Oreo Cupcakes
I’ve shared my recipe for funfetti cupcakes and red velvet cupcakes, but I haven’t shared my recipe for chocolate Oreo cupcakes.
I’m a big fan of baking with Oreos. I love them in ice cream, cakes, and even croissants! Hence, my Oreo drip cake and my Oreo frosting recipe.
I think they also make an awesome cupcake flavor.
Incorporating Oreos into this Recipe
While adding Oreos into a cupcake recipe doesn’t seem that challenging, there are actually a few things to consider.
Do you put them into the cupcake batter? Do you add them to the frosting? Do you fill the cupcake with them??
I chose to get a little creative. I added a ton of crushed Oreos into the frosting to give it that yummy chocolate cookie taste, and I also added some into the batter.
This cupcake recipe adds an entire cup of chopped Oreos into the batter.
It adds great texture to the cupcakes, and gives you the Oreo crunch in every bite!
The Secret Ingredient in These Chocolate Oreo Cupcakes
Oreos have such a unique taste, and dark color. To help translate both of these aspects into these chocolate Oreo cupcakes, I use black cocoa.
Black cocoa has a slightly higher pH than Dutch-processed cocoa (8 vs. 7) and is much less acidic than natural baking cocoa (5-6).
This gives the cupcakes a bittersweet, chocolaty taste just like an Oreo cookie! It’s absolutely delicious.
Making The Perfect Oreo Frosting
These chocolate Oreo cupcakes are topped with my favorite Oreo frosting.
The base of this frosting is my classic American buttercream frosting recipe. There are so many reasons why I am obsessed with my buttercream recipe.
I love that is only uses a handful of ingredients, which most of us already have in our pantries! This frosting is also pretty much foolproof and comes together in less than 10 minutes.
American buttercream is definitely on the sweet side, though. I have a huge sweet tooth, so I love it!
If you don’t, you can try mixing crushed Oreos into a less sweet frosting. My Russian buttercream or Swiss meringue buttercream are great alternatives.
The only thing that could make my American buttercream better is…you guessed it…crushed Oreos!!
My Advice: Use Crushed Oreos in the Frosting
It may seem like all you have to do is cut up some Oreos and throw them into the buttercream. However, it’s actually not that simple!
If you plan to pipe with this buttercream (which I did!), you need to use a food processor or blender to completely crush the Oreos.
Bits of Oreo will get stuck in your piping tip if you don’t break down the Oreos into small enough pieces.
Trust me, there is nothing more frustrating than being mid-swirl, only to have the frosting tip get plugged and ruin your perfect design.
It’s worth reaching up to your highest cabinet (or the back of your pantry) and pulling out your food processor.
I keep my Ninja food processor on my top shelf and have to get out a step stool to reach it. It’s a pain, but I knew it was necessary for this.
I’ve had my Ninja for several years, and it still works great! You can also use a blender if you don’t have a food processor handy.
I really pulverized my Oreo cookies to get them to the right consistency. To do this, crush the Oreos by pulsing them a few times, then hold down that crush button!!
Let the food processor work its magic until you have super fine bits of Oreo.
Workaround If You Don’t Have a Food Processor
If you don’t have a food processor, be sure to use a sharp knife to cut your Oreos into superfine pieces.
Really commit to getting a super fine texture! It’s definitely more challenging to get the right texture with a knife.
It also takes a bit of time to get the Oreo bits into uniformly small pieces.
Above is a batch of Oreo buttercream I made with hand-chopped Oreos.
It definitely wasn’t as smooth as I would’ve liked, but the frosting tasted great.
I was using this as a cake filling, and it worked well for that! This would also work to spread on cupcakes if you weren’t planning to use a piping tip.
However, frosting with this consistency would’ve been almost impossible to pipe swirls with!
These chunks would definitely get stuck in a decorative piping tip like a Wilton 1M or a Wilton 4B (used on these cupcakes).
Below is a batch made with pulverized Oreos. You can see the texture is much smoother!
Tips for Making the Best Chocolate Oreo Cupcakes:
- Don’t over-mix your batter. Stir until the flour is just combined into the batter.
- Properly measure your flour (spoon into the cup measure, then level) or use a kitchen scale when making the cupcake batter.
- Make sure your ingredients are at room temperature. They mix together best that way.
- Don’t overbake your cupcakes. Keep an eye on them and be sure to set a timer.
Making These Chocolate Oreo Cupcakes in Advance
These cupcakes can be made in advance! If stored unfrosted in an airtight container, they can last for:
- 2 days at room temp
- Up to a week in the fridge
- Up to 3 months in the freezer
Frosted cupcakes can sit out at room temperature for a day, or be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
If you have extra buttercream you don’t use, it can be stored in the fridge for up to a month, or kept in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Let Me Know What You Think!
If you try this recipe for chocolate Oreo cupcakes, I’d love to hear what you think! Please leave a comment below and a rating.
Oreo Cupcakes
Ingredients
Chocolate Cupcake Batter
- 3/4 cup hot water 180ml
- 1 1/2 tsp instant espresso or coffee 3g
- 1/3 cup milk or dark chocolate chips 60g
- 1/3 cup black cocoa powder 32g
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour 98g
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar 150g
- 1/2 tsp fine salt 2g
- 1/2 tsp baking soda 3g
- 2 large eggs, room temperature 112g
- 1/3 cup vegetable or canola oil 70g
- 1 tsp white vinegar 4ml
- 1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste 4ml
- 1 cup roughly chopped Oreos 150g
Oreo Buttercream Frosting
- 1/2 cup crushed Oreo cookie crumbs – about 6 cookies 75g
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature 226g
- 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar 454g or 1 lb. box
- 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream, room temperature 60ml
- 2 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste 8ml
- 1/2 tsp fine salt 3g
Additional Decorations/Tools:
- Stand mixer
- Whisk and paddle attachments for stand mixer
- Large piping bag
- Wilton 1M Frosting tip
Instructions
Chocolate Oreo Cupcakes:
- Begin by preheating the oven to 350°F /175°C. Place cupcake liners in baking pans.
- Add 3/4 cup of (VERY) hot water into a large bowl.
- Mix in 1 1/2 tsp of coffee or espresso powder and stir lightly until dissolved.
- Carefully pour in 1/3 cup chocolate chips and 1/3 cup of black cocoa powder. Let this sit for 2 minutes to melt the chocolate, then stir until smooth.
- Pour the dry ingredients (3/4 cup flour, 3/4 cup sugar, 1/2 tsp baking soda and 1/2 tsp salt) into chocolate espresso mixture, and stir until just combined. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed with a spatula.
- Mix in 2 eggs, one at a time.
- Then add 1/3 cup vegetable oil, 1 tsp vinegar, and 1 tsp vanilla. Mix until the batter is smooth – it will be thin!
- Fold in the crushed Oreos with a rubber spatula.
- Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full and bake for about 18 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean (or with minimal crumbs).
- Allow cupcakes to cool in pans for 10 minutes, then remove and place in the freezer for 15 minutes (to accelerate the cooling process).
Oreo Frosting:
- Crush the entire oreo cookies in a food processor until no large bits remain. Set aside.
- Beat the butter on a medium speed for 30 seconds with a paddle attachment in a stand mixer or in a large bowl with a hand mixer. Mix until smooth.
- Slowly add in 3 1/2 cups of powdered sugar on a low speed. Place a kitchen towel over the stand mixer, to help reduce the powdered sugar clouds. Halfway through add 1/4 cup of heavy cream to make the frosting easier to mix.
- Once fully combined, mix in 2 tsp vanilla extract and 1/2 tsp fine salt on low.
- Add in 1/2 cup of crushed Oreos, and mix on low until the ingredients are fully incorporated, and the desired consistency is reached.
- If the frosting is too thick, add in additional cream (1 tablespoon at a time). If the frosting is too thin, add in more powdered sugar (1/4 at a time).
Decorating These Oreo Cupcakes:
- Place the frosting into a large piping bag fitted with a Wilton 4B frosting tip.
- Pipe a generous swirl on top of each cupcake, and top with some additional crushed Oreos.
- If desired, drizzle with chocolate ganache and leftover bits of crushed oreo.
Video
Notes
- 2 days at room temp
- Up to a week in the fridge
- Up to 3 months in the freezer
Nutrition
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These look so yummy! I’ve been making these for many years and I certainly understand what you are saying about crushing the Oreos enough! 1 little piece can totally ruin your perfect swirl! I don’t put Oreos into the batter, but instead, I put a full Oreo on the bottom of the liner and add the chocolate batter! ( or vanilla, makes for a milder taste )
Hi Belinda!
I love that idea of an oreo at the bottom, it’d be such a fun surprise 🙂 And yes, nothing is worse than a bit of cookie clogging your frosting tip. NOTHING!! haha happy baking!! <3
what is black coco powder? where do you get it?
Hi Shoupe,
I order mine on amazon! I like using the wincrest brand, here’s the link to the one I order: https://amzn.to/2RrnXAY
Hope that helps, happy baking!!
I LOVE your recipes! Im a novice baker, who only recently started to take baking more seriously rather than a casual hobby so all of your advice is really helpful!
Hi Wren! You are too sweet 🙂
That’s exactly how I started out too!! I’m so happy you find my blog helpful, happy baking!! <3
Can I use this recipe in a cake thank you
Hi Roxana,
I actually have a great oreo cake recipe that I recommend instead! Here’s the link: https://chelsweets.com/2019/07/22/oreo-drip-cake/
Hope that helps, happy baking!
I also make an Oreo frosting adding the oreos to the buttercream. I find it easier to put the cookies in a ziplock bag and using a rolling pin to crush the Oreos superfine so it doesn’t stick in the tip.
Hi Sandy,
That’s a great point! I always forget that’s an option for crushing oreos too 🙂 Thank you for sharing!!
These look amazing! Where do you get your cupcake liners from? They look bigger than standard
Hi Elp,
I think my liners are normal sized, they fit in my standard cupcake tin! But maybe they’re a bit taller or something?? Haha I love the ones I use, and I order them on amazon! here’s the link: https://amzn.to/3aiZsOW
I hope that helps 🙂
Can I use dark (or regular) cocoa powder instead of black cocoa powder? Thanks!
Hi Liz! You can use dark or regular cocoa powder in place of the black cocoa! It will change the taste a bit, but the texture will still turn out just fine!! Hope that helps, happy baking 🙂
I made your Smores cake for my sister’s b-day last year and she loved it! Her other favorite is Oreos, so I’m going to try these for her birthday this year. We aren’t coffee drinkers and don’t like the taste. Will the recipe still work If I leave the coffee out?
I am so happy to hear that Jana! That’s a great question! You can totally omit the coffee from this recipe and it will still turn out great 🙂 Happy baking!
I made this yesterday. I love all your recipes. I always get compliments. This one is one of the best. That buttercream/Oreo frosting is awesome!! I want to just eat a bowl of that.
Hi Vivian,
I am so happy to hear that!! I swear I could eat a bowl of this frosting too! 😛
Can I use regular cocoa powder instead? I don’t have black cocoa powder on hand and I’m making it for my 8 year olds class, I wonder if it will be too bitter for them?
Hi Jennifer,
You can totally use regular cocoa powder in place of the black cocoa. It will change the taste a bit, but they will still taste great! If that’s what you have on hand, I say use that instead <3
I just put in your Oreo cake recipe into the oven , my hunnie bought me a Kitchen Aid stand mixer for our anniversary, I love baking for fun especially for my toddler and his daycare , any advice… his birthday is tomorrow & I baked the cake in advance , how would you store it to frost tomorrow ? Also would you make the Oreo buttercream today and frost tomorrow or just make tomorrow to frost , up next are the Oreo cupcakes for him and his daycare ? I love your recipes. I can’t wait to start trying them with my new mixer !!
Hi Jacqueline,
I’m so sorry for the delayed response!! That’s awesome that you just got a KitchenAid, it is by far and away my favorite kitchen appliance!!
I usually make my cake layers / cupcakes in advance and freeze them (I share how I freeze cake layers here: https://chelsweets.com/2018/10/28/how-to-make-cake-layers-in-advance/).
With cupcakes, you can store them in an airtight container overnight at room temp, or pop them in the freezer. Leaving them at room temp is probably easiest since it’s only one day! I usually make the frosting in advance too, then frost cupcakes the day I plan to serve them!
With frozen cake layers, I let them thaw a bit before assembling and frosting the cake! Once the cake is frosted, it will stay good for up to a week in the fridge! The frosting locks in all moisture 🙂
I hope that helps, happy baking!!
I would love to make these for my friend’s birthday but she loves whipped frosting. Do you have a recipe you like?
Hi Katie,
I’m actually working on a whipped cream frosting recipe right now!! Sadly it won’t be up for a couple weeks though. Stay tuned!!
If I make the buttercream in advance can I pipe it cold right out of the fridge?
Hi Jessica! Sadly no buttercream can be piped right out of the fridge because of all the butter in the frosting! It firms up a lot when it’s chilled.
when I make my frosting in advance, I like to take my frosting bag out of the fridge an hour or two before I plan to use it, and wipe off the frosting tip to make sure no buttercream is crusted in the points of the frosting tip.I hope that helps, happy baking!
These look amazing! Can you use regular cocoa powder instead of the black cocoa powder?
Hi Liz,
Thanks! You can totally use regular cocoa in place of the black cocoa in this recipe! Happy baking <3
Thank you!
How many eggs do I use?
Hi Kaitlin,
The recipe card calls for 2 eggs 🙂 Happy baking!
Hi! Is it possible to substitute or not use the instant espresso in this recipe? I want to make these cupcakes for my brother’s birthday and he is not allowed to eat or drink anything containing espresso or coffee. Thank you! I love your recipes and video so much!
Hi Natalie,
You can omit the instant espresso in this recipe, that’s totally fine! They will still taste great 🙂 happy baking!
Hii!
I really want to try this out but how many cupcakes do you get out of the recept? Or am i just reading it wrong haha
Hi Megan,
This recipe makes 12-14 cupcakes, depending on your cupcake liners and tins! I find it makes 12 cupcakes with the pans I use. Hope that helps, happy baking!
How do you think filling these with your marshmallow cream filling would work? I was thinking it might give that cream center taste.
Hi Heather,
I think that sounds fantastic, and is an great idea!! Happy baking 🙂
i just made this reticule, but the frosting tastes only like butter. did i do something wrong? i did step 4 before reading step 5. will that make a difference?
Hi Olivia,
Did you add the right amount of powdered sugar?? And did you add in the amount of Oreos the recipe calls for? Those would be my first guesses! The order you add the ingredients shouldn’t make a huge different when it comes to making the frosting. Hopefully one of those is the culprit! <3
thank you! i figured out i was using salted margarine instead of unsalted butter!! it turned out so delicious! 🙂
Ahh yah that would definitely change the taste of the frosting!! Happy you were able to get to the bottom of it. Happy baking!!
First, I love alll of your recipes! I really want to recreate the cupcakes but leave out the cup of Oreos, do you think they will change anything or since they are just folded in at the end it shouldn’t matter much?
Hi Alex,
Thanks!! You can totally do that! They will still bake up great 🙂
These look great! I want to make them! Is it really only 3/4 cup of flour?
Hi Bridgett,
It is! The amount seems low, but it’s because of all the cocoa powder in this recipe too <3
Can I use the base recipe and add peppermint flavour to make a peppermint cupcake? How much would you recommend?
I made these Oreo cupcakes and my step dad and mum said they were the BEST cupcakes ever. I didn’t have espresso powder (hard to get in Australia) so made my own and normal cocoa (but I bought some black cocoa to try!!).
You sure can! I like to add 1 tsp of peppermint extract, but you can a little more or less depending on how strong of a peppermint flavor you want. And so happy to hear that you guys are enjoying this recipe Rhianna 🙂 Happy baking!
Is the vinegar required? Or could I replace vinegar and baking soda with baking powder? Thanks!
Hi Alayna,
The vinegar is required to activate the baking soda! Baking soda is about 3x as potent as baking powder. If you want to swap the baking soda for baking powder, be sure to convert based on that ratio <3
Hi!
I’m trying to bake something for my mom for Mother’s Day but I don’t know what would be a good choice, and we also don’t have much good baking supplies. I love your recipes btw!
Bella
Hi Bella,
That’s so sweet! My 5-ingredient peanut butter cookies are super easy and simple to make, and so are my GF monster cookies! both don’t use many ingredients, and are delicious 🙂 hope that helps!
Hi, I wanna make these oreo cupcakes but I don’t have black cocoa powder. Is that necessary or can I find a replacement for it ?
Do the crushed Oreos for the batter still have their filling in them? And when do we put the Oreo filling into the frosting?
I made these the other day and they were heavenly! The really thin batter kind of freaked me out a bit but they came out so perfect. Definitely a keeper for the recipe book! Thank you.
I just used regular dark Hershey’s cocoa and they came out just fine.
Hi Chelsea can u help me ?
I want to bake this without eggs ?is there any way
Thanks ?
These were so decadent and sweet! I followed the recipe exactly and they came out amazing. I was able to make 12 regular sized cupcakes and 6 mini cupcakes with this recipe. The chocolate was so rich and the slight hint of coffee made me unable to stop picking at them. I used regular hersheys chocolate syrup to drizzle over the frosting and they looked divine!
Can’t wait to make these! I noticed that the recipe you have for oreo buttercream frosting here is slightly different than your oreo frosting post. On the other one you doubled the butter, powdered sugar, and oreos, but kept everything else the same. Is there a reason for that? I will be making at least 1.5 batches or doubling the recipe and wanted to know if I should double all the ingredients.
Hi, would like to ask if it’s possible to color the frosting or would it change the taste of it? I’m doing a frozen theme for my nieces so would like to color the frosting blue. If not what other frosting would you recommend for this recipe? Thank you.
Can i make the cupcake batter and store it in the fridge for future bakings taking place within days ?
These turned out soooo good! The cupcakes are super moist and have such good flavor. The oreo buttercream is perfect! I would love to use this in a cake. Even my picky child who does not like frosting, loved this!
Do the oreos sink to the bottom of the cupcakes?
Can I substitute the AP for gluten free flour? Btw your gluten free cupcakes and techniques are amazing.
I’ve made these 2 times now, and I love the taste, but find that the Oreos don’t distribute evenly among all the cupcakes. They seem to float on top of the batter and get scooped in the first half of the cupcakes, and the last few tend to have very little. I put them in a bag to crush the Oreos, but maybe the pieces are too big?
I would love to try this and a few of your other recipes, but noticed that there is espresso/coffee in most of the chocolate ones. I can not stand the flavor of coffee. Can I just omit it or substitute for something else?
Thank you,
Marla
Hello, I need to make these gluten and nut free. I was going to use cassava flour and gluten free oreos. Do you think this recipe will work with gluten free oreos?
Hey! These look so good and I can’t wait to make them, I was wondering if it would make a difference if I left out the coffee? Thank you!
Can I make this into a cake?
You can, but I’d recommend just using my oreo cake recipe!! Here’s the link: https://chelsweets.com/oreo-drip-cake/
Happy baking!
I made a double batch of these for my 6 year old’s kindergarten class, and was told these were the best cupcakes they’ve ever had!! I’d like to translate this into a 6″ 3 layer cake for her party. How do I adjust the recipe? Thank you!
Hi Antionette,
I’m so happy to hear that 🙂 That’s wonderful!! Both the cupcake and frosting recipe can be doubled and used to make a 3 layer, 6-inch cake. Hope that helps, happy baking!
I’ve made this recipe twice now and absolutely love it! Thank you for providing this great recipe. I will say, I used canola oil instead of vegetable oil and turns out great.
Hi Kristi,
So happy to hear that Kristi 🙂 Thank you for sharing!!
I made these last night for a colleagues birthday that was today….Ohhhh did they not come out so perfectly ?? added some Half oreos as decor on some…it’s a winner.
Was a pleasure making them?
Love to hear that Bongiwe!! Thank you so much for sharing 🙂
I’ve just made this recipe for the first time and it is so good. It tastes exactly like an Oreo cookie. I just wanted to say thank you for your recipes! They have helped me to learn to bake from scratch using weight to measure and now my cakes are so much better than the modified box mixes I used to do.
I am so happy to hear that Courtney, that is wonderful!! Thank you so much for sharing 🙂
Yummy easy to make moist cupcakes. It is packed with dark coca flavor and the buttercream was delicious. I did only add 3 cups of confectioner sugar instead of 3 1/2 cups it called for and I’m glad I did because it was the right amount of sugar for me. Thank you for sharing your recipe.
Hi Amy,
Thank you for sharing, and glad you were able to adjust the frosting to your preference 🙂 Appreciate your feedback!!