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Death by Oreo Cupcakes

You know that phrase “everything in moderation”? I agree, mostly. But sometimes… you just LOVE something so much you HAVE to go a little bit overboard. That is the idea behind these Death by Oreo Cupcakes.

Oreo Cupcakes with oreo buttercream frosting. A complete recipe with directions on how to make oreo cupcakes

Listen, if you’re an Oreo fan, then you will ADORE these cupcakes. With an Oreo baked into the bottom of each cupcake, Oreo cookies folded into the cake batter as well as the buttercream, and an Oreo on top… this recipe is sure to satisfy any and all Oreo cravings for years to come!

If you’re wondering how I came up with this recipe, well… I used my favorite vanilla cake batter for the base of the cupcake then just added Oreos until I couldn’t see straight!

The result? An astounding and heavenly little set of Oreo cupcakes that will knock your family and friends out… and maybe remind you a bit of your favorite childhood snacks.

A trio of Oreo cupcakes with Oreo buttercream on a serving plate.

I know they’re delicious, too, because I brought about 50 of these Death by Oreo Cupcakes to my husband’s work softball game/BBQ and they were GONE within 10 minutes. Actually, I think it was closer to 5 minutes. People were taking them by the handfuls. Like, WOW. I’m pretty sure that when a soldier sees an Oreo, it’s like a switch in his head goes off and he becomes a glutton!

Time for YOU to indulge that gluttony, too… let’s make some Death by Oreo Cupcakes!

Death by Oreo Cupcakes – Ingredients And Utensils Required

Yield: 36+ cupcakes. Great for parties! You can halve the recipe for smaller yields.

Ingredients

A big (though not difficult!) part of this recipe is preparing the AMAZING vanilla cupcake batter. I didn’t want to make this post too long, though, or repeat myself… so I have the batter recipe on a separate post. Be sure to print out that page too!

Oreo Cupcakes

  • 2 packages of Oreo cookies
  • Vanilla cupcake batter using THIS recipe doubled

Oreo Buttercream

  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp
  • 2 lbs powdered sugar
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1/8 tsp salt
  • 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
  • 1 sleeve of Oreo cookies
  • 1 bag of Mini Oreo cookies, for garnish

Utensils & Other Necessities

  • All utensils needed to make the batter
  • A cupcake pan and liners
  • Toothpicks
  • An electric stand mixer
  • A food processor
  • (Optional) A frosting pipe with a “large round” tip to accommodate the cookie chunks

Instructions

Oreo Cupcakes

  1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Line cupcake pan with liners and place a whole Oreo at the bottom of each liner.
  2. Prepare the vanilla cupcake batter as described in the instructions.
  3. Crush about 25 Oreo cookies into chunks. Fold this into the batter.
  4. Scoop the batter into the cupcake pan cups. Make sure each cup is at least 3/4 full.
  5. Bake for about 18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
  6. Cool in pan for a few minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Oreo Buttercream

  1. Cream butter until smooth using an electric stand mixer.
  2. Add the sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating until smooth after each addition. If the buttercream becomes too difficult to make smooth, add a Tbsp of cream at a time to loosen it up.
  3. Mix in the vanilla and salt.
  4. Add more cream until you get a smooth or spreadable consistency. Beat on high for about 5 minutes.
  5. Using a food processor, blend the remaining whole Oreo cookies until no chunks remain. Add this to the buttercream and mix until combined.
  6. Top each cupcake with frosting and garnish with a Mini Oreo.

FAQs About These Death By Oreo Cupcakes

A lot of you have given me feedback on this awesome Oreo cupcake recipe, so I’ve decided to add a few tips to save you time in the future!

OMG, do I have to use all the fancy ingredients in the vanilla cake recipe?

Oh, no, not at all! Not for these Oreo cupcakes. You can use regular cream, sugar, and vanilla extract. You don’t have to use the Madagascar vanilla bean sugar or anything like that!

Can you use milk instead of heavy cream in the Oreo buttercream?

Yes, absolutely! It won’t whip up as light as using heavy cream, but it’ll still taste fabulous.

How many Oreos is a “sleeve”? Mine didn’t come in a sleeve!

Use 10-12 Oreos as the equivalent of a sleeve. Or just experiment! Really, you can use as much or as little Oreo as you want.

Can you use gluten-free Oreo and cake mix alternatives for this recipe?

I think so! It should still come out tasting wonderful, as far as I know. A reader of mine has tried out this exact recipe with gluten-free alternatives and it was apparently fab-u-lous. Of course, your mileage may vary!

Happy baking!

Be sure to leave a comment below with your results or your questions. I’d be happy to help you… or just to hear your stories with this Oreo cupcake recipe!

A trio of Oreo cupcakes with Oreo buttercream on a serving plate.

Death by Oreo Cupcakes

Yield: 3+ dozen cupcakes
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes

If you love Oreos... you'll love these cupcakes!

Ingredients

Oreo Cupcakes

Oreo Buttercream

  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp
  • 2 lbs powdered sugar
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1/8 tsp salt
  • 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
  • 1 sleeve of Oreo cookies
  • 1 bag of Mini Oreo cookies - for garnish

Instructions

Oreo Cupcakes

  1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Line cupcake pan with liners and place a whole Oreo at the bottom of each liner.
  2. Prepare the vanilla cupcake batter as described in the directions above.
  3. Crush into chunks about 25 Oreo cookies. Fold this into the batter.
  4. Scoop batter into cups at least 3/4 full.
  5. Bake for about 18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
  6. Cool in pan for a few minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Oreo Buttercream

  1. Cream butter until smooth using an electric stand mixer.
  2. Add the sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating until smooth after each addition. If it becomes too difficult to make smooth, add a Tbsp of cream at a time to loosen it up.
  3. Mix in the vanilla and salt.
  4. Add more cream until you get a smooth or spreadable consistency. Beat on high for about 5 minutes.
  5. Using a food processor, blend the remaining whole Oreo cookies until no chunks remain. Add this to the buttercream and mix until combined.
  6. Top each cupcake with frosting and garnish with a Mini Oreo.

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Instagram

Abbey

Friday 18th of August 2023

How do you recommend storing them? Do they need to be refrigerated?

Betsy Eves

Tuesday 12th of September 2023

Typically, if I'm serving cupcakes the same day, I leave them out. However, if it's the next day, I'll pop them in a plastic storage container and keep the lid cracked open. Too much moisture can make the liners peel away. If it's longer than that - I'll put the storage container with the cupcakes in the fridge until the day I'm ready to serve them.

Conchita Cullinan

Saturday 31st of March 2018

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Racha

Thursday 15th of June 2017

How Many cupcakes is this recipe and how many cupcakes is 3+ dozen?

Betsy Eves

Monday 19th of June 2017

1 dozen = 12 3 dozen = 12x3 3+ dozen = 12x3 plus a few extra

Happy baking!

Brianna

Monday 30th of May 2016

Hi, just a simple question...what number/size tip do you use for your frosting? Thanks!

Betsy Eves

Monday 30th of May 2016

I'm not sure what number it is... but it's about a 1/2" round tip.

Sarah

Thursday 4th of June 2015

Hi. I'm using your Oreo buttercream frosting recipe. I however have individual packages of oreos, each pack has 2 cookies. How many oreos would make up a sleeve of oreos, basically how many oreos should I use?

Betsy Eves

Friday 5th of June 2015

I'd try using 10-12 Oreos at first, and then see how you like the frosting. Really, it's up to you how much Oreo you want in it!

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