Oreo Sunflower Cupcakes Recipes

OREO SUNFLOWER CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350. Line 33 muffin cups with paper liners, then place one Oreo in the bottom of each. Set aside.
• In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
• Place remaining full size Oreos in a ziplock bag and smash them, or drop them in the food processor or blender to make large crumbs and small chunks. Set aside.
• In a large mixing bowl cream together butter and sugar until fluffy.
• Add the eggs to butter/sugar one at a time, beating after each addition, followed by adding the vanilla.
• Alternate adding the flour mixture with adding milk (2-3 additions for each) until the batter is all combined. Beat until smooth and fluffy. Add reserved crumbled Oreos.
• Scoop batter into prepared muffin cups. I use a cookie scoop to get this done evenly. Smooth them out a bit. It won't rise very much, and the batter won't settle smooth totally on its own.
• Bake at 350 for about 18 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
• Cool completely on a wire rack.
• Frosting:
• Beat 2 cups softened butter with the whisk attachment until smooth and fluffy.
• Slowly add powdered sugar a scoop at a time until it's all incorporated.
• Add milk and vanilla. Whip until light, fluffy and fully combined.
• To Decorate:
• Divide frosting into 3 portions, 2 larger than the third (think peace sign proportions). Tint one large portion grassy green with gel food coloring, one large portion medium yellow, and the smaller portion darker green. I used about 1/4 tsp color for each.
• Fit a 16 inch piping bag with a large coupler and tip 233. Fill with grassy green colored frosting. Pipe little dabs over entire tops of cupcakes to resemble grass, a quick squeeze/let go gives tapered bits.
• Place one mini Oreo in the center of each cupcake to be the sunflower's center. Press down into the "grass" to adhere.
• Fit a regular coupler and a leaf tip such as 368 on a 12 inch piping bag. Fill with darker green frosting. To pipe leaves, place the bag at about a 45 degree angle close to the mini Oreo center. The V cutout should face the Oreo vertically, like a bird's beak getting ready to take a nibble. Squeeze, pull away and release pressure to create a leaf. Add 3 or so to each cupcake around the Oreo.
• Fit a large coupler and leaf tip on a 16 inch piping bag. Fill with the yellow frosting. To pipe the sunflower's petals use the same motion as for leaves, only make them smaller. Circle each Oreo completely in petals, then add a smaller second row of petals on top of that one.