When the birthday of a sweet little girl at a church I went to came up, her mother asked me to bake cupcakes for the party. Of course, I needed to know what flavor and I was informed that Oreo cupcakes or Cookies and Cream would be the favorite and that she would love that! Well, my brain kicked into overdrive and I sat down and worked out a recipe. The cupcakes had to be stuffed though- just like the cookies!
Prep the Oreo cookies
Using full-sized Oreos, twist cookies apart (around 1/2 package) and scrape off the filling, and don't keep it. Or nibble on it. In a heavy bag with a rolling pin, crunch up the cookies until they're in small, small bits BUT NOT POWDER!
For the cupcakes:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 6 tablespoons dutch processed cocoa
- 2 tablespoons black cocoa (note, if you don't have it use regular cocoa)
- 4 tablespoons regular cocoa
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup well-shaken buttermilk
- 1 cup light vegetable oil
- 1 cup very hot water with 2 tsp espresso powder
- Whisk together the flour, cocoas, baking soda, and salt.
- In the hot water, bloom your espresso powder
- Mix the eggs, buttermilk, and vegetable oil in your mixing bowl.
- Add in the dry goods in 2 additions, mixing just until incorporated, scraping the bottom and sides before the second addition.
- Finish by adding in the cooled espresso water mixture, mixing until just incorporated, DO NOT OVER MIX!
- Fill the cupcake holders to about 1/2 but no more or they'll puff over.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
For the Filling
This internal fill is very sweet, just like the inside of the Oreo, so I opted not to use it as a frosting, but rather, as a filling and it worked out great! Just one thing: once you refrigerate it, it becomes hard. So do not refrigerate your cupcakes after filling these unless you plan to not use them until the next day. Just take them out about an hour before serving to make sure that the centers get soft.
Please note that the fill and the frosting look alike but are not the same.
- 1/2 cup Crisco white vegetable shortening
- 1 tsp clear vanilla
- 1/2 cup butter
- 6 1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar
- 2 sp granulated sugar
- 6 tbsp hot water
- Cream together the Crisco and butter until all one color and light and fluffy (it should be white or almost white in color).
- Dissolve the granulated sugar in the hot water.
- Begin adding in the powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time on low, adding 1 tbsp of the sugar water as you do until everything is done, and finish with the clear vanilla.
- Fold in 1/2 cup of the crunched cookies.
- Once the cupcakes are cooled to room temperature, hollow out a 1" diameter space in the middle (not to the bottom) of each cupcake and fill with the filling, just to the top. Save that hollowed-out part to put a "cap" on top.
For the frosting
You will be making a stabilized whip cream topping for this so follow these instructions closely!
Chill your stand mixer bowl in the fridge for 1/2 hour
- 4 tsp water
- 1 tsp unflavored gelatin
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream- very cold.
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp clear vanilla extract
- Bloom the gelatin in the water for a few minutes (around 3) and then warm up for 10 seconds in the microwave until it liquefies.
- Whisk the heavy cream until it's frothy and begins to thicken.
- Add in the sugar and vanilla and continue whipping until it gets almost firm peaks then add in the gelatin, whisking the entire time until the firm peak stage is completed (do not whisk longer or you'll get butter!)
- By hand, turn in the remaining crunched cookies and mix them together gingerly.
- Top the cupcakes!
You can opt to refrigerate these for use the next day but take them out about 15 minutes before serving.
