Cookies and Cream Oreo Cupcakes are moist vanilla cupcakes filled with crumbled Oreo cookies and topped with swirls of the best Oreo buttercream frosting. These homemade cupcakes are easy to make and perfect for birthdays!

Frosted cookies and cream Oreo cupcakes in white and blue cupcake liners, garnished with whole Oreo cookies.

Oreo Cupcakes With Cookies and Cream Frosting

I always have at least a few bags of Oreos in my pantry at any given time, whether it’s for baking or satisfying my husband’s cravings (the man loves Oreos!). I love having my favorite ingredients handy whenever inspiration strikes. Exhibit A: These incredible, moist, fluffy, irresistible cookies and cream Oreo cupcakes.

These are moist vanilla cupcakes stuffed with chocolatey Oreo cookies. Full stop. Yet SO GOOD. I include the recipe for my favorite Oreo Frosting that I swirled over the cupcakes once they cooled off. It’s a match made in dessert heaven! Cookies and cream never tasted so good.

Frosted cookies and cream Oreo cupcakes in white and blue cupcake liners on a white cake stand.

Why You’ll Love This Cupcake Recipe

These easy cupcakes are perfect for any Oreo lover’s birthday or your holiday dessert menu. They’re also firmly kid-approved! Here are more reasons to love them:

Simple ingredients. You likely have everything you need to make these cupcakes in your pantry already! And if you’re an Oreo lover like me, chances are you have a bag or two of those, too.
Ready in 30 minutes. These cupcakes are ready in just 30 minutes, then all that’s left is to cool and frost them.
Easy to customize. Decorate your cookies and cream cupcakes any way you’d like! Change up the frosting, use your favorite sprinkles, and more. I include some fun decorating ideas later on.

A frosted Oreo cupcake with a bite missing stacked on an unfrosted cupcake, with more decorated cupcakes in the background.

Key Ingredients for Oreo Cupcakes

This recipe borrows the cake batter from my Moist Vanilla Cake and adds a few key ingredients for the ultimate Oreo cupcakes. I include some quick notes below. Remember to refer to the recipe card below the post for the full recipe details.

For the Cupcakes

Oil – Using vegetable oil in place of butter yields an ultra-tender cake crumb.
Vanilla – Real vanilla extract deepens the flavors.
Sour Cream – My secret for super-moist cakes and cupcakes. Sour cream adds unbelievable moisture to the cake crumb without impacting the flavor. If you don’t have it, plain Greek yogurt will also work.
Milk – I use non-fat milk in this recipe, but you can also use whole milk or 2%.
Oreos – You’ll need about 15-18 Oreo cookies for the cake, and an additional 12 or so Oreos to use when making your frosting. A standard pack with 36 cookies should be enough for the recipe itself. If you’d like to garnish your cupcakes with whole Oreos (as pictured), go ahead and pick up a second pack.

Ingredients for Oreo Cupcakes laid out on a table in various small bowls and dishes

For the Frosting

Butter – My buttercream recipes always begin with cold unsalted butter. Make sure that it’s chilled from the fridge, as the extra whipping it takes to soften the butter will yield an ultra-light, silky frosting. Feel free to cube the cold butter so that it’s easier to whip.
Powdered Sugar – The base of this frosting. You might also know it as confectioner’s sugar.
Heavy Cream – Make sure to use full-fat heavy whipping cream for the creamiest frosting. You can also use milk, though the texture won’t be quite as luxurious.

How to Make Oreo Cupcakes

Set your oven to preheat to 350ºF while you line the wells of a cupcake pan with liners.

First, mix the cupcake batter. Cream the sugar together with oil, eggs, and vanilla. Afterward, beat in the sour cream. Then, whisk together the dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Gradually add the dry mixture to the batter, alternating with milk until combined.

Ingredients for Oreo cupcakes in a glass mixing bowl, eggs, vanilla, oil and sugar

Flour and wet ingredients for cupcake batter in a glass mixing bowl with crushed Oreos scattered beside it.

Add Oreos. Next, crush up the Oreos using a Ziploc bag and a rolling pin and fold the pieces into the cupcake batter.

A marble rolling pin crushing Oreos in a gallon-sized Ziploc bag.

Batter for Oreo cupcakes in a glass bowl with whisk on the side

Fill the pan. Divide the batter between the liners in your cupcake pan. A large cookie scoop works great for this!

Bake. Bake your Oreo cupcakes at 350ºF for 18-22 minutes. Once they’re out of the oven, leave the cupcakes to cool completely before you frost them.

a large cookie scoop filling a pan with Oreo cupcake batter

Make the Oreo Frosting

The Oreo frosting for these cupcakes is a cookie-filled spin-off of my Perfect Vanilla Frosting that’s also rich, creamy, and pipeable. While the Oreos in the cupcake can be chunky, the Oreos in the frosting are crushed fine so that the frosting will pipe smoothly.

Beat the butter. Cut your cold butter into cubes and add it to the bowl of your stand mixer. Then, whip the butter for a few minutes until it becomes light and fluffy.
Combine. A little at a time, beat in the powdered sugar, whipping in between each addition. Next, beat in the Oreo cookie crumbs along with the heavy cream, and vanilla. Once the crumbs are incorporated, give the frosting one last whip on high for another minute.

a glass mixing bowl with Oreo buttercream

Recipe Tips

Don’t crush up the Oreos too finely for the batter. This gives more variety in the cupcakes’ texture. It’s OK if there are larger chunks in the cupcakes, just not in the frosting.
Use a food processor to pulse the Oreos for the frosting. This ensures a fine crumb. However, if you don’t have one, you can also use the plastic bag and rolling pin method (in this case, I usually let my kids go at it!)

Try not to overfill the pan. Your cupcakes may end up with an odd-shaped dome due to the chunks of cookies in the batter. Aim to fill your cupcake liners no more than 2/3 of the way full.

Take time when beating the frosting. My Oreo frosting recipe calls for some extra time beating the butter so that it gets thoroughly whipped. Trust me, it’s worth the small effort! The buttercream comes out ultra-smooth and makes piping the cupcakes so much easier.

No piping bag? No worries! Use a Ziploc bag or sandwich bag with the corner snipped off. You can even fit it with a piping tip if you have one. Alternatively, you can use the same large cookie scoop to dollop a scoop of frosting on top.

Make this recipe as a cake. If you love the flavors of these Oreo cupcakes but would prefer a cake instead, try my Oreo Cookies and Cream Cake recipe.

Close up of a frosted cookies and cream Oreo cupcake in a white and blue cupcake liner garnished with an Oreo cookie, with a second decorated cupcake in the background.

How to Decorate Cookies and Cream Cupcakes

Once your cupcakes are cooled and your frosting is whipped and ready, it’s time to decorate! I use a piping bag with a large closed star tip to pipe big, beautiful Oreo frosting swirls on top of my cookies and cream cupcakes. See my tutorials on How to Use a Piping Bag and How to Use Piping Tips for loads of helpful piping tricks.

In place of Oreo frosting, you can even top your cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting or Peanut Butter Frosting. If you’d prefer a less sweet frosting, try my recipe for Swiss Meringue Buttercream.

When it comes to garnishing, I top these homemade cupcakes with a whole Oreo cookie stuck into the frosting (I mean, can you ever have enough Oreos?). Another option is to sprinkle over chopped Oreos, and you can really top these homemade cupcakes with anything you’d like. Try shaved chocolate, chocolate chips, rainbow sprinkles, or a drizzle of chocolate sauce.

A frosted cookies and cream Oreo cupcake in a white and blue cupcake liner garnished with an Oreo cookie.

Make-Ahead and Storage Instructions

The frosted Oreo cupcakes can be stored airtight at room temperature for up to 1-2 days, or in the fridge for up to 1 week. If you keep your cupcakes in the fridge, take them out and let them come to room temperature again before serving.

If you have leftover frosting, you can also store this airtight in the fridge for up to 1 week or in the freezer for 2 months. It’s perfect to make ahead in case you’d like to freeze your baked cupcakes, see below. Once refrigerated (or frozen), the buttercream should be brought to room temperature and re-whipped in the mixer for several minutes.

Can I Freeze Oreo Cupcakes?

Yes, though I usually recommend freezing cupcakes before they’re frosted. The unfrosted cookies and cream cupcakes can be frozen for up to 3 months. Store them airtight and thaw the cupcakes fully before you frost and serve them.