Deep-fried Oreos - Guest post for Noshing with the Nolands

When fellow food blogger, Tara Noland of Noshing with the Nolands, put the call out a couple of months back for guest posts during Stampede, the Calgary equivalent of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, you know I had to step up.  Calgary and Houston, my hometown, have much in common.  Both are cities that oil built, with a great heritage of cowboys and rodeo.  And Houston and Calgary have fabulous carnival food, including barbecue of all kinds, things on a stick, and heart-stopping fried everything.  My younger sister and I were researching and brainstorming (imagine dueling banjos but with laptops) what I should make and deep-fried Oreos came up.  They sounded perfect for this post. 

Deep-fried Oreos.  Roll that around on your tongue for a bit.  Uh-huh.  That's what I'm talking about.  Doughnut batter engulfing an innocent Oreo, deep-fried till the melty double stuff melts.  Yes, I said melt twice.  Have another quick look at the photo above. That's right.  This is a guest post, so that means you have to head on over to Noshing with the Nolands to read it.   Follow this link and git along now!  

Enjoy! 

Cookies and Cream Muffins #MuffinMonday

It’s Monday so we are baking muffins again!  As we do.  Or, I should say, as I do.  Anyone out there baking with me?  Here’s a muffin I don’t think you are going to be able to resist.

Our ingredient this week is the classic Oreo, which made its debut in 1912 so they are the same age as my beloved grandfather (if he weren’t dead) which means they turned 100 last year.  Did you hear of any celebrations?  I certainly don’t remember any!  What I do know is if you are going to buy and eat Oreos, you might as well go all the way, so I bought the Double Stuff.  It’s a little known fact but in the United States, they are known as Double Stuf, because apparently Nabisco thinks Americans can’t spell or don’t care about spelling.  Or something.  In the United Kingdom (and Dubai) they are labeled Double Stuff.  My editor OCD is much happier here.  Call them what you will, they make a fine cookies and cream muffin.  They also make a fine Chocolate Chocolate Chip Oreo Muffin.

Ingredients
12 Double Stuff Oreos
2 cups or 250g all-purpose flour

3/4 cup or 170g granulated sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup or 60ml canola or other light oil
2 eggs

3/4 cup whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla

Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and grease your muffin pan or line it with paper liners.

Chop the Oreos roughly with a large knife and separate them into two piles of about two-thirds and one-third.  Just eyeball it, no need to measure.  The bigger pile will go into the batter. The smaller one will be sprinkled for topping before baking.

In a large bowl, mix together your flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.

In a smaller bowl, whisk your eggs, whipping cream, oil and vanilla together.

Pour the liquids into the bowl of dry ingredients and fold them together until they are just mixed.  If there is still some flour showing, you've done it perfectly.

Fold in the bigger pile of Oreos bits.

Divide your batter between the cups in the prepared muffin pan.

Sprinkle the tops with the smaller pile of Oreos and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Allow to cool in the pan for a few minutes, then remove to a rack to cool completely.

Enjoy!