Cookies & Cream Cupcakes

I’m coming up on one year at my new job, and we’ve now reached the point where my co-workers are comfortable asking me to make them birthday treats, which as you know is my joy in life. My cubicle neighbour Nat C. made sure to remind me that her birthday was on August 1st, and when I asked her what she wanted, she requested a surprise. For guidance, I got her to tell me her top three favourite chocolate bars, one of which was Cookies & Cream.

I knew right away I would bring her these classics, which I’ve made a bunch of times before, but have never made it to the blog. They’re full of Oreos: used as a crust, chopped and folded into the batter, and added to the top as a garnish. It goes without saying these were a BIG HIT. Nat shared a few in the office and then took the rest home for her birthday weekend.

Cookies & Cream Cupcakes

Source: Annie’s Eats

Yield: 2 dozen cupcakes (easily halved if you want a smaller batch)

Ingredients

Cupcakes

  • 24 Oreos, tops popped off and reserved for garnish
  • 1 cup milk (I used buttermilk), divided
  • 6 egg whites
  • 1 tbsp vanilla
  • 2 3/4 cup cake flour (just use all-purpose if you don’t have cake flour)
  • 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1 tbsp + 1 tsp baking powder
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, room temperature
  • 24 Oreos (not the ones from up top), chopped

Frosting

  • 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
  • 8 oz cream cheese, cold
  • 2 1/2 cups icing sugar
  • 1 tbsp vanilla
  • 1 tbsp whipping cream

Garnish

  • 12 Oreo tops, halved (set aside from above)
  • Crumbs from chopping your Oreos in half

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350° and line cupcake pans with liners. Drop an Oreo half in each one, with the cream facing up. This acts as a delicious crust!
  2. In a liquid measuring cup, add 1/4 cup of the milk, egg whites and vanilla and whisk to combine.
  3. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.  Add the butter, and mix for about 30 seconds. Add the remaining 3/4 cup of the milk, and mix again until smooth. Finally add the egg mixture and mix one more time until smooth. Fold in the chopped Oreos. Add batter to cupcake liners and bake for 18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.
  4. For frosting, mix together the butter and cream cheese until fully combined and smooth. Add the icing sugar, vanilla and whipping cream and beat on high until smooth and fluffy. Spread or pipe onto cupcakes (I used a large open star tip). Garnish with half an Oreo and Oreo crumbs.