Halloween Oreo Cupcakes

Happy (belated) Halloween!  

Halloween has come and gone, so Halloween Oreos should be on sale...right? :)  What better time to make these Halloween Oreo cupcakes!  They are not just for Halloween...they are very festive for fall and they would make a great addition to your Thanksgiving dinner or family gathering.  I tried to pipe the frosting to make it look like a pumpkin sitting on top of the cupcake - and the green leaves are handmade with gel paste and painted with gold pearl dust.  Check back for a tutorial of the leaf making process or check them out here.  

Halloween Oreo Cupcakes
Cupcakes
2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup shortening, softened
3/4 cup whole milk
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
7 Halloween Oreos, ground into coarse crumbs

Buttercream
4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
3 1/2 ounce heavy whipping cream (a little more than 1/3 cup)
1/4 teaspoon orange gel food coloring (you can use more if you want a brighter orange)
10 Halloween Oreos, ground into fine crumbs

In a large bowl mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder and kosher salt.  Then add in the shortening (the shortening should be very soft, almost melted), milk, eggs and vanilla extract and mix to low speed to combine. (about 1 minute) You don’t want to over mix the batter. Set the batter aside.

Put 7 Halloween Oreos in the food processor and grind them up into coarse crumbs. Throw them into the batter and fold them in.

Line a cupcake pan with liners. Scoop the batter into each cupcake liner. The cupcakes should be filled about 2/3 of the way. 

Bake the cupcakes at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Cool the cupcakes in the pan on a cooling rack for 10 minutes. Then take the cupcakes out of the pan and transfer them to a cooling rack.
Cool completely before frosting.

To make the frosting:
Sift the powdered sugar into a bowl and set aside.
In a large bowl, mix together the shortening and butter for about 3-4 minutes on medium high speed.
On low speed, slowly add in the powdered sugar. Add in 1/2 cup at a time.
Once all of the powdered sugar is added, increase the speed to medium for a minute or two.

Slowly add in the heavy whipping cream on low speed. Then increase the speed to high and mix for 10 minutes. Add in the orange gel food coloring and mix to incorporate it. Set the buttercream aside.

In a food processor, grind up 10 Halloween Oreos into fine crumbs. Add them to the buttercream and fold them in.

Assembling the cupcakes:
Put the buttercream in a piping bag fitted with a decorating tip. Pipe the buttercream onto the cooling cupcakes. Or you can simply frost them with a small spatula or knife.

Source: adapted from Gingerbread Bagels