Rich chocolate cake baked with chunks of holiday OREO cookies topped with whipped peppermint buttercream loaded with candy cane chunks makes my Dairy Queen Blizzard inspired Candy Cane Oreo Cupcakesthe perfect holiday treat!
No, I didn’t get paid to make these cupcakes. Instead, inspiration hit me at a time in my life when I thought baking wasn’t a passion anymore… that I was burnt out on cupcakes.
Last week, my family and I were watching TV and a DQ commercial for candy cane oreo Blizzards came on and I said WOAH that sounds delish. No naturally we went to DQ to try them and of course they were delicious.
I had not felt inspiration to bake something new in 10 months. This feeling was strangely familiar but it somehow felt different, but I knew I had to see it through to the end.
So, I went to the grocery store, bought all the supplies (can you believe that the candy canes were hard to find?!!) and scheduled a day to bake.
The DQ Blizzard has big chunks of candy cane and OREO in it, so I knew I wanted my Candy Cane Oreo Cupcake to have the same. I started with my dark chocolate cake recipe and filled it with pieces of OREO.
Next, my traditional whipped buttercream got kicked up a notch by adding peppermint extract and tons of crushed candy canes to it.
I couldn’t decide how I wanted to garnish these cupcakes, so I did it a few different ways. All of the sides were lined with crushed candy canes and some were topped with an OREO chunk, crumbles or a candy cane.
The peppermint chocolate combination is one of my favorites for the holiday season and these cupcakes do not disappoint!
Happy Holidays!
Candy Cane Oreo Cupcakes
Ingredients
Chocolate OREO Cupcakes
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- ¾ cup brewed coffee
- ½ Tbsp espresso powder
- 1 tsp vanilla
- ¼ cup + 2 Tbsp cup dark chocolate cocoa powder
- ⅓ cup sour cream
- 1 egg
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup flour
- ¾ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 12 OREO cookies, crushed into chunks
Candy Cane Buttercream
- 12 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
- 6 cups sifted powdered sugar
- 3 tsp peppermint extract
- 1/2 cup + 1 Tbsp heavy whipping cream
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 18 mini candy canes
- 1/2 cup crushed candy canes, for decorating
- OREO cookie pieces, for decorating
Instructions
Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Line cupcake pan with liners.
- In a medium sauce pan, melt the butter. Add the coffee, espresso powder, cocoa powder, and vanilla and whisk until combined. Set aside to cool slightly.
- In a large bowl, sift together the sugar, flour, baking soda and salt. Add the chunked OREOS and toss to coat. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the sour cream and the eggs. SLOWLY add a few tablespoons of the chocolate mixture to the sour cream and eggs. Whisk to combine. In a slow stream, whisk in the remaining chocolate mixture until combined completely.
- Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in wet. Using a whisk, stir until no more lumps remain.
- Fill cupcake liners ¾ full. Bake for 18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool in pan for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
Buttercream
- Crush candy canes in a food processor until they are very fine, small pieces. Divide in half.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer, mix the butter until smooth, about 30 seconds.
- Add half the sugar and mix until combined. Add the remaining sugar and mix until incorporated.
- Scrape the sides of the bowl and add the peppermint extract and half the cream. Mix until combined.
- Add the remaining cream until you reach your desired consistency. Less cream for stiffer frosting, more cream for softer.
- Mix on high speed for 3-5 minutes or until light and fluffy.
- Using a large round piping tip fitted on a piping bag, pipe swirls of frosting onto each cupcake.
- Press crushed candy cane pieces onto the side of each cupcake.
- Top with an OREO or candy cane piece or however else you want to decorate it!
- Eat and enjoy!
connie munoz
Monday 26th of December 2016
and I have lots of candy canes to try this....cant wait, thank you...glad to see you baking cupcakes again.....merry Christmas to you and your family...
Betsy Eves
Monday 26th of December 2016
xoxo Thank you!
Kayle (The Cooking Actress)
Wednesday 21st of December 2016
these cupcakes are SO BEAUTIFUL. I'm so glad inspiration struck! <3