Happy 100th Birthday Oreo! Chocolate & Peanut Butter Oreo Cupcakes

So today, March 6th, Oreo turns 100! I feel quite cheated about this fact because if they've been around for 100 years why have they only been involved for half of my life?

it's because I'm English! It's sad but true.  Whilst most of my American followers probably grew up snacking on Oreos, I was 13 when I had my first actual encounter with an Oreo! I knew what they were, I'd seen them on TV and in films but I'd never tried one for myself until our local Waitrose started stocking them.  It was a happy day - and I'm happy to say my love affair with Oreos has been growing stronger ever since!

A trip to Brighton when I was 15 took my love of Oreos to new levels of obsessiveness when I discovered that at Shakeaway, a milkshake bar, you could order an OREO MILKSHAKE! This was a new and never before heard of concept to me and being the milkshake lover I am it was the perfect pairing of two of my favourite things! I ordered my first Oreo milkshake and never looked back!!

For a while Shakeaway and specialised American restaurants/diners were the only places that sold Oreo milkshakes.  So I would split my time between places like TGI Friday's or
Tinseltown,

and diners such as JB's in Brighton and Nelson's in Newbury to get my fix.

These days, I'm happy to say Oreo milkshakes are slowly making their way onto far more menus! You can get them at Gourmet Burger Kitchen...



and Byron (where you have to make the impossible decision between a root beer float or an Oreo milkshake!)



Lucky 7 (who even do Mint Oreo milkshakes like the one below - yum!)



 and Ed's Diner, to name a few!



and when all else fails you can make them at home! As you can tell Mint Oreo is my favourite variety!



When I'm not drinking Oreo milkshakes, which as you can tell is a pretty regular occurrence - then I'm almost certainly baking with them! Oreos are my number one favourite ingredient to bake with.  Here's a few things I've baked in the past...

Mint Oreo Truffles...perfect on their own or

Perfect as toppers for Mint Oreo Cupcakes!

or perfect on sticks as Oreo Pops!



Mint Oreo Brownies

Mini Oreo Cheesecakes

Mini Chocolate Brownie Oreo Cupcakes

Oreo Cupcakes with Oreo Cream Cheese Frosting

Mint Oreo Ice Cream Pie

Mint Oreo Pancakes

So now I've shared with you my enthusiasm for all things Oreo, it brings me great delight to share with you this last little piece of exciting news! I found out they are building the first Oreo plant in the UK in Sheffield at the moment.  Previously, they have always shipped Oreos over from the States but now they are making them here in the UK and so to me that can only mean one thing - surely they will HAVE to bring out all the yummy varieties here too if they have their own factory to make them in...

because this is a screenshot of the varieties we currently have an offer to us in the UK:

Yes that's right - there are only 3 types! Regular, Chocolate Creme and Mini Oreo!

This is part of a screenshot of the same section on the Oreo USA website - they have 47 varieties! 

47!! How prejudice is that!

So, with news of the plant in Sheffield I can only live in hope that one day soon we can have more than 3 varieties available to us!

In the meantime, I'll leave you with the Oreo cupcakes with peanut butter Oreo frosting I made especially for the occasion! 

You know what made this baking session even better? These amazing Joseph Joseph spatulas from Find Me a Gift.



I have this strange OCD-ness when it comes to baking.  I don't like my counter tops to get dirty! This may sound crazy because any fellow baker will know that a cupcake making session can usually result in plumes of icing sugar covering the work surface and you using every possible mixing bowl and utensil in your kitchen.  So I know it gets messy, but I don't like cake mix/frosting touching the counter top.  Usually I use tons of pieces of kitchen towel and put them under every teaspoon or messy spatula I can find...but these spatulas are totally genius because they have a little rest underneath them that prevents them from touching the surface!



So I was covering them in cupcake batter/frosting and then just placing them down on the surface without a care in the world! It was strangely liberating! I have to tell you this little set of kitchen utensils is the first thing to come along that has got me as excited as my KitchenAid! I know it sounds extreme but really any baker should own these, especially those that verge on the OCD side of life!



Chocolate Oreo Cupcakes:

Makes 18 regular, 24 mini

170g unsalted butter

150g dark brown sugar

3 large eggs, separated

225g dark chocolate (Valrhona 66%)

2 tsp vanilla extract

250g plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp bicarb of soda

 365g semi-skimmed milk

100g Oreo chunks

Peanut Butter Oreo Frosting:

56g unsalted butter

250g icing sugar

60g semi skimmed milk

 130g smooth peanut butter

1 tsp vanilla extract

100g finely crushed Oreo crumbs

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.
Line your cupcake pans with cases.
In each cupcake case place half an Oreo, the half with the cream filling still on it.  Put the other half to one side to be used later in the frosting.



Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Mix in egg yolks.
Mix in vanilla and melted chocolate.
In a separate bowl, mix the flour, bicarbonate of soda and baking powder.
Alternate adding the flour mixture and milk to the butter/sugar mixture.
Crush Oreos in a blender, or a zip loc bag and a rolling pin if you don't have a blender.

Stir in Oreos.

 In a separate bowl, whip egg whites until peaks form (this is where having an extra KitchenAid bowl really comes into it's own!)

Fold the batter into the egg whites.
Fill cupcakes cases 2/3 full.
Bake for 20-25 minutes (regular) and 10-15 minutes (mini) or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Leave to cool in pans for 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack.

For the frosting: Blend together the butter, sugar, milk and peanut butter until smooth.
Add the vanilla extract and Oreo crumbs.
Mix until incorporated.



Pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes and decorate with either a quarter of an Oreo cookie or a mini Reese's peanut butter cup.

I'm glad to say Oreos are here to stay...I hope to be enjoying them for the next 100 years too!