Dirt Cupcakes

 When my niece, Kristin, was planning her daughter Shyla's first birthday party, she sent me a text and asked if I would make Dirt or cupcakes for the party. (If you're not familiar with Dirt, it's basically a tray of chocolate pudding with crushed oreos and gummy worms on top, made to look like, well, Dirt!) Anyway, she explained that the theme for the party would be 10 Little Ladybugs (since that's Shyla's favorite book), and there would be butterflies and grass and trees and stuff like that. She said the pudding would look more like the theme, but she likes cupcakes better. So I figured, why not do both in one?? And here we are!
 First, I baked the chocolate cupcakes. Then when they were completely cooled, I cut out the centers, filled each one and also swirled the top with chocolate pudding whipped cream, then dipped it in crushed Oreo crumbs. All it needed was a little gummy worm on top, and boom, it's a Dirt Cupcake!! Aren't they adorable? They were just perfect for our beautiful little lady bug on her first birthday, and they were a big hit at the party!
 For the cupcakes, I used Hershey's Double Chocolate Cupcake recipe, and for the pudding, I used the same recipe as I do when I'm making a trifle, only with chocolate instant pudding instead of vanilla. They were such a big hit, I have a feeling I'll be getting many more requests for them in the future!
Happy Birthday, Shyla!
 

Hershey's Double Chocolate Cupcakes

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup water
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 sections (1/2 oz. each) HERSHEY'S Unsweetened Chocolate Baking Bar , melted

  Heat oven to 350°F. Line 12 muffin cups (2-1/2 inches in diameter) with paper bake cups.
Stir together flour, sugar, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add water, oil, vinegar and vanilla; beat with whisk or spoon until batter is smooth. Blend in melted chocolate. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake 16 to 18 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center of cupcakes comes out clean. Remove from pan to wire rack. Cool completely.

Chocolate Pudding Whipped Cream

1 3.5 box instant pudding
1 cup cold milk
1 cup cold heavy cream.

Using a mixer (preferably with a whisk attachment), mix the dry pudding with the milk until the powder is dissolved and the mixture becomes very thick. Add the cream and whip until completely combined and fluffy. That's all there is to it!

To make the Dirt Cupcakes:

First, have all of your components ready: the cooled cupcakes, the pudding whipped cream, the Oreo crumbs, and the gummy worms. For the crumbs, I just threw a bunch of Oreos into the food processor and blitzed it until they were completely crushed down to fine crumbs. Then I placed them in a large bowl. The gummy worms were a bit too long for a cupcake, so I cut each one of them in half.
 Using an apple corer, cut a vertical hole in each cupcake, straight through the center all the way down to the bottom of the cupcake, making sure not to cut through the paper at the bottom.
 Fill a ziploc plastic bag with pudding and snip off one of the corners with scissors, then squeeze enough pudding into each cupcake to fill the hole. Finish with a swirl of pudding on top. To cover each one with crumbs, gently but quickly dip the top of each cupcake in the crumbs, being careful not to lose any of the pudding into the bowl of crumbs. It's best if you do it in one quick motion. Place a half of a gummy worm on the top of each.

 Bonus dessert idea! Make individual chocolate trifles!
 Place a little bit of your leftover pudding in the bottom of a few pretty wine glasses. Crumble some of the cut out cupcake centers on top of each. Repeat with a second layer of cream and then more crumbs, then top each glass with a swirl of whipped cream and a bit of shaved chocolate.

Tips:
-Yes, it's correct that there are no eggs in this recipe. Just sayin'!
-This recipe makes 12 cupcakes, but it was no problem to double it.
-Even if you're not planning to do the pudding, Oreos, and gummy worms, this is still a great go-to cupcake recipe. Simply frost them with your favorite frosting and you're good to go!
-Instead of adding a cup of water as the recipe says, I added a cup of strong coffee. It doesn't make it taste like coffee, it just gives it a richer, deeper chocolate flavor.
-If you have another chocolate cupcake recipe that you'd prefer, go for it! The dirt idea will work with pretty much any cupcake recipe.
-Oh and one other thing, if you decide to use a regular cake recipe instead of a cupcake recipe, be sure to adjust your baking time for cupcakes instead of setting your timer as for a cake. Otherwise you'll end up with 4 dozen charcoal briquettes and you'll have to throw them out and start all over. Not that I would know this from experience or anything...

Golden Oreo Cheesecake Bars

Here's a recipe that I found online. Actually, I think someone else found and pinned it or tweeted it or posted it on FB, I can't remember. I immediately wanted to try it because they had me at Oreo. Frankly, any recipe involving Oreos is fine by me. They're my very most favorite store bought cookie, and, well, lets just say it, I'm kind of a little bit addicted to them. Don't judge me....
 Anyway, you've probably tasted regular Oreos, but have you ever tried the golden ones? They're AWESOME. I love that they still taste like Oreos, even though they're not chocolate. Love 'em! If you haven't tried them, then here's the perfect excuse to go get some.
 At first,  I thought the cheese mixture wouldn't be sweet enough, but trust me, the caramel and cookies make up for it. They're easy to make and rich and just SO fabulous. You seriously need to try them.
 I doubled the entire recipe and baked it in a 9x13 pan and it turned out beautifully. Like I always say, more is more! Be sure to let it chill for several hours in the fridge so it'll firm up before you slice them, and keep them in the fridge until you're ready to serve. And as always with any Oreos, you definitely need an ice cold glass of milk to go along with it. Make 'em for your next party! Your family and friends will thank you!


28 Golden Oreos, divided 18 and 10
3 tablespoons, melted Butter
1 cup Caramel bits (or 24 wrapped caramels)
1 tablespoon water
2 pkgs (8 oz each) Cream Cheese, softened
1 cup Marshmallow Fluff
1 egg


 Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Crush 18 Golden Oreos (cream and all) in a large ziplock bag or a food processor, until they are very fine crumb.

Pour crumbs into a 9 inch square pan. Add 3 tablespoons melted butter and combine using the back of a spoon to mix and press firmly into the bottom of the pan. Bake crust for 10 minutes or until golden. Let cool 10-15 minutes.

While crust is cooling unwrap your caramels, or if using caramel bits, pour into a bowl and add the 1 tablespoon of water. Set aside.

Now coarsely chop the remaining 10 Oreos. Set those aside as well.

 Beat the softened cream cheese and marshmallow fluff with a hand mixer on medium speed. Beat until combined and smooth, scraping down the sides half way through.

Add the egg and beat for 30 more seconds on medium speed until incorporated.

Stir in the coarsely chopped Oreos.

Pour the batter into the prepared crust. Spread evenly into the pan. Now melt your caramels and water in the microwave for 60 seconds. Stir halfway through. When melted, drop by spoonfuls onto the batter.

Using a knife, swirl the caramel into the cream cheese batter. Don't go too deep or you'll mess up the crust.

Bake for 20-25 minutes until center is set. Cool for 20 minutes on wire rack and then transfer to the refrigerator until they firm up, or overnight. Cut into squares when completely chilled. Enjoy!

Tips:
As always, whenever I'm making any kind of bars or squares, I like to line the pan with parchment paper, letting it hang over the edges a couple inches on each side. After it's baked and chilled, you use the paper like a sling to lift the entire batch out of the pan in one piece. Now you can place it on a cutting board, and (using a big sharp knife) you can make nice clean perfect cuts. It also saves your pan from being ruined if you try to cut the squares while it's still in the pan.
For the crust, I think it's easier to combine the butter with the Oreo crumbs before you put them in the pan, so I just threw the Oreos and the melted butter into a food processor and let it go until no large pieces remained.
For a little variation, obviously you could use regular Oreos instead of the golden ones.
I bet you could also do a slammin' peanut butter version of this recipe. Doesn't that sound good? You could use Nutter Butters (my other favorite sandwich cookie) instead of Oreos, and peanut butter instead of the caramel. I would thin it out and sweeten it a little, though.
Oh, btw, before you measure the Fluff, spray a rubber spatula and a measuring cup with nonstick spray. You'll find it'll be a lot easier to measure and it won't be as messy. Otherwise, it'll stick to everything and you'll have Fluff from one end of the kitchen to the other. Not that I'm speaking from experience or anything.....

Gooey Cookies and Cream Double Chocolate Cake Bars

 As soon as I saw this recipe, I knew I had to try it. Come to think of it, I can't even remember where I originally saw it. It was probably from someone who pinned it on Pinterest, or posted it on Facebook, or both. I can't remember. (Whenever I see a recipe, I often quickly cut and paste it for future blogging, and half the time I can't even remember where I got it! hehehehe)
 Anyway, you simply MUST make them. They're absurdly easy to make, and they're absolutely decadent! I think the name is a little bit long, though. I just call them Oreo Brownies. Isn't that simpler? Ok, maybe Gooey Oreo Brownies. Well, No matter what you call them, you'll be a hit at any occasion and your family will love you for making them.
Serious yum.

1 Devils Food Cake Mix
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 large egg
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
14 Oreo Cookies, broken into pieces

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and line a 9×13 inch baking pan with tin foil sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.
2. Place cake mix, butter and egg into a large bowl, mixing to combine. Press into prepared baking pan. Top with broken pieces of cookies.
3. Pour sweetened condensed milk over cookies and top with chocolate chips. Bake for 23-25 minutes, until cooked through. Remove from oven.
4.  After 5 minutes of cooling, run a plastic knife around edges to loosen, this makes it much easier to remove from foil.  Let cool completely, remove foil from pan, then cut into squares.

Tips:
 I used parchment paper instead of foil and it worked perfectly. Whenever I make any kind of bars, I always spray the pan with baking spray, place a piece of parchment in the pan with a few inches hanging over each side, and then spray it again with baking spray. After you bake them, place them in the fridge until completely cooled. Then use the paper as a sling to lift the entire batch of brownies out of the pan. It makes it MUCH easier to cut them into squares without ruining your pan.
I used more Oreos and more chips than the recipe suggests. Just sayin'. More is more!
 You can do any kind of variation with this. Add any kind of chopped nuts, or use any combination of cake mix and any kind of chips. I think I might try a peanut butter version. Still use the same devil's food cake, but use Nutter Butters and peanut butter chips or Reese's Pieces on top. Or else I'll do a Blondie version. Yellow cake mix, golden Oreos and white chocolate chips. Yum!