There are few things I love more in this world than a REALLLLY good chocolate cupcake, but more specifically, a cookies and cream chocolate cupcake! You just can't beat a good oreo buttercream frosting...am I right or am I right??
These chocolate oreo cupcakes are topped with a silky smooth cookies and cream oreo buttercream made with a homemade chocolate oreo crumb!
The chocolate cupcakes are made without milk or buttermilk, and totally blow store bought chocolate cupcakes away. The cake itself is super moist and full of rich chocolate flavor, with just a hint of coffee to really bring out the richness.
This recipe is for mini chocolate cupcakes but can easily be made into regular sized ones as well.
How to Make Mini Chocolate Cupcakes
These homemade oreo cupcakes are SO easy and only require one bowl! The secret trick is to use super hot coffee at the end right before it bakes, which gives it an extra moist crumb. You can use espresso as well if you don't have regular coffee and it will give it more of an espresso flavor.
Chocolate Cupcake Ingredients
- Canola Oil
- White sugar
- Dark brown sugar
- Salt
- Vanilla extract
- Greek yogurt
- Large egg
- Cocoa powder
- Flour or gluten-free 1:1 Bob's Red Mill Flour
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Coffee
- In a small bowl, sift together the all-purpose flour or gluten-free flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder. Add the baking soda but do not sift it. Set the bowl aside.
- In a large bowl, add the canola oil, sugar, and brown sugar. Use a whisk to combine the ingredients together.
- Add the vanilla extract, egg, salt, and greek yogurt. Whisk to combine them into the oil and sugar until completely combined.
Mix together sugars and oil Whisk together the oil and sugars Add the greek yogurt Add the egg
- Add the bowl of sifted dry ingredients and whisk just until they are combined into the wet ingredients.
- Brew your hot coffee or espresso and add it to the bowl of batter. Whisk to combine the coffee in well.
- In a mini cupcake or muffin tin, fill it with 12 mini cupcake liners. Using a scoop, fill the liners about 2/3 full with the batter.
- Bake at 325F for 18-20 minutes. Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.
Add the dry ingredients Pour in the hot coffee Whisk unti combined fill cupcake liners
Cookies and Cream Frosting Recipe
Now that they are baked and ready, we're going to frost our chocolate cupcakes with oreo frosting! Instead of using store bought Oreos, we're going to make a homemade chocolate cookie crumb that is super quick, easy, and only requires one bowl.
Chocolate Cookie Crumb Ingredients
- All-purpose flour
- Corn starch
- Sugar
- Cocoa powder
- Salt
- Melted butter
- In a medium bowl, combine the all-purpose flour or gluten-free flour, corn starch, sugar, cocoa powder, salt, and melted butter. Use a spoon to combine them together until it starts to stick together into crumbs.
- Spread the crumb out on a parchment lined sheet tray and bake at 300F for 20 minutes. Let it cool completely before using.
Buttercream Ingredients
- Butter
- Powdered sugar
- Salt
- Milk
- Chocolate oreo crumb
How to Make Cookies and Cream Frosting
1.In a mixing bowl add 1 cup of room temperature unsalted butter. Using the paddle attachment, whip the butter on low (speed 2-3) for 1-2 minutes or until the butter is smooth and lump free.
2. Stop the mixer and add 1/2 cup of powdered sugar to the butter. Mix on low until the sugar is combined, then continue to add the sugar in 1/2 cup amounts until the sugar is gone. Then turn the mixer up to medium (speed 4-5) and whip until very white and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
3. Stop the mixer and add the chocolate oreo crumb. Mix on low (speed 2-3) until the cookie crumb is just combined. The more you mix it, the more the crumb will break down and you won't get any crunchy cookie bites!
butter in a mixing bowl whip the butter with the powdered sugar
How to Make the Chocolate Cupcakes Gluten Free
I've found that almost always, simply replacing the regular flour for gluten free works very well, if not better.
These cupcakes are actually one of those recipes that are even better gluten free. The crumb is extra moist and soft and I swear you would not even be able to tell that its gluten free.
So how can you make these cupcakes gluten free cupcakes from scratch?
- Substitute Bob's Red Mill 1:1 gluten free flour for the all-purpose flour
- That's it!
Oreo Cupcake Decorating Ideas
I always recommend investing in a piping tip set for frosting cupcakes, or anything else. You can get a small variety pack on Amazon that's fairly inexpensive, and the tips are good for so many different things!
For this chocolate oreo cupcake recipe, we used a large #1A Wilton round tip to pipe the swirl, for some other ideas you can use:
- Tip #21 or 356 is a large star tip that will give you a striped design in the buttercream
- Tip #1C is a large star tip that will give you a nice flower shape to the buttercream
The Best Cookies and Cream Recipes
I'm just a huge fan of cookies and cream 'oreo' flavored recipes so here are a few recipes you must check out!
Frequently Asked Questions
They actually taste BETTER gluten free. Something about that flour blend that just makes the crumb so moist and tender! They're not grainy or dry at all, they're just perfect.
You could get old school with it and go for a classic vanilla buttercream, milk chocolate, mint chocolate chip, or a dark chocolate ganache frosting would be so delightful!
I can not say that I have ever made this recipe with an egg replacement, so I can't guarantee the results of substituting it with anything.
More Cake Recipes
Cookies and Cream Chocolate Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup canola oil
- 1/3 cup white sugar
- 1/3 cup dark brown sugar
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup full-fat plain greek yogurt
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 2/3 cup all-purpose or gluten free flour Bobs Red Mill 1:1 gluten free flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 cup hot coffee or espresso
Cookies and Cream Buttercream
- 1 cup soft, unsalted butter
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp milk, any kind
- 2/3 cup chocolate oreo crumb, plus the rest for topping
Instructions
- In a small bowl, sift together the all-purpose flour or gluten-free flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder. Add the baking soda but do not sift it. Set the bowl aside.
- In a large bowl, add the canola oil, sugar, and brown sugar. Use a whisk to combine the ingredients together.
- Add the vanilla extract, egg, salt, and greek yogurt. Whisk to combine them into the oil and sugar until completely combined.
- Add the bowl of sifted dry ingredients and whisk just until they are combined into the wet ingredients.
- Brew your hot coffee or espresso and add it to the bowl of batter. Whisk to combine the coffee in well.
- In a mini cupcake or muffin tin, fill it with 12 mini cupcake liners. Using a scoop, fill the liners about 2/3 full with the batter.
- Bake at 325 for 18-20 minutes. Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.
Cookies and Cream Buttercream
- In a mixing bowl add 1 cup of room temperature unsalted butter. Using the paddle attachment, whip the butter on low (speed 2-3) for 1-2 minutes or until the butter is smooth and lump free.
- Stop the mixer and add 1/2 cup of powdered sugar to the butter. Mix on low until the sugar is combined, then continue to add the sugar in 1/2 cup amounts until the sugar is gone. Then turn the mixer up to medium (speed 4-5) and whip until very white and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
- Stop the mixer and add the chocolate oreo crumb. Mix on low (speed 2-3) until the cookie crumb is just combined. The more you mix it, the more the crumb will break down and you won't get any crunchy cookie bites!
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