These cookies and cream cupcakes are made with Oreo cookies crushed into the cupcake batter. But what sets this recipe apart from all the others?
The cupcakes are frosted with a combination of TWO buttercreams swirled together. Classic vanilla buttercream is combined with a black buttercream that happens to taste a bit like the outside of an Oreo cookie. Weird, but true. My black buttercream recipe post has all the secrets of how it’s naturally black and tastes a little Oreo.
What Makes These the Best?
- Incredibly soft cupcakes made with everyone’s favorite crushed cookies.
- Creamy rich homemade buttercream.
- Make that TWO DIFFERENT creamy rich buttercreams!
- A cute cookie garnish.
How to Make Oreo Cupcakes
These cupcakes were made using a reverse creaming method. Basically, ALL dry ingredients were added to the butter first as opposed to creaming the butter with just sugar. I’ve found that reverse creaming results in a fluffier, tighter crumb. In other words, these cupcakes were awesome!
Once the dry ingredients are added to the butter, you get a fine crumbled mixture. All the flour becomes well coated in fat from the butter, inhibiting gluten formation. This is what you want for a tender cake!
The rest of the ingredients (sour cream, milk, eggs, vanilla) are whisked together and then added and incorporated into the flour mixture.
Finally, Oreo cookie crumbs are stirred into the batter.
Tips for Making Oreo Cupcakes
You can vary the amount of cookie crumbs you use in the batter. Keep in mind though that the more you have the darker the inside of the cupcake, especially if you have smaller crumbs.
You can see the difference in the picture below of two different batches made with different amounts of cookie crumbs. (The picture on the right also shows what happens when you overfill your cupcake liners or have the oven too hot! You get a domed top.)
That brings me to my next tip. Do not overfill the cupcake liners. They should be no more than ⅔ full.
You can chop the cookies with a knife for a more chunky look in your cake or pulse it with a food processor for smaller pieces. I just chopped them by hand because I like to see a few chunks. Just don’t keep them too big or they may interfere with the batter rising.
Frosting and Decorating the Cupcakes
Unlike many other Oreo cupcakes out there, these cupcakes are not frosted with an Oreo buttercream. You can certainly do this if you choose.
Simply stir in finely crushed cookie crumbs into vanilla buttercream or into a cream cheese frosting like I did for this chocolate cookies and cream cake. Just be sure the crumbs are small enough so they don’t clog your piping bag if you are using one.
To pipe the two toned frosted cupcakes seen above, you will need vanilla buttercream and black buttercream. Place each type of frosting in a small piping bag, cut off the tips and tie the ends. Then place them both into a larger piping bag fitted with a tip, inserting the open ends into the tip.
The two frostings should sit sided by side in the larger bag and both frostings should squeeze out together. Pipe in a circular motion to create a swirl.
Decorate with a mini Oreos or use half of a large Oreo or just sprinkle cookie crumbles on top. Be sure to place the cookie on the cupcake before the frosting starts to crust over.
Cookies and Cream (Oreo) Cupcakes
These cookies and cream cupcakes are made with Oreo cookies crushed into the cupcake batter. Top them with your favorite frosting!
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 egg whites
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup sour cream, room temperature
- ⅓ cup whole milk, room temperature
- 1 cup crushed chocolate sandwich cookies (Oreos)
Instructions
- Line a 12 cup cupcake pan with liners and set aside. Preheat the oven to 325F.
- Whisk or sift together the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and sugar in a bowl and set aside.
- Gently whisk together the milk, vanilla, egg whites and sour cream in a bowl and set aside.
- Using a paddle attachment of an electric mixer, cream the butter until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Add the dry ingredients to the butter and mix on slow speed until all the flour is hydrated and crumbly from the butter.
- Add the milk mixture to the flour-butter mix. Mix on medium speed with the paddle attachment until just incorporated. Do not overmix!
- Fold the cookie crumbs into the batter.
- Using an ice cream scoop, fill the cupcake liners. Do not fill more than ⅔ full!
- Bake the cupcakes in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick placed in the center comes out clean.
Helene Kleban says
Do you leave the cream (Insides) in the Oreo cookie before you crush them? Thanks
Urvashee says
Hi Helene,
Yes! Leave the cream in for that true cookies and cream taste! Also, if you decide to use crushed cookies in the frosting, you would also leave the cream.