Mini Oreo Cheesecakes

March 6, 2012 was OREO's 100th Birthday!!! I actually made these for that day but forgot to post until now. Oops!



Did you know that when Oreos were first launched in New York in 1912 there were 2 flavors: Original and Lemon Cream. They are made by Kraft Foods (USA) and the Christie Brand (Canada). Over the past 100 years they have experimented with many other flavors including Strawberry Milkshake (Canada), Green Tea (China/Japan), Blueberry Ice Cream (Indonesia/Malaysia), Cool Mint, Banana Split (2008), Sugar Free, Reduced Fat and Cakesters (2007) just to name a few.

Personally, I prefer the chocolate cookies sans filling or the Vanilla Oreo variety. Since I don't like the filling, I twist mine open and scrape out the filling and save it for use in another recipe. When melted, it makes a great drizzle for brownies!

According to Kraft, women are more likely to twist open their Oreos than men! Check out the Oreo Timeline for more interesting facts!



To celebrate, I made mini Oreo Cheesecakes from Martha Stewart's "Cupcakes" book. Instead of crushed cookie crumbs, these feature a whole Oreo cookie placed in the bottom of each cupcake liner, topped with cream cheese filling and baked.

Mini Oreo Cheesecakes
Makes 30

42 Oreo sandwich cookies, 30 left whole and 12 coarsely chopped
3 1/2 (8oz each) packages cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten
1 cup sour cream
pinch salt

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Line 30 standard muffin tins with paper liners. Place 1 whole Oreo cookie in the bottom of each lined muffin cup.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat cream cheese on medium-high speed until smooth, scraping down sides of the bowl as needed. Gradually add the sugar, and beat until combined. Beat in the vanilla.

3. Drizzle in eggs, a little at a time, beating to combine and scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add in sour cream and salt, beat to combine. Using a large spatula, fold in the chopped Oreo cookies. Divide batter evenly among the cookie-filled muffin cups, fill each cup almost to the top.

4. Bake, rotating muffin tins halfway through, until the filling is set, about 22 to 28 minutes. Transfer the muffins tins to a wire rack to cool completely. Refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight. Remove from tins just before serving.

Hostess Little Debbie Snack Cake Clones

These were super cute and super tasty too. I love how they look like plain old chocolate cupcakes until you bite into them and get a surprise: A delicious mouthful of chocolate filling. These are just like the snack cakes you buy individually cellophane-wrapped at the grocery store, except they I filled them with chocolate marshmallow creme instead of the plain white stuff. I loved how fluffy and foolproof the filling turned out because of the use of marshmallow creme. Don't overfill your muffin cups or else the cupcakes will rise and bleed into each other and your final product won't be perfectly round.



Reminder: Email me or leave a comment with your copycat posts - past or present - to be linked and included in the upcoming December Copycat Club round-up, posted the 7th of every month. See the round-ups in November and October for inspiration.

Hostess Snack Cake Clone
Makes 18 | Martha Stewart's Cupcakes

CUPCAKES 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature, plus more for muffin tins
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, plus more for muffin tins
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 cup sour cream, room temperature

FILLING
1 1/2 cups marshmallow creme (7.5-ounce jar)
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
[I added 1-2 tbsp cocoa powder to make a chocolate-creme filling]

1. Preheat oven to 350. Butter two 6-cup (each with a 1-cup capacity) jumbo muffin pans; dust with cocoa powder to coat, tapping out excess. In a medium bowl, whisk together cocoa, flour, baking powder, soda, and salt. Using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. On low speed, add half the flour mixture, followed by sour cream, ending with remaining flour mixture; mix just until incorporated (do not overmix).

2. Divide batter among prepared muffin cups. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of a cupcake comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes, rotating pans halfway through baking. Cool in pans, 5 minutes; remove cupcakes and cool, right side up, on a wire rack.

3. Meanwhile, prepare filling: In a medium bowl, whisk marshmallow creme and butter [and cocoa powder, if using] until smooth. Chill until slightly firm, 15 to 30 minutes. Transfer mixture to a heavy-duty resealable plastic bag, and seal; cut off one corner of the bag to make a 1/8-inch opening.

4. Using a small melon baller, scoop out center of each cupcake from the bottom, and reserve (you will use this to plug cupcake after filling). Hollow out each cupcake a bit more, discarding crumbs. Insert tip of plastic bag into each cavity, and squeeze to fill; replace plugs. Using remaining filling in plastic bag, decorate top of cupcakes.

Mocha Cupcakes with Caramel Frosting

Here is a little jolt of java, just right for a Monday! I had an exhausting weekend, working 13 hours on Saturday as an Elections Officer checking people's names/addresses and giving them their ballots to vote at our by-election. I have never been so exhausted from sitting down doing nothing. I think that trying to keep myself occupied (ie. not bored) was more mentally tiring than if I had actually had a lot of work to do. In between checking people in, I went through 1/2 a crossword book and read the first few chapters of Julie & Julia.

The coffee flavor of these is suitable all audiences - subtle enough not to bother those who dislike coffee but present enough to please those who do. It comes from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes. The easy caramel frosting (also from Martha) transforms them into Caramel Macchiato cupcakes! I opted for a free-hand style, using the back of a spoon to glop on the creamy caramel frosting and finishing them off with a chocolate covered almond or espresso bean.

Mocha Cupcakes
Makes 15 | Martha Stewart

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup strong brewed coffee, room temperature
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 large egg

1. Preheat to 350 degrees F. Line cupcake pan with liners.

2. Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a measuring cup, combine the milk and brewed coffee.

3. In a stand mixer, using a flat beater on medium-high speed, beat the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add the egg and beat until combined. Slowly add the flour mixture, alternating with the coffee mixture, ending with the flour mixture.

4. Fill cupcake liners about 2/3 full. Bake for about 17-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Let cool fully before frosting.

Caramel Frosting
Martha Stewart, November 2007

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 package (16 ounces) confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream, plus more if needed
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

1. In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium-high heat until nut-brown in color, about 8 minutes. Remove pan from heat and pour butter into a bowl, leaving any burned sediment behind; let cool.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add confectioners' sugar, vanilla, salt, and butter. With the mixer on low, slowly add cream; beat until smooth. If frosting seems too thick, stir another tablespoon cream into the mixture.