Mississippi Mud Cupcakes

Recipe from Cupcakes! by Elinor Klivans.

Makes 24 cupcakes

INGREDIENTS
3 Oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 C. unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 Tsp. baking powder
1/2 Tsp. baking soda
1/4 Tsp. salt
1/2 C. (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temp
1 1/4 C. sugar (I cut back to just 1 cup)
2 large eggs
1 Tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 C. sour cream
1/2 C. water

2 1/4 C. crushed Oreo cookies (about 20 cookies)

1 C. (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips (I used mini chips)

DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line 24 muffin tin C. with paper liners.

Put the unsweetened chocolate in a heatproof bowl or the top of a double boiler &
place it over, but not touching, a saucepan of barely simmering water. Stir until
the chocolate is melted & smooth. Remove from the water & set aside to cool
slightly.

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, & salt into a medium bowl & set aside.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter & sugar
until smoothly blended & creamy, about 2 minutes. Stop the mixer & scrape the
sides of the bowl as needed during mixing. On low speed, mix in the melted
chocolate. On medium speed, add the eggs one at a time, mixing until each is
blended into the batter. Add the vanilla & beat until the mixture looks creamy &
the color has lightened slightly, about 1 minute. Mix in the sour cream until no
white streaks remain. On low speed, add half of the flour mixture, mixing just to
incorporate it. Mix in the water. Mix in the remaining flour mixture until it is
incorporated & the batter looks smooth.

Spoon 1 tablespoon of the cookie pieces & 2 Tsp. of chocolate chips into the
bottom of each paper liner. Spoon a scant 1/4 C. of batter over the chocolate
chips. Sprinkle remaining cookie pieces & chocolate chips over the tops, pressing
them gently into the batter.

Bake just until the tops feel firm & a toothpick inserted in the center comes out
clean, about 20 minutes. Cool the cupcakes in the pans on a wire rack.

Optionally, top the cupcakes with melted chocolate or your favorite chocolate
frosting.