OreOwls

These owls are the reason things have been so quiet around here lately. I have been doing a lot of thinking the last two weeks. That thinking has been mostly related to work and life here in Alaska. It was a year ago that I applied to be the Executive Director at the Alaska Bird Observatory. I knew it would be a lot of work and job security can be tricky with non-profit organizations as funding sources come and go. The hiring process was slow, which often happens when the hiring committee is a group of busy volunteers. I wasn't actually offered the position until July. I remember that whole time being quite grueling, but the good thing is that I had plenty of time to think about whether it was a good choice. The last two weeks of preparing our annual report and presentation for the annual meeting really brings it all full circle. I am always amazed to see all the great work we have done over the course of a year.
Each year we have a bird-themed cake auction for our annual meeting. Last year I made a hummingbird cake. I have had this owl cupcake recipe in the back of my mind for a while now and luckily stumbled across it again last week. The cupcakes were a hit, eight of them went for $60 at the auction. Of course the recipe actually makes twelve! You know, I had to keep a couple to make sure they were actually good. Which they were. I like how the oreos inside the cake get kind of soft and just blend in with the rest of the cupcake. They are a little challenging to eat with all the stuff on top, but the cuteness factor makes up for it.

OreOwls
adapted from 6 Bittersweets
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup natural cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped Oreos
24 Oreo cookies for decorating
24 brown plain chocolate M&M's
12 yellow or orange plain chocolate M&M's

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line a 12-cup muffin pan. Whisk together the milk and vinegar in a large bowl, and set aside for a few minutes to curdle. Whisk in the sugar, oil, vanilla extract, and almond extract. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add to the wet ingredients and beat until no large lumps remain. Gently fold in chopped cookies. Divide batter evenly among cupcake wells. Bake 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely.

Chocolate Ganache Frosting
1/2 cup heavy cream
5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1-2 tablespoons corn syrup

Heat heavy cream and chocolate over medium low heat stirring constantly until chocolate has melted. Stir in corn syrup. Let ganache cool for about 10 minutes before assembling cupcakes.

To assemble the cupcakes: You will want to divide 24 of the Oreo cookies in half trying to get all of the cream to come off on one side. I found this to be harder than it sounds. I ended up using a knife and still cracked quite a few Oreos. I actually did this step first and used the ones I messed up for the cookie crumbs that went inside the cupcakes. You will cut 12 of the blank side Oreos in half to make the owl tufts. Place brown M&M's into the inner edge of the white part of each owl eye. First dip your cupcake in the ganache. You can also spread the ganache on, but I find it easier just to dip the top of the cupcake into the ganache. Place eyes just slightly below the center of the cupcake, this will make sure you have enough room for the tufts. Then place the tufts above the eyes. Add a sideways orange or yellow M&M for the nose. Repeat with each cupcake until complete. Store in an airtight container for up to three days.