Dirty 30 Cupcakes

I’m not really sure where the term ‘dirty thirty’ came from, but I like it – it has a nice ring to it. 

For some people, thirty is a huge milestone.  For others, maybe not so much.  For 12 of my college girlfriends and I though, it was a reason to CELEBRATE!  We talked about this monumental birthday all through college, thinking that it was so far away – and then people started to settle, get engaged and married and have babies, and we realized that this big birthday we were going to celebrate hugely was rapidly approaching.  So last year, we tossed many ideas into the ring: a week in Costa Rica, a long weekend in Napa, and finally, with busy schedules and all, we were able to nail down a long weekend in Nantucket.  And it was PERFECT.  Perfect weather, perfect house, perfect way to celebrate our innauguration into the thirty club.

Dirty Thirty Cupcakes

INGREDIENTS

1 Box of your favorite chocolate cake mix
(usually yields about 2 dozen cupcakes)

1/2 package of Oreo Cookies

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
(recipe below)

Gummi Worms

Toothpicks/Short bamboo sticks

1) Prepare cupcakes according to instructions on the box (you could also be reallly ambitious and make your own cake mix, but during the week, ambitious’ness can be difficult)

2) Place the 1/2 package of oreos in the food processor and pulse until they become a ‘dirt-like’ texture.  Place in a shallow mixing bowl and set aside.

3) Take the toothpicks/bamboo sticks and stick them through the first 1/3 of the gummi worm so there’s still a little poking out (with the longer bamboo sticks you may have to end up breaking a little of the stick off to stick it in the cupcake)

4) Slather (I love that word) a large spoonful of the frosting on each cupcake (you could pipe the frosting on too if you wanted to be a little fancier).

5)  Take the cupcake and dip it, frosting side down, into the bowl with the oreo crumbs.

6)  Stick 2 gummi worms with sticks inserted into them in the cupcakes.

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
*From Stitch Cake

INGREDIENTS

1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks or 1/2 pound), softened (but not melted!)

3 1/2 cups confectioners (powdered) sugar

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon table salt

2 teaspoons vanilla extract or 1 teaspoon almond extract

4 tablespoons milk or heavy cream

1) Cream butter for a few minutes in a mixer with the paddle attachment on medium speed. Turn off the mixer.

2) Sift 3 cups powdered sugar and cocoa into the mixing bowl.

3) Turn your mixer on the lowest speed (so the dry ingredients do not blow everywhere) and mix until the sugar and cocoa are absorbed by the butter.

4) Increase mixer speed to medium and add vanilla extract, salt, and milk/cream and beat for 3 minutes.

These are fun and DELISH! Naturally, you don’t have to add the “30 is Dirty” flags, but I thought they added a little zazz.

So cheers to 30! If you’ve already made it over the hump or if it’s rapidly approaching, here’s the perfect dessert to celebrate your ‘Dirty Thirty’.