I had a request for some cookies and cream cupcakes, but I’ve never made them before. I decided on Oreo cupcakes with a cream cheese buttercream after some testing. I’ve made some chocolate cupcakes before but that was so long ago. So I wanted to find a new one and ended up using this recipe.
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Since I was testing recipes, I ended up only doing half the recipe, which is what I have listed below. This is nice if you want a smaller batch of cupcakes. I don’t know about you, but we don’t need that many cupcakes around with just the two of us. I was happy with how the cupcakes turned out with the addition of crushed Oreo’s.
On my first test batch, I only sprinkled Oreo’s on the top of the batter. They were good and the crunch from the Oreo’s was a nice textural contrast. On my second test, I mixed in some crushed Oreo’s and sprinkled some on top as well. That ended up being the winning combination. You can’t have too many Oreo’s in an Oreo cupcake, right?
2. Place all of the dry ingredients in a medium bowl
3. Whisk all of the dry ingredients together
4. Cupcake wet ingredients
This recipe makes 8-9 cupcakes depending on how full you want your cupcakes to be. I’ve done it with both 8 and 9 cupcakes and I didn’t notice a huge difference. So the choice is yours on how many you’d like to make!
I have mentioned before that this is my favorite muffin pan. If you don’t have a cookie scoop, I highly recommend this one. I use it for everything and it ensures that everything is portioned evenly. I especially like it for portioning out cupcake batter into the muffin pan.
6. Whisk all of the wet ingredients until incorporated
7. Wet and dry ingredients
8. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients
The frosting
I don’t know about you, but I love making cupcakes so I can decorate them. Something about frosting them is just so satisfying. I will confess that I will sometimes use boxed cake mix since it’s so easy and good. It’s always consistent, and you don’t have to worry about them not turning out. To me it’s all about the frosting anyways!
10. Fold half of the crushed Oreo’s into the cupcake batter
11. Scoop the cupcake batter into the prepared muffin pan
12. Sprinkle the remaining crushed Oreo’s on top of the cupcake batter
I have a go to frosting recipe, but I needed something with a little more structure and something that would travel well. Most of the recipes that I saw used a buttercream recipe. I’m not a big fan of buttercream as I generally think of them as being too sweet. When I was researching recipes, a lot of them called for so much sugar. I understand that it’s needed for structure, but I wanted something that would taste good and hold up.
14. Beat the butter, cream cheese, heavy cream, vanilla, and salt together
15. Gradually add in the powdered sugar and beat until light and fluffy
16. Frost the cooled cupcakes and sprinkle with crushed Oreo’s
I found this recipe, but I made some tweaks after my initial test. It was still pretty sweet for us so I decided to add some cream cheese to cut the sweetness. We really preferred the version with the cream cheese. The addition of the cream cheese really helps cut down on the sweetness and added a little bit of tang. Both being good things in my book!
Like I said earlier, I love to frost cupcakes. These are my favorite piping bags and this is my go to piping tip. I highly recommend both if you want the best looking cupcakes!
What’s your favorite cupcakes to make or eat? Are you a buttercream fan?
Made this recipe? Be sure to comment below and rate the recipe. I’d love to hear what you thought about it!
Oreo Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Buttercream
Ingredients
Oreo Cupcakes
- 6 tbsp all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder
- 1/4 tsp plus 1/8 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/8 tsp kosher salt
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 2 tbsp plus 2 tsp vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup buttermilk, at room temperature (see notes)
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 6 Oreo cookies, crushed and divided (1/2 for the batter, 1/2 for sprinkling on top of the batter)
Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting
- 1 cup ( 2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1/4 cup ( 2 oz) reduced fat cream cheese, at room temperature
- 2 tbsp heavy cream
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/8 tsp kosher salt
- 2 1/2 cup (10 oz) powdered sugar
- 5 Oreo cookies, crushed
Instructions
Oreo Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line a muffin pan with 9 cupcake liners.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, granulated sugar, brown sugar, oil, buttermilk, and vanilla extract. Add the dry ingredients to your large bowl and stir until just combined.
- Add in 1/2 of the crushed Oreo's to the batter and stir to combine.
- Fill your cupcake liners with the batter, about 3/4 of the way full. Top each cupcake with some of the reserved Oreo's.
- If you have any empty muffin wells, fill half way with water so the cupcakes will bake evenly.
- Bake for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Allow the cupcakes to cool for 5 minutes before removing from the muffin pan and transferring to a cooling rack. Cool cupcakes completely before frosting.
Cream Cheese Buttercream
- In a stand mixer on medium-high, beat the butter, cream cheese, heavy cream, vanilla, and salt. Beat for 1 minute or until well combined.
- On medium-low speed, slowly add in the powdered sugar. Mix until the sugar is fully incorporated and smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed, to help incorporate the powdered sugar.
- Beat on medium-high speed until the frosting is light and fluffy, approximately 5 minutes.
Frosting the Cupcakes
- Use your desired frosting method to frost the cupcakes. I use a piping bag with a piping tip, but if you don't have that you can just use an offset spatula, butter knife, or even a plastic bag with the corner cut off.
- Once your cupcakes have been frosted, top with the crushed Oreo's.
Notes
- If you do not have buttermilk, you can add 1/4 tsp of white vinegar into a measuring cup and then fill with milk until you get 1/4 cup.
- You can replace the reduced fat cream cheese with regular cream cheese if you prefer in the buttercream.
- You can easily make just half of the Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting. It really just depends on how much frosting you like. You could easily double the cupcake recipe and still probably have enough frosting with one batch.
- These cupcakes should be stored in the fridge, but for serving I would let them come to room temperature so the frosting can have time to soften.
If you make any of my recipes, be sure to tag me on Instagram @amysdeliciousmess and use #amysdeliciousmess. I’d love to see all of your pictures!
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