Oreo Cupcakes
These Oreo Cupcakes are made with a moist Black Velvet Cupcake baked on top of a whole Oreo and topped with the most amazing Oreo Frosting! I’ve been thinking about these cupcakes ever since I made them, and you will too!
Black Cocoa Powder Recipes are a great way to make some homemade Oreo treats! And you all know how much I love Oreo — it’s no wonder it’s America’s favorite cookie! I love an easy Oreo Milkshake to quickly satisfy that Oreo craving — but you can also find me munching on a delicious homemade Oreo Donut.
Why This Recipe Works
- Black cocoa cupcakes. Making these Oreo cupcakes with black cocoa powder gives them the perfect Oreo essence!
- Oreo cupcakes baked on an Oreo. You’re going to love the Oreo on the bottom! It retains a nice crunch and acts as a delicious Oreo crust for these cupcakes.
- Best Oreo cupcake recipe. Oreo on the bottom, delicious black velvet cupcake, topped with an Oreo-packed Oreo frosting?! I mean, each element is a winner, but together they are one of my new favorite cupcakes!
Ingredient Notes
- Oreo Cookies: You’ll need whole Oreo cookies to place on the bottom of each cupcake liner! When you bake the black cocoa cupcake batter on top, the Oreo cookie acts as a type of Oreo cookie crust! Paired with the Oreo frosting, and it is amazing!
- Cake Flour: Cake flour has the lightest protein content of the flours (with bread flour as the highest protein content). This will give the cupcake a really light and fluffy texture.
- Black Cocoa Powder: Yes you will want black cocoa powder! It will give you that deep Oreo color.
- Vegetable Oil: The vegetable oil is the much-needed fat for the Oreo cupcakes. It will help keep the crumb super moist.
- Sour Cream: Adding in extra fat is always a good idea! Adding sour cream is another amazing way to make cupcakes super moist.
- Buttermilk: The buttermilk will add a nice tangy flavor to the batch of cupcakes while also providing help with activating the baking soda.
- White Vinegar: Most velvet recipes (like red velvet recipes) call for white vinegar. It doesn’t make the cupcakes taste like vinegar, but it does help bring in that iconic velvet flavor.
- Black Gel Food Coloring: Even though we are using black cocoa powder, adding a bit of black food coloring will help these cookies and cream cupcakes be ultra black.
- 1 Batch Oreo Frosting: Follow my instructions in my Oreo frosting recipe to make the most amazing Oreo buttercream frosting of your life!
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Whisk the dry ingredients together. Preheat your oven to 350ºF. To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk 1 3/4 cup cake flour, 1 1/4 cup granulated sugar, 2/3 cup black cocoa powder, 3/4 tsp baking soda, and 1/2 tsp salt.
- Combine wet ingredients. To a large liquid measuring cup (or in a separate bowl) add 1/2 cup vegetable oil, 1/2 cup sour cream, 1/2 cup buttermilk, 1 large egg, 2 tsp pure vanilla extract, 1/2 tsp white vinegar, and a few drops of black gel food coloring. Whisk until uniform and well combined.
- Combine the two mixtures. Pour the wet mixture into the stand mixer bowl with the flour mixture. Using the paddle attachment, mix on low speed until the ingredients are combined. Do not over mix.
- Prepare the cupcake pan. Line a regular-sized cupcake pan with cupcake liners. Take a whole Oreo cookie and place it in the bottom of each liner.
- Portion the Oreo cupcake batter. Using a cookie scoop, portion the Oreo cupcake batter into each cupcake liner, filling the liners 1/2 full (I used a 2 T sized cookie scoop).
- Bake the Oreo cupcakes. Bake the cupcakes for 16-19 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in a center cupcake comes out clean. Remove from the oven and transfer to cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely. Do not cool in the pan.
- Make the Oreo Frosting. Cream 1 cup butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add 3 cups powdered sugar and 5-6 T of heavy cream. Mix to combine. Add the crushed Oreo cookie crumbs, 1 tsp vanilla extract and 1/2 tsp salt. Beat until light and fluffy (about 2 minutes).
- Frost the Oreo cupcakes with Oreo frosting! Place the Oreo buttercream in a piping bag with a large piping tip. Once the cupcakes are cooled completely, frost! Enjoy!
Recipe Tips
Using room temperature ingredients will help your cupcake batter come together more easily and bake up better!
If you don’t have a stand mixer, feel free to use a large bowl and a hand mixer!
You want the Oreo crumbs to be fine crumbs for the frosting so it can pipe well!
You don’t want to over fill your cupcake liners or else the cupcake batter will spill over as it rises. A good rule of thumb is 1/2-2/3 full — but I would err more toward 1/2. You definitely don’t want to fill them over 2/3 full — and don’t forget you have the Oreo on the bottom too!
Baking cupcakes can be a bit finicky since you don’t have much batter in each cupcake well and they rise really well! My biggest tip for you is to use an oven thermometer! This will really set you up for success.
It could be fun to add a mini Oreo cookie to the top of the cupcakes for decoration!
Interested in learning more about black cocoa powder? My Black Cocoa Powder Guide is packed full of helpful information!
Looking for a cake version of this recipe? Make my Oreo Cake (a 3-tired, 6-inch cake).
Make Ahead, Storing, and Freezing
You can make the cupcakes and the frosting ahead of time and store them until ready to serve.
Store the Oreo frosting in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 7 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months. Remove and let thaw in the fridge overnight. Then let come to room temperature before beating to return to a fluffy consistency.
Let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting them. Then store in an airtight container for 1-2 days or up to 3 in the fridge.
To freeze frosted cupcakes, flash freeze until the frosting is firm. Then wrap in plastic wrap and store in a ziplock bag or freezer-safe container. Freeze for up to 2 months. Remove and unwrap. Then let thaw in the fridge overnight in a covered container.
To freeze unfrosted cupcakes, let come to room temperature then wrap in plastic wrap. Store in a freezer-safe bag in the freezer for up to 2 months. Remove and let thaw in the fridge overnight. Frost with Oreo buttercream!
Recipe FAQs
Yes! Flash freeze the cupcakes until the frosting is firm. Then wrap in plastic wrap and transfer to a ziplock bag or airtight container. Remove from the freezer and unwrap. Let thaw in the fridge overnight in a covered container.
Yes! In fact, these Oreo cupcakes are baked on top of an Oreo! I find it’s better to put the Oreo at the bottom of the cupcake and the cupcake batter on top because it helps keep some of the crunch of the Oreo. If you were to put an Oreo in between some of the batter, then the batter would soften the Oreo and you wouldn’t get that Oreo crust element.
No. Black cocoa powder is scientifically different than regular cocoa powder (unsweetened cocoa powder) to it would make a big difference to use a different kind of cocoa powder. Learn more in my Black Cocoa Powder Guide!
No you definitely don’t need to have the Oreo on the bottom, but it’s such a fun and yummy element! It adds a type of Oreo crust to this Oreo cupcakes recipe.
More Oreo Desserts
Oreo Cupcakes
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 22 Oreo cookies - to place at the base of each cupcake liner
- 1 3/4 cups cake flour
- 1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2/3 cup black cocoa powder
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup buttermilk - room temperature
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon white vinegar
- drops of black gel food coloring
Oreo Frosting
- 1 cup unsalted butter - softened to room temperature
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 5-6 tablespoons heavy cream
- 12 Oreo cookies - pulsed into a fine powder (keep the cream inside the Oreos)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
Cupcakes
- Make the cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a regular sized cupcake pan with cupcake liners. Place a full Oreo cookie in the bottom of each liner and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer whisk the cake flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In a separate bowl, or large liquid measuring cup, whisk the vegetable oil, sour cream, buttermilk, egg, vanilla extract, white vinegar, and black food coloring.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients (using a paddle attachment) and mix on low until ingredients are combined.
- Portion the batter into the cupcake liners until ½ full, but no more than 2/3 full. (I use a 2 tablespoon sized cookie scoop to portion my batter evenly amongst the cupcake compartments). Bake for 16-19 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean from the center of the cupcakes.
- Remove and transfer the cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely.
Oreo Frosting
- Make the frosting: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment cream the butter until smooth, about 1 minute on medium speed. Add the powdered sugar and heavy cream and mix until smooth. Add the vanilla extract, crushed Oreos and salt. Mix on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add more heavy cream, a tablespoon at a time, until frosting reaches your desired consistency.
- When piping this frosting use a tip that has a bigger diameter, sometimes the crushed Oreo cookies can clog up smaller piping tips. Pipe the frosting on the top of each cooled cupcake.
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6 Comments on “Oreo Cupcakes”
Great cupcakes. The crunch of the oreo on the bottom contrasted with the creamy frosting and the fluffy cupcake is fantastic.
I found that I only used about 2/3 of the frosting, so next I’ll cut down on that a bit.
I could not find black cocoa powder in time so I used Hershey’s dark cocoa powder. I don’t doubt that the cupcakes would have tasted and looked a bit better with the black cocoa, but the ones I made were still great. I’m excited to try them with black cocoa, but if all you have is dark cocoa, these are still totally worth it.
Thanks for the comment, Jay! Glad they turned out great with the dark cocoa powder. Thanks for the great review!
Freakin delicious!! My boyfriend requested I make these again but for his birthday
Such a good birthday request! Glad they were a hit! Thanks for the great review, Cathleen!
Why do you use baking soda instead of baking powder?
Black cocoa powder is most commonly paired with baking powder. However, in this recipe I used a decent amount of buttermilk and so I knew if I used the baking soda I would get the proper leavening action in this recipe.