Cookies & Cream Oreo Brownie Cupcakes

Cookies and cream, in a cupcake. Delicious, chewy chocolate brownie cupcakes topped with cookies-and-cream buttercream, topped with a mini Oreo and, the pièce de résistance, an Oreo is baked right into the middle of the cupcake! 

My coworkers have a crush on a blogger. She’s a food blogger, she’s from Seattle and she has a rockin’ blog. And, sob, she’s not me!

Wah.

It’s okay though. Her name is Megan, and her blog is Bake it in a Cake. Her fiance works with us, too, so while I haven’t personally met her yet, I’ve had the chance to delight in the delicious pleasure of her cupcakes with bonus treats baked right inside. You know, like little pumpkin pies or pretzel M & Ms or baklava. Cool, right?

They go gaga over her buttercream, too. Her recipe for Junior Mint buttercream is amazing, I admit, and genius as well. Butter, powdered sugar and a king-size box of Junior Mints, melted, mixed in and then, of course, devoured. Delicious.

Inspired by Megan’s recipe that she posted this past Halloween, these delicious-looking Oreo-stuffed brownie cupcakes with the aforementioned Junior Mint buttercream frosting, I decided to take the Oreo and cupcake thing all the way.

Oreos stuffed inside moist, brownie-like chocolate cupcakes, and then more Oreos crumbled into a delicious vanilla buttercream. Topped off, of course, with a mini Oreo cookie.

These things are serious sugar bombs. Rich, sweet, sinful. Delicious. Everything cookies and cream should be. Yum!

5 from 1 vote

Cookies & Cream Cupcakes

Prep: 25 minutes mins

Cook: 25 minutes mins

Total: 50 minutes mins

Author: Kare

Yield: 15 cupcakes*

Super-easy one-bowl brownie cupcakes with an Oreo cookie baked right in the middle! Topped off with a fluffy cookies-and-cream buttercream, these Oreo cupcakes are irresistible.

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Ingredients

Oreo Brownie Cupcakes:

• 4 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate (broken into pieces)
• 3/4 cups 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 15 Oreo cookies (for inside)
• 15 mini Oreo cookies (for topping)

Oreo Buttercream Frosting:

• 3 cups powdered (confectioner's sugar)
• 1 cup 2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 8 Oreo cookies
• Pinch salt
• 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

Instructions

Make the cupcakes:

• Line 15 cupcake holders with paper liners. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Place the chocolate and the butter in a large, microwave-safe bowl. Heat in the microwave on high for about one minute, until the butter is melted and the chocolate is just melted. Give it a good stir to mix it all together.
• Stir in the granulated sugar, then add the eggs, stirring in one at a time. Then stir in the vanilla.
• Add the flour and stir well. The batter should be smooth and light-ish brown.
• Add a tablespoon of batter to each muffin cup.
• Place one Oreo cookie flat on top of each cup of batter and press down slightly.
• Top with the remaining batter, dividing between the 15 cups, about 1.5 tablespoons per cupcake.
• Bake at 350 degrees until the brownies are set but not overbaked, 22-25 minutes. Cool completely.

Make the Oreo buttercream:

• Add the Oreo cookies to a zipper bag and seal. Crush with a rolling pin until they're small crumbs.
• In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter until smooth. Add the powdered sugar, Oreo crumbs, vanilla, and salt. Start out on the lowest setting (this helps avoid a powdered sugar blizzard) and then increase to medium once the powdered sugar is well-incorporated. Mix until completely blended. Drizzle in the heavy whipping cream and mix until fluffy, 1-2 more minutes.

Assemble the cupcakes:

• Top cool cupcakes with the Oreo buttercream. You can use a pastry bag with a big frosting tip, or, if you can't find yours, a Ziploc bag works in a pinch. Just fill a big bag with the frosting, cut the corner off and squeeze the frosting out the corner onto the cupcake.
• Top each cupcake with a mini Oreo. Update 1/11/2015: We made these for our daughter's Disney-themed birthday and added two Oreos to look like mouse ears. They were perfect!