Cookies and cream cupcakes v. 2.0

I couldn't make it to my Bible study group last week, so I sent an email in apology and suggested the others devise a suitable penance. A reply came back from one of the guys: That's disappointing. Bring a cake. I haven't done much baking in the Housie oven yet, so I thought a cake might be ambitious until I work out whether the fan and temps are reliable. Cooking dinner is one thing, but cakes and pastries are more... delicate. I went for cupcakes instead. My reasoning was: they're smaller and baking time is less; therefore, less time in the oven means less chance for them not to work out fine.

I gave the cookies and cream cupcakes another try (Oreos were on sale -- yay!). The oven worked dandy and, since I made the cupcakes a little smaller this time, I got two dozen out of the batch. I forgot how hard the icing is to spread nicely, though. Heavy icing with big chunks of Oreos does not make for pretty cupcakes. I wrestled some icing onto the cakes for study last night, and shelved the rest until today when I had some other baking to do. I had the food processor out already, so I blended the remaining icing and the result was so much nicer. The colour is yummier and it spreads smoother and just looks less... weird. So my tip is, if you try this recipe, process the icing. So much better. Nom redux!

What's your favourite treat to cook lately?

PS. Sorry for the fluffy, sugary post which is basically a long-winded thought-out-loud about food. It's been a full-on week!

* * * * *

Conversations:

Meaghan -- yes.

Carla -- it's one I want to remember, too.

Samantha R -- I agree :).

Laura Elizabeth -- I totally recommend The Valley of Vision if you're looking for some amazing prayers. It's beautiful.

Amanda -- wow is right.