Cookies and Cream Cupcakes (version 2.0)

Have you ever made something so good, you kind of curse yourself for making it before you stuff your face with almost everything, leaving only a trail of crumbs for other hungry hearts to find? And then you go on cursing all the popular bakeries, cuz their $h!t ain’t got nothing on yours. Admittedly, I may suffer from baker snob syndrome. But this is why the Vietnamese has a saying “Muốn ăn thì lăn vào bếp” which means if you want to eat you better go work in the kitchen (literal translation). It obviously sounds a lot cooler in Vietnamese, cuz it rhymes. When it comes to cupcakes, I don’t want cake so dense that it chokes me while the nauseating sugary sweet frosting kills me. 

So if we’re on the same page and you want soft, fluffy cake, and creamy frosting that makes you feel like you’re eating a cloud, then well, you’ve come to the right place my friends. I crashed my neighbor’s family reunion last week. The party’s theme was Black and White. Naturally, you can’t crash a party without bringing dessert. So I thought I’d make these cookies and cream cupcakes, but a new and improved version 2.0! Those used to be my go to something chocolate, until I found a new go to something chocolate…

The cakes were based on my new favorite chocolate cake. And since I have a slight obsession with cream cheese, it was incorporated into the frosting. It is pertinent to chill the frosting until it sets before you work it with because when you mix the soften cream cheese with whipped cream, it is more creamy than frosty… just trust me on this unless you want to sauce your cupcakes.

Another obsession I have is filling my cupcakes with more creamy frosting. You always have the option to skip this of course, but what’s the fun in that? Normally, I use tip 230 to fill the cupcakes, but this time I used star tip 1M for both the filling and frosting since there are Oreo crumbs in the frosting. Tip 230 opening is too small, it would get plugged up. The only downside to using tip 1M for the filling is that you can easily overfill your cupcakes and kill it! SO use a light hand.

See the runny filling here… I was in a hurry for these photos before a trip to the Laundromat… then party… oh the glamorous life! So if you’ll excuse me, I’ll have to go make some guac and salsa, and maybe some more cupcakes for tomorrow’s party. 😉 Have a fun weekend!

Chocolate Cookies and Cream Cupcakes

This recipe makes a dozen regular size cupcakes, or 2 - 3 dozens mini cupcakes. For mini cupcakes, reduce baking time by 2 - 3 minutes.

5 from 1 vote

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Course: Cupcakes, Dessert

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 17 minutes

Total Time: 47 minutes

Servings: 12

Calories: 404

Author: Trang

Ingredients

For the cake:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons unsweetened natural cocoa powder
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup freshly brewed coffee
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the frosting:

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 8 oz cream cheese – room temperature
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup ground Oreo cookies – 4 to 5 cookies
• Extra cookies for garnishing

Instructions

• Brew 1/2 cup of coffee and set aside to cool. You can brew the coffee however you prefer your coffee or follow the instruction on the coffee bag. I used 1 rounded tablespoon of ground coffee and about 5 oz of water.
• Preheat oven to 350°F and line a regular size cupcake pan with cupcake liner.
• Add buttermilk, egg, oil and vanilla extract in a bowl or measuring cup and beat to combine.
• Sift all the dry ingredients, flour, cocoa powder, sugar, salt, baking soda, and baking powder together in the bowl of your standmixer. Fit the mixer with the paddle attachment and mix to combine.
• With the mixer on low speed, pour the wet ingredients into the dry mixture. Mix until combined. Then slowly pour the coffee in with the mixer still on low speed. Mix again only until combined.
• Stop the mixer and use a spatula to scrape the side and bottom of the bowl and make sure everything is thoroughly mixed.
• Use an ice cream scoop to divide batter equally among 12 cups, it will be about 2/3 to 3/4 full. Bake at 350°F for 17 minutes. Inserted toothpick in the middle of the cupcake should come out clean. Cool the cupcakes on a wire rack.
• To prepare the frosting, chill a mixing bowl and the whisk attachment in the freezer for 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, ground up 4 to 5 Oreo cookies in a food processor or blender to make 1/2 cup of ground Oreo. Process until everything is coarse and mealy. You don’t want too fine crumbs, but not too large either.
• Whip 1 cup of heavy whipping cream with 1/4 cup of sugar and 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract on medium high speed until stiff peak forms. Transfer to another bowl and place in the fridge.
• Place the soften cream cheese in the same mixing bowl you just made the whipped cream, 1/4 cup of sugar and 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Beat until everything is incorporated and creamy.
• Fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture with a spatula. Then fold the ground Oreo into the cream. Place into the freezer for 15 – 30 minutes to set.
• When the cupcakes cool completely, you can assemble them.
• Fill a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip with the cookies and cream frosting. To fill the cupcakes, just stab the tip down in the middle of the cake and give the frosting bag a slight squeeze, continue until you see the cupcake expands a little bit. You may only need to squeeze once to get enough filling in there.
• Use the same pastry bag and star tip to top the cupcake with frosting.
• Garnish each cupcake with half an Oreo cookie.
• Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Notes

• When grounding the Oreos for the filling and frosting, it can be tricky because too fine a ground can get lost in the cream, and too big a ground can get stuck in the piping tip.
• Another trick to filling the cupcakes easily is cutting out a hole on top of the cupcakes with the back of a piping tip, fill the whole with filling, and replace the plug of cupcakes.

Nutrition

Serving: 123g | Calories: 404kcal

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