Gotta say I am loving this heat wave. We don’t get much time with warm weather here in Chicago and I will take it while I can! Summer in the city is the best! You know what else is the best too? My Cookies and Cream Cupcakes! A childhood favorite in cake form!
Cookies and cream have always been one of my favorite flavors in ice cream. I think it holds up through adulthood for a couple reasons. One, it reminds of us our youth. Who hasn’t had a nice cold cookies and cream blizzard from dairy queen? I know I have (had many). Also, for all the ice cream cake lovers, cookies and cream was sure to be a crowd pleaser at your 12th birthday. Reason two, that’s easy, Oreo Cookies! These babies have stood the test of time. Really, so simple yet so satisfying. Something about the chocolate cookie sandwiching that cream filling, delish! Don’t tell me you still don’t twist them apart and lick that cream filling as your first order of business! If you do tell me you don’t, then I don’t even want to know you. 😉 Any who, cookies and cream are for everyone of all ages and this combo pretty much goes in anything! So, enter my Cookies and Cream Cupcakes, my preferred method of delivering this flavor to my mouth!
Honestly, these are perfect for your kid’s birthday party or your big day or just because you’re a grown ass woman and want some cupcakes! Like I said, who doesn’t love cookies and cream? So, the cake is a moist, tender chocolate cake, that is good all by it’s lonesome. But why be lonesome? Here comes the star of the show. The queen of all buttercreams, Swiss Meringue is mixed with finely ground Oreo cookies. You know you have enough when you get that signature spectacled look and that oh so good cookie and cream flavor! We then fill that beautiful chocolate cupcake with the cookies and cream buttercream. Then, we pile more of that buttercream on top. Last, we top it all off with roughly crumbled Oreo cookies. I mean, come on! You will be transported back to your 12th birthday after the first bite and you will think, wow, this is even better than I remembered!
That’s the way the cookie crumbles…right into your mouth! 🙂
Cookies and cream frosting piled high atop that tender chocolate cake! Then because more is much better in this case, we filled that cupcake with frosting too! So you get cookies and cream in every bite!
So, celebrate the summer, the warmth, and you (and anyone else you want to) this weekend. Take a trip back in time and bake my Cookies and Cream Cupcakes and enjoy the present! Don’t forget to pair with your favorite beverage of choice…a tall glass of milk (for dunking your extra cookies) or a tall glass of bubbles (for dunking your extra cookies 😉) and enjoy the day!
Happy Weekending It & Cookies & Creaming It!
Diane
- For the Cupcakes:
- 1 and ⅓ cups AP flour
- ½ tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- ¼ tsp. baking soda
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- ½ cup unsalted butter room temp
- 2 eggs room temp
- 1 cup sugar
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- ¾ cup whole milk room temp
- 3 tbsp. hot water
- ¼ cup sweet almond oil (can sub vegetable oil)
- For the Buttercream:
- 5 large egg whites
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- ½ tsp. salt
- 1 cup finely crushed Oreo Cookies (from the family size bag of Oreos)
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 4 sticks of unsalted butter cut into tablespoons – room temp
- For the Garnish:
- ½ cup larger cookie crumbles/chunks (from the family size bag of Oreos)
- For the Cupcakes:
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and line a 12 cupcake pan with liners and two liners in a second pan, and set aside.
- In a medium bowl combine the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa powder, and set aside.
- In a measuring cup, combine the milk and vanilla extract, set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer beat the butter until light and fluffy about 3 minutes.
- Slowly add the sugar and beat to combine, about five minutes. Scrape down side of bowl as needed.
- Add the sour cream and combine until incorporated.
- Next add the eggs one at a time and beat until fully combined.
- Add one third of the dry ingredients and beat until just combined.
- Next add half of the milk mixture and beat until combined.
- Add another third of the dry and beat to incorporate.
- Next pour in the rest of the milk and beat until combined.
- Add the remaining dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Do not over mix.
- Add the hot water and mix. Last mix in the almond oil until fully incorporated
- Fill each of liners ¾rds full and bake for 16 to 18 minutes until toothpick inserted comes out with an only a few moist crumbs.
- Allow to cool in pan on wire rack. Remove from pan after 10 minutes to cool completely on rack.
- For the Buttercream:
- In the bowl of a food processor fitted with an s-blade, crumble one whole roll of cookies until you have a fine crumble. Pour into a small bowl and set aside. Next take about half a row of the cookies and pulse a few times so you have larger cookie pieces and chunks for your garnish. Place in a separate bowl and set aside.
- Separate whites from yolks in the bowl of a stand mixer.
- Pour sugar in bowl with the egg whites add the salt.
- Place bowl over, not touching, a pot with simmering water.
- Whisk constantly until sugar has completely dissolved around 160 degrees. If you don’t have a candy thermometer, you can tell it’s done when you rub a little of the mixture between your fingers and it is completely smooth with no graininess. Should take about 10 minutes.
- Then return bowl to stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment.
- Begin beating the eggs and sugar until whites are glossy and stiff peaks have formed.
- The bowl should be cool to the touch, this will take around 10 minutes.
- Next switch to the paddle attachment and beat on medium high speed.
- Add the butter slowly one piece at a time to incorporate. The mixture will look like it’s curdled, keep mixing, that is normal.
- Mix until frosting is smooth and shiny.
- Add in the vanilla extract and mix to combine.
- Next add the crushed cookies and mix to incorporate.
- Finish the Cupcakes:
- Once the cupcakes are completely cool, use a small pairing knife to cut a circle out of the top of the cupcake, cutting on a slight angle around inside perimeter of the cupcake. Pull out the circle and cut off the excess cake leave the top intact to replace. Repeat this process with the rest of the cupcakes.
- Fill each cupcake using about a tsp. or so of the frosting. Place the tops back on each of the cupcakes after you fill.
- Frost the cupcakes using a large ice cream scoop and flatten a bit and even out with off-set spatula or knife. Or fill a pastry bag with a tip of your choice to frost.
- Sprinkle the larger chunks of cookies over the top of the frosting.
- Serve at room temp.
- Store covered at room temp for 3 days or covered in the fridge for 5 days.
- Enjoy!
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