A Quick Fix for a Tired Baker: Oreo Cheesecake Cupcakes

I don’t know if my endeavor to make friends through cupcakes has been successful, but I do know that I have been successful in my endeavor to make friends.  This is why I chose a cupcake I clearly knew I would not enjoy. 

I’ve said before that I do not enjoy cream cheese. At all. Bagels? Toasted with butter. Cream cheese frosting cupcakes? I can do without. Cheesecake? No thanks. (Unless it’s a variation of cheesecake with mascarpone instead of cream cheese, which I have yet to try.)

Alas, my serving life, which Steve Dublanica has brought to my attention, is a different species from those of you who work 9-5 jobs or even slightly irregular jobs.  My job brought me to my knees in front of a margarita Friday night.  I had declared to myself that I would head home after work and go straight to bed.   The midnight showing Thursday night and being at the gym until 1AM on Tuesday and Wednesday had crawled into my heart and slowed me down.  I wanted to sleep. 

I worked at 10:30 at my first restaurant.  Came home.  Took a nap.  Went to work at 6 o’clock.  Thought to myself, “When did I sign up for a night job?”  Worked.  Steadily became more miserable.  Felt anxiety clutching my heart.  Desperately desired a margarita with a large dose of tequila in it.  Somehow got caught up with a miserable friend who needed time with people who love her.  

I was not sleeping in my bed at 5AM Saturday morning; I was on a very squishy couch with too much beer in my belly and not enough food. 

As you can imagine, I hadn’t bought my cupcake ingredients.  When I first started my project, I didn’t have friends to go out with, so I bought my ingredients after my $100 Friday nights and went to bed before 2AM and baked cupcakes after I had set an alarm to wake up.  This was not one of those mornings. 

I googled Martha’s Oreo Cheesecake Cupcakes before I slid all over the road.  It was a bad, snowy, unplowed kind of morning.  Got into Shop Rite with a morning breath that could kill a small dog, bought some sushi, frozen pizza, cream cheese, sour cream, and Oreos.  What did that cashier think I was doing?

I got home, opened all the cream cheese to try to warm it up to room temperature, ate my sushi, and started rifling through Martha’s book.  I opened the frozen pizza, popped it in the toaster oven, and started on my newest adventure.  It calls for 42 Oreos.  I only had 39.  I was NOT about to have an extra box of Oreos around my house.  I eat them enough at work.  I found some extra mini Oreos in my draw.  “Hm, what is the difference?” I thought to myself.  NOTHING is the answer. 

Surely, no one thought I'd make piles of sentry Oreos to watch as a massacred their fellow Oreo companions.  I chopped up the nine that would not be used for the crusts and a few baby Oreos to make up for the "missing" three.  

Mix-mix, chop-chop, spin-spin, bake-bake, snack-snack, shower-shower, fa-la-la. 

Started my birthday pins for two of the cheesecakes.  Took a nap.  AHHH! Did not finish them as I wished I could, but they were still cute.  Only one person called me out on using medical tape. 

My brother-in-law said I couldn’t take them to work, but I left six at home.  Don’t feel bad for him.

They brightened one of my fellow server’s day immediately.  I was happy with what they achieved. Since you can't eat them, here's a picture that might brighten your day: 

This is what you get when you don't unload your luggage from a week-long work trip with your clothes still in it.  Nice job, bro. Bella (aka Slutface) will find a way into a small space.  

I was deliriously tired on my way home after a rather busy, rather long night. I got home, ate some pizza, got a drunk call, got into bed, and fell asleep until this afternoon. 

Newest adventure on Day-One-of-Two off?  Joy the Baker’s Whole Wheat Garlic Knots for an employee appreciation day! Back to the restaurant on my day off! 

Sinfully Delicious Devil's Food Cupcakes

Many questions asked this week.

Why do all the good toppings of the salad hide on the bottom?

Why do people judge that I hate salad dressing?

Why are avocados on sale for $1 this week?

How in the world are there “hungry seasons” in other countries when the US is obese?

Why is chocolate soooo delicious? Sinfully so?

I have discovered the answer without a doubt to the last question.  Because it is the Devil’s Cake.  Devil’s Food Cupcakes to be exact.

This is what I’ve made.  It had sour cream in it.  It is still delicious. They were a bit boring though, so I color coded them. 

Again, the frosting was a bit bitter and I didn’t allow it enough time to set.  Sometimes hours just sneak by you without you even noticing, don’t they?  I did, however, bring them in and they got gobbled up.  My sister and I believed them to be a little too dry, but the batter was delish.  Wasn’t gunna fight it when it got all over my hands and there was a cupcake worth of frosting left in my scoop.  Oops.  I do not condone eating raw egg, my Sonja would be proud, but man, do I understand it. 

A fun fact in this experience so far: mistakes happen.  A wise mandrill (or creepy little monkey) once said, "you can either run from it, or... learn from it."  I hit one of these cupcakes with my oven mitt on and the other one I dropped in the frosting.  That one stayed at home to be eaten.  So, be more careful while moving the cooking cupcakes and hold on a little harder.  

Also, I made a special one for Kayla who took her birthday weekend off.  It’s one of the options Martha says to use, so I employed it.  Adorable. Happy birthday, Miss Kayla.

 

Also, if you noticed, these are not going up weekly.  I am lazy and busy and work two jobs.  Last Saturday, I didn't even get to make anything because we went home to visit my sick grandmother, my very pregnant older sister, my little nieces, and my parents.  Lots of things to do.  I did, however, make a delicious apple crisp from Joy the Baker a while ago.  Here is an unattractive picture of said apple crisp with Stewart's Philly Bean Vanilla ice cream.  

Beer and Cake: Stout Cupcakes for the New Year

I know it’s late, but Happy New Year’s! What are your resolutions this year?

Mine include:

§  Stop gossiping

§  Don’t die in the triathlon; by extension, go to the gym more than half the days of the month

§  Budget my money and SAVE

§  Stay organized

§  Keep the 18 Rules from Dalai Lama in mind every day

This is a bowl of home-brewed Milk (Coffee) Stout by my brother-in-law.  I suppose many people’s resolutions (including my sister and brother-in-law) is to stop drinking or lower alcohol intake in the next year.  So, I suppose this is a fitting choice.  I created Stout Cupcakes with Martha this weekend. 

Again, my desire to be plain has overpowered my enjoyment of these cupcakes.  I had a hard time with the stout glaze, which had way more sugar than I could understand.  And they smelled like spices instead of sweet.  Oh, the problems of being simple.

I believe they were a success though because I didn’t have to bring any home.  I even took a bottle cap and wrote Happy Birthday on it.  It was pretty cute.  Boys don’t really care about that stuff, though.  Or any hidden messages from a wanna-be friend. But since it's still January of a New Year, I tell you the same: