Foodies100: Oreo Challenge!

Confession: I’m not the greatest baker when it comes to making sponges of any kind. Cookies, cheesecakes, tarts?Fine.  Sponges are a different story and they’re very hit and miss with me. I’m not quite sure where I go wrong (as far as I’m concerned I follow the instructions to perfection). Maybe I can point the blame at my oven?  Either way, the people at Oreo kindly sent me some of their new cookies for this post. It is an entry to the Foodies100 Wonderfilled recipe challenge sponsored by Oreo, which marks the launch of two exciting new flavours: Peanut Butter and Golden. The delicious new flavours are available in all major supermarkets at an RRP of £1.08. To find out more, visit www.facebook.com/oreo We were tasked with creating a recipe that somehow incorporated the oreos into our recipe. I’m not very adventurous when it comes to baking, and when I do try and be, it ends in disaster, so this time I tried to play it fairly safe. I went with a typical brownie recipe, however I added crushed oreos to the mixture, as well as embedding them whole into the mixture once set. I had quite a lot of mixture left over, which enabled me to get a little more creative and try other methods. My first intention was to make Peanut Butter Oreo Brownie Cupcakes.   
  Ingredients:   400g caster sugar 225g butter, melted   60g cocoa powder   1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 eggs
225g plain flour 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 60g walnut halves 5 peanut oreos, crushed. Nutella Peanut Butter  

  Method: Mix the sugar and melted butter together. Add the cocoa powder, vanilla essence, baking powder and salt. Add the beaten eggs. Fold in the flour gradually. Add the crushed walnuts (tip – I could only find whole walnuts in the shop, so I grabbed a rolling pin and crushed them whilst still in the packet). Add 5 crushed oreos (or more, depending on how ‘oreo-y’ and flavoursome you want it!)  Grab 2 peanut oreos, and sandwich them together by spreading peanut butter on the tops of each oreo. (Alternate the spread with peanut butter and nutella so you have a mixture of cupcakes).  Place the oreo ‘sandwich’ in a lined muffin tin. Spoon a dollop of mixture on top of the sandwich. (The mixture should automatically fall beneath the sides of the oreos). Pop them in the oven for approx. 18-20 minutes on 180 degrees.            Once baked, allow them to cool then top with a generous layer of nutella for added moisture.  Open up a single oreo cookie (leaving the filling intact), and place it upwards on top of the cupcake.  Decorate as you wish.  Eat, and enjoy! (Can I just add, the oreo that I have decorated is the golden flavoured oreo - this isn't included in the ingredients but I thought I would add this to break up the peanut butter flavor.. and it worked a treat!).     With the remaining mixture the only thing that really altered was the style of cake. Instead of placing it in muffin cases, I lined a small square baking tin with grease-proof paper, filled the tin with mixture then gently placed oreos that I had cut in half on top, ensuring not to press too hard so they sunk.  I popped these in the oven, again at 180 degrees for approximately 20 minutes, allowing them to cool before cutting into squares.  I enjoyed a slice of this with some double cream and a cup of tea! Naughty but very yummy!   Do you like the sound of the new oreo flavours? They're delish!