Cookies and Cream Cupcakes — Soft, fluffy chocolate cupcakes with Oreo frosting you’ll want to eat by the spoonful! Ready in under an hour, and perfect for birthdays, parties, and family gatherings!
Chocolate Cupcakes with Oreo Frosting
Recently my daughter celebrated her eighth birthday.
When I asked her what kind of treats she wanted to bring to school to celebrate with her classmates she said chocolate cupcakes.
Sounds easy enough, right? Not so much. Long gone are the days of bringing in a box of Twinkies, Ding Dongs, or even your average homemade chocolate chip cookies.
Everything requires teacher pre-approval and in my daughter’s small class, the teacher went down the line of the kids’ various dietary requirements: vegan, dairy-free, egg-free, peanut-free.
Making cupcakes without butter is easy because I think oil keeps them softer and moister anyway. But no eggs was new for me and I was worried about the texture and them being too dense and not fluffy enough.
I was pleasantly shocked when not only did the turn out, but they’re rich, wonderfully chocolaty, and the texture is incredible. Super soft, fluffy, light, springy, and perfectly moist.
Even if I don’t ‘need’ to make vegan cupcakes, this is my new go-to chocolate cupcake recipe because it’s fast, easy, and they tasted incredible.
You’re in luck if you ever happen to run out of milk, eggs, and butter all at once. Or have to make treats for a crowd with various dietary requirements. The recipe halves easily, too.
What’s in the Cookies and Cream Cupcakes?
To make the chocolate cupcakes, you’ll need:
- Milk (any kind)
- Apple cider vinegar
- Granulated sugar
- Oil
- Vanilla extract
- All-purpose flour
- Unsweetened cocoa powder
- Baking soda and baking powder
- Salt
To make the Oreo frosting, you’ll need:
- Butter, non-dairy butter, or shortening
- Confectioners’ sugar
- Oreos
How to Make Cookies and Cream Cupcakes
These accidentally vegan chocolate Oreo cupcakes come together like your typical cupcake recipe. No special ingredients or steps involved!
- Preheat oven to 350F and line two 12-count regular muffin pans with paper or foil liners.
- To a large bowl, add the milk, apple cider vinegar, stir, and set aside for about 5 minutes to curdle.
- While waiting for the milk, to a separate large bowl, add the sugar, oil, vanilla, and whisk a bit.
- Add the curdled milk to the sugar-oil mixture and whisk until smooth and combined; set aside.
- To a separate large bowl, add the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and whisk to combine.
- Slowly add the wet mixture to the dry, stirring until smooth and no large lumps remain.
- Turn batter out into prepared muffin pans, filling each cavity to about 3/4-full.
- Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs, but no batter, and are domed and springy to the touch.
- After cupcakes have cooled completely, they can be frosted.
Can This Recipe Be Halved?
Yes, very easily! If you only need 12 cupcakes, simply halve the ingredients and bake in a standard 12-cup cupcake pan.
Do I Use the Entire Oreo?
Yes! Use the whole Oreo (i.e. both the chocolate cookie and the cream filling). The whole thing is vegan, if that’s important to you.
Tips for the Best Cookies and Cream Cupcakes
- I made 22 Oreo cupcakes and you could probably get 24 from the batch if you fill them more shallow.
- Start checking the cupcakes at the 17-minute mark. All ovens and climates vary, and you don’t want to accidentally over bake the cupcakes.
- I used regular Oreos to make the Oreo frosting, but you can use Double Stuf or another flavor if desired.
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Cookies and Cream Cupcakes
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 2 cups milk, I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk, use any kind you'd like
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- ⅔ cup canola or vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ⅔ cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
Frosting
- 1 cup butter, non-dairy butter or shortening (I used Earth Balance Sticks
- 3 to 3 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar
- 24 Oreo cookies, roughly chopped
Instructions
Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350F and line two 12-count regular muffin pans with paper or foil liners. I made 22 cupcakes and you could probably get 24 from the batch if you fill them more shallow; and the recipe halves easily if you need 11-12 cupcakes. Set pans aside.
- To a large bowl, add the milk, apple cider vinegar, stir, and set aside for about 5 minutes to curdle. It doesn’t get as thick as regular buttermilk and that’s okay.
- While waiting for the milk, to a separate large bowl, add the sugar, oil, vanilla, and whisk a bit. Mixture is thick and granular.
- Add the curdled milk to the sugar-oil mixture and whisk until smooth and combined; set aside.
- To a separate large bowl, add the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and whisk to combine.
- Slowly add the wet mixture to the dry, stirring until smooth and no large lumps remain. A few tiny lumps are okay. Don’t overmix because that can result in tough cupcakes.
- Turn batter out into prepared muffin pans, filling each cavity to about 3/4-full.
- Bake for about 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs, but no batter, and are domed and springy to the touch. Start watching closely and checking at 17-18 minutes since all ovens and climates vary; don’t overbake which is easy to do with dark-colored items.
- Allow cupcakes to cool in pan for 5 to 10 minutes before removing and placing on a wire rack to cool completely.
- After cupcakes have cooled completely they can be frosted.
Frosting
- To a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or large mixing bowl and electric mixer), add the butter, confectioners’ sugar, and beat on low speed for about 2 minutes before increasing to high speed and beating for about 3 minutes, or until very light and fluffy; set aside.
- Roughly chop the Oreos. I chop by hand because I like some decent-sized pieces of Oreos rather than having them pulverized into crumbs which is what tends to happen all too quickly in the food processor.
- Add the Oreos to the frosting and mix on low speed until just incorporated, about 30 seconds.
- Frost each cupcake with a generous dollop of frosting. I used my 2-tablespoon cookie scoop but you can experiment with what works best.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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great
When making the frosting for the Chocolate Cupcakes with Cookies and Cream Frosting, I have. question on the Oreos that are to be chopped up. Do I chop up the whole Oreo or just the cookie part (without the filling)? I see the question was asked in previous comments but the answer was about Oreos being vegan and now whether you include the cream from the Oreo cookie in the frosting.
The whole Oreo, you don’t have to separate out cookies and frosting, use the whole thing.
Happy! About half of my family is vegan, and I had a last-minute request for something vegan for a birthday party. These cupcakes were a hit with everyone. Thank you!
I would definitely stick to three cups of confectioners sugar and no more, because the frosting was stiff, although there weren’t any complaints.
I also used only two bowls and mixed the dry into the wet. But otherwise I followed it exactly. Quick, easy, and yummy!
Thanks for the 5 star review and I’m glad these were a hit with everyone!
Happy! About half of my family is vegan, and I had a last-minute request for something vegan for a birthday party. These cupcakes were a hit with everyone. Thank you!
I would definitely stick to three cups of confectioners sugar and no more, because the frosting was stiff, although there weren’t any complaints.
I also used only two bowls and mixed the dry into the wet. But otherwise I followed it exactly. Quick, easy, and yummy!
I’ve used this recipe before and absolutely loved it. It’s my go-to recipe for chocolate cupcakes. Just wondering, would this recipe work out as well for a 8 inch birthday cake?
I haven’t tried making this as a cake but I think you’d probably be safe.
Averie, I’d like to know the cream in the oreo, do you take it out before chopping the cookie, or you leave it in when chopping. If you take it out, what do you do with it? Thanks.
Many people say that Oreos are vegan. You can google it and so much pops up https://spoonuniversity.com/lifestyle/30-surprisingly-vegan-foods
You can do what you wish with the info and proceed with the recipe however it works best for you.