Oreo Cheesecake Cupcakes (★ ★ ★ ★ ☆)

I'm not joking about this blog thing.  Yes, I stopped blogging for a while...took a siesta if you will - a long siesta.  But since I started blogging again, I forgot how much I love baking for people.  And having some left over for myself isn't so terrible either. 

So I've committed to baking consistently and I will be posting a new entry every Thursday.  It may not always be about something I baked, but it will be about something sweet.  I might do a food review or recommend something I've come across that I feel all my baking loving readers should know about.  Who knows?  The possibilities are endless.  

This entry marks the beginning of my current baking adventures.  All I had posted about before, were old entries that I had just never gotten around to publishing.  Enjoy!

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Pinterest is an interesting beast.  Yes, I chose that word deliberately.  Here is the process:

1) Hear about it from a friend.  

What is it?  

It's this site where you post pictures you find online.

Sounds....interesting.  I mean I like pictures. 

2) Must apply for an invitation.

What is this!?  An invitation?  It's a place to stick pictures.  Seriously, what's the big deal?

3) Acceptance!

Sweet victory!  I'm in!  Okay, let's see if I can figure this thing out.

The next thing you know, you're in bed and it's an hour after you were supposed to be asleep.  You've already spent a good three hours "pinning" pictures, but there is a world of images you have yet to discover and share with your devout "followers."

Ya, that's pretty much how it goes down.  BUT there is one good...no...wonderful aspect of Pinterest. It's the "recipes."  There are so many delicious things to see.  

-Things I would have never thought of on my own.  

-Things my friends would have never thought of on their own.  

-Things that even my grandparents wouldn't know to pass down from generation to generation.  

It is literally the best collection of recipe ideas I've ever come across.  And that is where I found this little gem: Oreo Cheesecake Cupcakes. 

These individual cheesecakes were SO easy to make and delicious!

For the crust, you plop one single Oreo into the base of a cupcake liner.  Seriously...that's it.

Cream cheese batter prepared...awaiting the Oreo crumble. 

The cheesecake batter ready for the oven. 

Killing time.  My hair has gotten so long that a simple "put my hair in a low pony for baking purposes" doesn't cut it anymore.  A more glorious bun adorns my head now.  

Fresh out of the oven, the tops should be slightly puffed up.   As they cool, they will flatten.  

I didn't want to leave the tops bare so I melted some chocolate chips, cut the tip off of a Ziploc bag and went to town. 

Viola!  Sooooooo good. 

Even Archie, my cat, approves:

This is the face he makes when he smells something so good it overwhelms his senses. :)

I'll admit.  For this one, I had a slight ulterior motive.  It was my friend's birthday and he loves cheesecake.  

So I syphoned off a few specifically for him...

If you like cheesecake and easy recipes.   Look no further.  This one is for you.

Check back next Thursday for a new entry!