Cookies & Cream Brownies

I'm pretty sure that my coworkers have a love/hate relationship with me. Once every week or two, I bring in some sort of baked goodie to the lab "just because." I'll bake for coworkers' birthdays and special occasions too (as I've mentioned on the blog multiple times!), but sometimes, just because, I'll make something to bring to work. It really all comes down to the fact that I just love baking and even if I don't have a particular occasion to bake for, you'll still find me in my kitchen baking a delectable batch of cookies, bars, or cupcakes. And then I bring them to work. And that's where the love/hate relationship happens.

When my coworkers see me coming toward them with a big tupperware full of treats in the hours after lunchtime, they love me. They've just finished lunch and are craving something sweet. Don't you worry; it's the Barbershop to the rescue for your afternoon sweets craving! But then, as they're taking that cookie or brownie from the tupperware, they're mumbling "Oh Colleen, why do you do this to us? I'll have to work out longer at the gym tonight." And that's where the "hate" part of the relationship comes into play.

Sorry, guys. I just love to bake and you can't stop me. :)

The two products pictured here went into these cookies and cream brownies - Heads or Tails Oreos and Hershey's Cookies n' Creme Eggs (which are only around at Easter time!).

You may remember these Oreos back when I made Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Cupcakes. I had yet to finish the package of Oreos (I know; what's wrong with me?!), so I decided to chop them up and put them into brownies. Obviously.

And I also just happened to have on hand these delightful little cookies and cream flavored egg-shaped candies. So, again quite obviously, I chopped those up to put in the brownies too. And that's how this new creation of cookies and cream brownies was born!

And then I brought these babies to work.

Uh oh.

Ingredients:

-1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

-1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

-3 large eggs

-1 and 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

-1 cup granulated sugar

-1 tsp. vanilla extract

-1/4 tsp. baking soda

-10 Oreos, chopped (can be any flavor you'd like)

-24 Hershey's cookies n' creme eggs, divided into two groups (16 eggs and 8 eggs) and chopped

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 13 x 9 baking pan. Chop the Oreos into 1/4 to 1/2-inch sized pieces (I usually got about 6 to 8 small pieces out of each Oreo). This should yield approximately 1 cup of chopped Oreo pieces (and make sure to use every last crumb of the Oreos!). Next, chop the first group of 16 Hershey's eggs into pieces. This will be a little trickier, and there's no strict measurement for how big these pieces will or should be. Just chop them however you'd like them! Set those 16 chopped eggs aside (this should equal about 3/4 to 1 cup). Finally, chop the remaining 8 eggs and set aside to sprinkle on top of the brownie batter just before baking.

Melt the 1 cup of chocolate chips and stick of butter over low-medium heat on the stove in a heavy duty saucepan (I use a 2-quart pan with this recipe). Stir the chocolate and butter until smooth. Remove from heat and stir in the eggs. Add the flour and mix well, followed by the sugar. Again, stir well and then add the vanilla and baking soda, mixing well. Next, stir in the chopped Oreos and the group of 16 chopped Hershey's eggs. Spread batter evenly into the prepared pan, and sprinkle with the remaining 8 chopped eggs.

 Bake for 18 - 22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool completely and cut into bars. Makes approximately 24 - 30 bars, depending on the size of the bars that you cut.

Ooey gooey cookies and cream chocolatey brownie deliciousness. :)

The Oreos definitely added a slight crunchy texture to the brownie. And the Hershey's eggs plus the cream filling of the Oreos added that creamyness to truly make these cookies and cream brownies.

Now, tell me your opinion. Is it cream or creme?! I have no idea and feel like I've seen it both ways, so I just went with cream.

Either way, cream or creme, these brownies taste the same (you know, amazingly delicious) and that's all that matters.

:)

Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Cupcakes with Kahlua Cream Cheese Frosting

Yes, you heard me right. Or, rather, you read my words correctly. ;-) These are OREO STUFFED chocolate cupcakes. I was inspired to try this by recently reading some recipes about making oreo stuffed chocolate chip cookies. I actually bought oreos several weeks ago with the intent to make those cookies. But then came the occasion of a coworker's birthday (which also happened to fall on Halloween!), and I thought to myself, you should really use those oreos you bought a while ago. I wanted to make cupcakes for the birthday occasion though since they're much more birthday-like than cookies. And then there it was - the idea for oreo stuffed cupcakes! As soon as I had the idea, I knew it would be a winner.

When making cupcakes on Halloween, one must use Halloween-themed liners!

The oreos I used weren't classic oreos; rather, they were these newfangled "heads or tails" oreos that have one chocolate wafer and one vanilla one. Even better - the best of both worlds!

I'll share the actual cupcake ingredients later on in the post, but first, the method of stuffing the cupcakes... It's quite simple really.

Put a spoonful of cupcake batter in the bottom of the liner. And by spoonful, I mean about a tablespoon or so?

Next, the oreo goes in!

Finally, place more cupcake batter on top of the oreo and fill until the cup is about 2/3 to 3/4 of the way filled. That's it folks!

You can easily use whatever cupcake recipe you love too (doesn't have to be the one I share below!). If you have a favorite homemade chocolate cupcake recipe you love, use it. Or, try the oreo stuffed cupcakes with vanilla or peanut butter cupcakes. Whatever you want!!

I used a new recipe from this fun book. The original recipe was just for the chocolate cupcakes. The addition of the oreos was a Barbershop twist on the original. Oh, and actually, I added the salt and vanilla to the ingredients list myself too. They weren't in the original recipe.

Ingredients:

-1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa

-1 cup hot water

-1 and 2/3 cups flour

-1 and 1/2 cups sugar

-1/2 tsp. baking soda

-1/2 tsp. salt

-1/2 cup butter, softened

-2 eggs

-1 tsp. vanilla

-20 to 24 oreos (any kind will do!)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place paper cupcake liners in muffin pan. Mix the cocoa with the hot water in a bowl until the mixture is smooth. Set aside and let the mixture cool for about 10 minutes. When it's cool, place it in a mixing bowl and add the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, butter, eggs, and vanilla. Beat on low speed for two minutes. Increase speed and beat for two additional minutes. Using the method I described above, make your oreo stuffed cupcakes and fill the cups about 2/3 to 3/4 of the way full.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from pan and let cool completely on wire rack before frosting.

I was pretty pleased with the flavor of these cupcakes. And they were very moist! That's key for me when it comes to cupcakes.

For the frosting on these little gems, I used a recipe I previously posted about and looooved. It's this kahlua cream cheese frosting. Use any frosting you'd like though! Classic vanilla or chocolate frosting would be great with these cupcakes.

Now, because I was making these cupcakes for a Halloween birthday, I decided to decorate them in a way that fit Halloween. I made them into mummies!  The method to make mummies is very simple. And you don't have to be very precise either which is always nice. :) I used my Wilton cake decorating tip #47. Basically, to create the mummy look, just pipe lines with your pastry bag any which way you want on top of the cupcake and you've got yourself a mummy! Then place a couple candies of your choice on top for the eyes. Anyone can do it! No need for them to look perfect.

I made about a dozen mini cupcakes too! These did not have oreos in them though. :(

Here's my family of mummies, just chillin'. Little did they know the fate that was around the corner for them... Poor mummies didn't know they'd be completely devoured the next day.

The first night I made these, I taste tested one just to be sure they were worthy of being fed to my coworkers and the birthday guest of honor the next day at work. Rest assured; they were.

Below are a few more looks at the deliciousness that is the newly discovered favorite type of cupcake among my coworkers...

Cupcakes will never be the same!!

Crushed Oreo Chocolate Chip Cookies

Oreos. Everyone loves 'em. Well, everyone I know loves 'em. ;-) I found some "old" oreos in my cupboard (they weren't stale, but they'd been there for several months), so since I clearly wasn't gobbling them up as is, I figured they should go into a cookie. Never let anything go to waste! 

I had seen a recipe a little while ago on the blog "Lovin' From the Oven" for chocolate chip oreo cookies, and I knew that the oreos I had were destined to go into such a delicious cookie.

Man oh man, were these cookies good! They were a big hit with everyone with whom I shared them. They were super soft and chewy in the middle and slightly crispy around the edges. Mmmm, mmmm good. With a tall glass of cold milk? Even better. Here's the recipe for you!

Ingredients:

-1 stick butter, softened

-6 Tbsp. sugar

-6 Tbsp. brown sugar

-1 egg

-1 tsp. vanilla extract

-1 and 1/4 cups flour

-1/2 tsp. baking soda

-1/2 tsp. salt

-11 Oreo cookies, broken/crushed (I used 9 or 10, which equaled about 1 and 1/3 cups)

-1 cup chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet and more like 3/4 cup)

Instructions:

Crush your oreos. :) I put mine, about 4 or 5 at a time, in a small ziploc baggie and "beat them" with the back of a wooden spoon. Grease cookie sheets and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream the butter and sugars until well combined. Add the egg and vanilla until incorporated.

Place the flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl, and whisk until combined. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, and mix well until combined. Stir in the oreos and chocolate chips until just mixed in.

Scoop onto cookie sheet in desired size, and bake for 9 - 11 minutes until cooked but still soft. Let sit on sheet for a couple minutes before removing to cooling rack.

ENJOY!

Isn't this serving tray cute? My mom gave it to me. Thanks, Mom! It's right up my alley, obviously. ;-)

I hope to be back again soon with another yummy Barbershop recipe!