Amazing Gluten-Free Cookies and Cream Cupcakes with Oreos

As a kid, cookies and cream anything was one of my favorite flavors! I am so glad I was able to recreate the flavor combination in this dessert recipe: gluten-free cookies and cream cupcakes with Oreos, without losing out on texture or taste.

At my cottage bakery, I get several orders a month for these cupcakes, usually for children's birthday parties! They're great for any special celebration, or just when you're craving some delightful cookies and cream flavor! Let's dig into this gluten-free Oreo dessert recipe!

Ingredients

The star ingredient for this recipe is gluten-free Oreos. I get mine from Target or Walmart: they come in a light blue box. Here's everything else you'll need:

• Gluten-free all-purpose flour (click for my DIY blend as well as appropriate commercial blends. Your flour choice really matters.)
• Gluten-free Oreo cookies (light blue box)
• Corn starch
• Baking powder
• Salt
• Baking soda
• Butter
• Neutral tasting oil, like canola
• Sugar
• Eggs
• Milk
• Vanilla extract
• Powdered sugar

See recipe card for quantities.

Instructions

This is a classic cupcake recipe. I think of my ingredients as belonging into three categories: dry, liquids, creamed.

In a large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients. Set aside. Measure out the milk, combine with vanilla and set aside.

In a mixing bowl, combine sugar, butter and oil. I know typical creaming techniques don't require oil, but I find that a small amount of oil in the batter helps keep cupcakes moist longer than just butter (since oil is liquid at room temperature). Mix until it's all combined and creamy. I personally always mix by hand, but you can certainly use a stand mixer or electric mixer. Once the butter is creamed, add the room temperature eggs and continue mixing until fully incorporated.

Next, alternate between adding dry and liquid ingredients to the creamed sugar, starting and ending with dry ingredients: add ⅓ of the dry ingredients, ½ the milk, ⅓ of the dry ingredients, ½ the milk and the last ⅓ of the dry ingredients. Mix until the batter is uniform.

Next, fold in roughly chopped gluten-free Oreo cookies in the batter. Spoon into a lined muffin tray (about ¾ full) and bake for ~17 minutes in a preheated 325F oven.

Hint: always check with an oven thermometer that your oven is at the right temperature (mine runs 15 F hot!) Cupcakes must bake at a lower temperature than cakes or muffins to ensure an evenly smooth top that supports frosting.

While the gluten-free cookies and cream cupcakes bake, we can make buttercream with Oreos. If you're new to American buttercream, check out my recipe and instruction video for guidelines on correct consistency.

But for now, we'll skip to specifically flavoring the buttercream with cookies and cream.

First, add gluten-free Oreos to a food processor to fully powder them. Then, sift them into a bowl. And now, fold them into the buttercream.

Hint: even though sifting the gluten-free Oreo powder is a pain, don't skip this step! It ensures that your piping nozzle won't get clogged up!

Now we're ready to decorate the cupcakes. You can watch the video below if you'd like to see how to fit a piping bag with a piping tip, fill the bag correctly and pipe a rosette using a 1M tip! I prefer an opened tip like the 1M (as opposed to 2D for example) for this buttercream, as it avoids the chances of cookie bits clogging up the nozzle.

Hint: if you don't plan on eating the cupcakes the same day, you can wait to add the final gluten-free Oreo decoration. That will prevent the cookie from getting soggy.

Substitutions

Gluten-free Oreo cookies contain soy (oil and lecithin), and also certified gluten-free oat flour. I write this here because those are two common sensitivities for those with Celiac disease, and ingredient knowledge is so important when dealing with allergies!

If you have a dairy allergy, it's still possible to make these cupcakes. Milk is not an ingredient in gluten-free Oreos, and we can swap out the dairy in my recipe!

• Dairy-free - sub out the milk for a plant-based milk, my preference is always almond milk because of its fat content. You also need to use vegan butter. For the batter, you can use any vegan butter really, but for the buttercream, I have suggestions based on my taste preferences and feedback from my cottage bakery's customers. Miyoko's (allergen: coconut, cashews) or Country Crock Avocado butter (allergen: soy).

• Egg-free - working on an alternative for you, check back soon! In the meantime, try my gluten-free vegan strawberry cupcakes!

Variations

Did you know that Oreos have a few gluten-free flavors now? You can swap out the regular gluten-free Oreos for the mint or golden versions! So many options for gluten-free Oreo dessert recipes!

You can also try this out with your favorite gluten-free cookies. Mine are gluten-free maple cream cookies, and I replace the vanilla extract for maple extract... ohmygosh!!

Equipment

The use of a stand mixer is optional but I definitely find it useful for making buttercream. You'll also need:

• Food processor
• Muffin pan
• Piping bag & 1M nozzle

Storage

Good news, there's no need to refrigerate these cupcakes! All of my recipes for my cottage food bakery must be shelf-stable per the health department. You can simply leave them on the counter, and they'll be good and moist for up to 3 days after baking.

You could make just the cupcake ahead of time, wrap them tightly in plastic wrap and freeze. Then you can simply pull them out of the freezer and frost them the day of your celebration.

I don't recommend freezing buttercream because it's messy, but if you have leftovers that won't get eaten in time, you can freeze the cupcakes for 15 minutes (unwrapped, to harden the buttercream), and then wrap in plastic and freeze. Thaw to room temperature and enjoy your gluten-free Oreo dessert!

FAQ

RELATED

Looking for other cakes and cupcakes? Try these!

Gluten-Free Cookies and Cream Cupcakes with Oreo

Are you nostalgic for some cookies and cream flavor from your childhood? Me too! That's what I love about these gluten-free cupcakes! Perfect for any celebration and sure to satisfy those cravings!

5 from 6 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: celebration, gluten-free

Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 17 minutes minutes

Total Time: 47 minutes minutes

Servings: 13

Calories: 406.8kcal

Author: Naelle @ GlutenFreeDIYers

Cost: 13

Equipment

• 1 muffin tray
• 1 Food Processor
• 1 piping bag
• 1 1M nozzle

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

Dry Ingredients

• 180 grams gluten-free flour please click through for appropriate blends
• 15 grams corn starch
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon baking soda

Liquid Ingredients

• 130 grams milk room temperature
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Creamed Ingredients

• 70 grams butter room temperature
• 28 grams canola oil or other light tasting oil
• 175 grams sugar
• 1 egg room temperature
• 1 egg white room temperature
• 4 gluten-free Oreo cookies crumbled

Buttercream Ingredients

• 174 grams salted butter room temperature
• 349 grams powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon hot water as needed
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 gluten-free Oreo cookies powdered and sifted
• 3 gluten-free Oreo cookies for decorating

Instructions

Preparing Ingredients

• Preheat oven to 325 °F (163 °C)
• Mix all the dry ingredients together.
• Sift the dry ingredients into a clean bowl. Set aside.
• Measure the milk and vanilla extract into a glass, set aside.

Creamed Ingredients

• In a large mixing bowl, add the butter, oil and sugar.
• Mix together until the mixture is creamed. This takes a few minutes.
• Add the egg and egg white. Continue mixing until fully incorporated.

Making the Batter

• Alternately add the dry ingredients and liquid ingredients to the creamed ingredients, starting with the dry ingredients. Combine well between each addition.
• Fold in 4 crumbled gluten-free Oreo cookies to the batter.
• Scoop the batter equally into the lined muffin tray.

  Please note: this recipe yields 13 cupcakes (or 12 really big ones!) as I always make an extra to taste test.

Baking the Cupcakes

• Place in the center of the preheated oven (325 °F (163 °C)) and bake for 17 minutes. Check at the 15 minutes mark. Cupcakes are ready when they bounce back after being poked, and are slightly golden.
• Remove from the oven and let cool a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

Making the Buttercream

• In the food processor, pulse 3 gluten-free Oreo cookies until powdered.
• Sift in a bowl and set aside.
• With an electric mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the salted butter.
• If your house is cold, you may need to add a few drops of hot water. If it's summertime, you may not need any water at all.
• Add the powdered sugar, continue mixing.
• If the powdered sugar and water do not combine, you may need to add hot water drop wise. We want to add the minimum amount of hot water that will allow the butter and powdered sugar to make frosting.
• Add a teaspoon of vanilla extract.
• When the buttercream turns into frosting (yay), mix on high for 5 minutes. This ensures a really smooth buttercream.
• Add the powdered gluten-free Oreo cookies. Continue mixing until combined.

Frosting the Cupcakes

• Fit a piping bag with a piping tip, I like using 1M.
• Fill the piping bag with buttercream.
• Starting at the center of the cupcakes, slowly apply pressure and frost in circular motion to create a rosette. You can watch me do this in the video, in the instruction section of this post.
• Cut gluten-free Oreo cookies into quarters and put each piece on a cupcake.
• Enjoy!

Nutrition

Calories: 406.8kcal | Carbohydrates: 56.6g | Protein: 2.6g | Fat: 20.1g | Saturated Fat: 10.6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5.6g | Trans Fat: 0.6g | Cholesterol: 54.1mg | Sodium: 328.1mg | Potassium: 41.8mg | Fiber: 1.5g | Sugar: 44g | Vitamin A: 503.5IU | Calcium: 48mg | Iron: 0.8mg