ago, the weather in Los Angeles has been spectacular.  You can't go wrong with 80 degrees in January.  The sun decided to take a break, however, and this weekend has been a bit gray, rainy & relatively cold.  It's a nice reminder of home--the smell of the pavement when it first starts to rain, cuddling up on the couch to drink a warm cup of tea, the utter lack of motivation to go outside because you don't want to deal with umbrellas/raincoats/bad drivers/frizzy hair. For me, this weather is a bit refreshing & nostalgic. But, I do miss the sun.

So, here's a recipe to brighten the dull, cloudy Los Angeles sky: Lemon Bar Cupcakes. I made these for my law school friend's (Rob) birthday in October, along with Red Velvet and Chocolate-Raspberry Cupcakes (I'll save those recipes for a later post).  They were a huge hit. And, surprise!, they start with a cake mix and a jar of prepared lemon curd.  I'm all for taking shortcuts when it comes to cooking and baking, especially when the results are as good as homemade.  Enjoy!

Lemon Bar Cupcakes

Shortbread base:

3/4 cup unsalted butter

2 cups flour

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

Cupcakes:

1 box lemon cake mix

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 cup water

1/3 cup buttermilk

3 eggs

1 jar lemon curd (I bought mine at Trader Joe's)

Lemon cream cheese frosting:

4 ounces butter, softened

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

3-1/2  cups powdered sugar, sifted

1 teaspoon lemon rind, grated

2 tablespoons lemon juice

Instructions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Shortbread: Cut butter into 1/2-inch pieces. In food processor, process all shortbread ingredients until mixture forms small lumps. (If you don't own a food processor, you can also use your hands to mix everything together). Place a heaping spoon-full of shortbread into cupcake paper liners, then pat down firmly with your fingers.

Cupcakes: Mix cake according to box instructions, using the ingredients listed above (but not the lemon curd!). Spoon into cupcake liners, filling almost to the top. Place 1 tablespoon lemon curd on top of each. Bake according to the box instructions.

Frosting: Beat all frosting ingredients until smooth. (I added some yellow food coloring, too).

Frost cooled cupcakes with frosting & finish them with a dusting of powdered sugar, if desired.