Cookies and Cream Cupcakes
A whole cookie hidden in the base and crushed cookies through the frosting.
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Before You Start
The trick that makes these is putting a whole sandwich cookie at the bottom of each case before the batter goes in. It softens into a fudgy layer as it bakes. Keep the sponge plain vanilla rather than chocolate, so the cookies are the thing you actually taste.
Instructions
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1
Heat the oven to 180°C / 350°F and line a 12 hole tin. Put one whole cookie flat in the bottom of each case.
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2
Beat the soft butter and caster sugar until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, then the sour cream and vanilla.
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3
Mix the flour, baking powder and salt together, then add to the wet mix in two goes, alternating with the milk. Stop as soon as the flour disappears.
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4
Roughly chop 6 of the cookies and fold them through the batter by hand. Do not use the mixer, or they grind to grey dust.
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5
Spoon the batter over the cookies in each case, about two thirds full, and bake for 18 to 20 minutes until springy and a skewer comes out clean. Cool completely.
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6
Blitz or bash 6 more cookies to a fine crumb. Beat the butter for 5 minutes, add the powdered sugar in stages, then the cream, then fold in the crumbs.
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7
Pipe onto the cooled cupcakes, using a wide plain nozzle since the crumbs block a star tip. Finish each with half a cookie.
💡 Baker's tips
- Fine crumbs for the frosting, rough chunks for the batter. Chunks in a piping bag jam the nozzle and the whole thing bursts.
- The base cookie will not stay crunchy, and it is not meant to. It goes dense and brownie-like, which is the point.
🔀 Make it your own
- Use mint or peanut butter filled sandwich cookies for an easy flavour swap.
- For a cream cheese version, replace half the butter in the frosting with 115 g cold cream cheese and skip the cream.
📦 Storing & freezing
Airtight at room temperature for 2 days, or 4 days in the fridge. The cookie crumbs soften over time, so they are best on day one.
❓ Frequently asked
Why did my cookie pieces sink to the bottom?
The pieces were too heavy for the batter, usually because the batter was overmixed and thin. Fold chunks in last, by hand, into a thick batter.
Can I make these ahead?
Bake the sponges up to 2 days ahead and keep them airtight, but frost on the day. The crumbs in the buttercream go soft once they sit in it overnight.
Baking in a different unit? Use the cups ↔ grams converter or the recipe scaler to halve or double this recipe.
