cookies and cream cupcakes

Cookies and cream. What a winning combination. I'm a massive fan of cookies and cream. Think Oreos, Ice Cream, mmm.

There are so many recipes online for cookies and cream cupcakes - some from packet mix, some from scratch. Some with a vanilla base, others chocolate, ones with choc chips, crushed oreos, an oreo in the bottom, filled with marshmallow, ones with crushed wafer, some with cream cheese frosting, others with buttercream, crushed oreos throughout and of course, the icing of the cupcake – the oreo on top. There is variance in this too – a big oreo, a mini oreo, a big oreo cut in half.

So where do I start?

I thought I’d make my own up. 

cookies and cream cupcakes 

preparation time | 25 minutes

cooking time | 20 minutes

makes | 16 cupcakes 

chocolate cupcakes 

1/2 cup (50g) dutch processed cocoa powder

1 cup (250ml) boiling hot water

1 1/3 cups (175g) plain flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 cup (113g) salted butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup (175g) white sugar 

3 eggs 

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

6 Oreo cookies

mini Oreo cookies

vanilla icing

1/2 cup salted butter, at room temperature

2 cups icing sugar mixture

milk at room temperature 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1| Preheat oven 190°C (or 170°C fan forced). Line the muffin / cupcake tray with pretty paper cases. Halve the Oreo cookies and place one half in the bottom of each cupcake liner.

2| In a small bowl, stir the hot water and cocoa powder until smooth and let it cool to room temperature. In another bowl, sift the flour and baking powder. 

3| In the bowl of your electric or hand mixer, beat the butter first for a couple of minutes. Then add the sugar, bit by bit and beat until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating until smooth after each egg. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Beat in the vanilla extract. On the lowest speed of your mixer, add in the flour and cocoa mixture in thirds alternating, starting with flour and ending with flour. Stop mixing when incorporate - it's important not to over beat the mixture, the cake won't be very moist! 

4| Fill each cup with batter, on top of the Oreo cookie (about 1 oversized tablespoon of batter) and bake for about 16-20 minutes or until risen and springy when touched, and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Don't over bake the cupcakes - they'll become dry!

5| Remove from the oven and patiently wait for them to cool on a wire rack. 

6 | To make the icing, beat the butter with an electric mixer until creamy and slowly add in the sugar, vanilla extract and milk until it's of a smooth thick consistency (so you can pipe it). You can either pipe it or spread it on to the cupcakes, and then decorate the tops of your cupcakes with a mini Oreo cookie.