Anyone else remember the scene from Lindsay Lohan’s “Parent Trap” when one of the double-Lindsays says she loves Oreos and peanut butter? I just realized that, after 15+ years of thinking about this seemingly-brilliant choco-pb combination, I STILL have not tried it…so these gluten free cookies and cream cupcakes are a half-way point. For those of you chocolate + peanut butter lovers – check out our other heavy duty Reeses-inspired cupcakes here. Cookies and cream has been a saving grace in the gluten free ice cream world since I can remember (so has peanut butter and chocolate but hey). When I was first diagnosed, I was also lactose intolerant (a massively-unfortunate side effect of undiagnosed Celiac because you essentially lose your lactase enzyme after years of damage in your gut), I’d go for one of the only soy ice creams at the time that had about four flavors and a bit of an aftertaste but I was ten and really wanted ice cream. A few years later, more brands popped up that used rice milk or almond milk, and then those incredibly indulgent full-fat coconut milk ice creams graced the grocery store frozen aisle and it was game over.
Somewhere in the middle there, one of the soy-based ones came out with a cookies and cream option, and it was GLUTEN FREE too! What a time of it I had munching on this gorgeously-marbled, black and white creamy heaven. I distinctly remember coming home around midnight one night in 10th grade, after working as a “dead bride” in a local haunted house (an absolute hoot if you enjoy watching dads jump a few feet in the air or sitting motionless in a dark hallway in full skeletal make up and a veil) and inhaling an entire pint of the stuff. It’s that good. The cookies ‘n cream phase turned into a mint chocolate chip phase and then a cookie dough phase, and then College, which presented lots of new phases aside from ice cream flavors, but when I was suddenly tasked with coming up with yet another pair of cupcake flavors last week, cookies and cream seemed like the perfect bite of nostalgia.
So, these cupcakes have it all: they’re packed with crushed gluten free Oreos (I used the Goodie Girl ones – the Trader Joe’s ones are also fantastic), and topped with what I think tastes exactly like the real deal: cookies ‘n cream buttercream complete with shortening (which is what the actual cookie filling is made of). Admittedly, I saved the cup-or-so of the buttercream that was leftover after frosting all 36 cupcakes and have been eating a spoonful or two every day since (it’s the small things). If you’re also into eating frosting straight, try these other awesome cupcake recipes: peaches ‘n cream cupcakes (fresh peach buttercream), chocolate raspberry cupcakes (silky chocolate buttercream), toasted coconut cupcakes (coconut buttercream), red velvet cupcakes (cream cheese frosting), or these pistachio raspberry rose cupcakes (raspberry rose buttercream).
Gluten Free Cookies ‘n Cream Cupcakes
Equipment
- Cupcakes pans
Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
- 3 large eggs
- 3/4 Cup canola oil
- 3/4 Cup sour cream
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 Cup milk
- 1 Cup white sugar
- 1 1/4 Cup gluten free 1-1 flour mix with xanthan gum added (if it doesn't have xanthan gum, add 1 teaspoon xanthan gum)
- 3/4 Cup blanched almond meal/flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3 Tbsp cocoa powder
- 2 Cups chopped/crushed gluten free Oreos or other similar cookies (with filling still inside)
For the buttercream:
- 1 1/4 Cup vegetable shortening
- 3/4 Cup salted butter room temperature
- 4-5 Cups powdered sugar
- 3/4 Cup finely ground gluten free Oreos (without the filling) instructions below
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1-2 Tbsp cream
Instructions
- First, preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit. Line two cupcake pans with paper cupcake liners, then set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil, sugar, sour cream, vanilla, and milk until smooth. Then whisk in the flour, almond meal, salt, baking powder and baking soda, and cocoa powder until combined. Add in your crushed/chopped gluten free Oreos (I put a bunch of them – still with the filling in – in a ziplock and then use a rolling pin to crush them into small pieces). Stir the crushed cookies into the batter, then scoop the batter into the prepared cupcake pans. Each cup should be a little over 3/4 full. Bake for 22-26 minutes or until the tops of the cupcakes spring back with touched, and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean. Let cool completely before frosting.
- While cupcakes are cooling, make the frosting. First, scrape the filling out of about 15 gluten free Oreos (you can totally eat the filling now or toss it into your frosting). Place the dry cookies into a food processor or Nutribullet and blitz up until you have a fine cookie dust. Then, in a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the shortening, butter, and one cup of the powdered sugar until smooth. Add in the rest of the powdered sugar one cup at a time and beat until smooth. Add in 3/4 Cup of your powdered dry Oreo cookies to the frosting and beat together until combined. Add in the vanilla and the oreo filling if you want, and beat until smooth. Add a bit of cream if the frosting is too stiff to pipe, then scoop the frosting into a piping bag and frost cupcakes. Then serve!
Tag @sisterssansgluten on Instagram if you snap a photo of your cupcakes!
Food photography and styling by Amelia Farber
