My husband’s favorite ice cream flavor inspired these cookies & cream cupcake cones. (The reason he loves cookies & cream so much is because his grandma always had Oreos in the house. Isn’t that sweet??) The cupcake itself is stuffed with Oreo crumbs and there are more in the frosting. These can be baked in waffle cones for a fun treat and added texture or in regular wrappers.
I made these gluten free by using an Oreo substitute: Goodie Girl chocolate creme cookies. But any similar gluten free brand would work. I also used Let’s Do Gluten Free cones and Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour. Both the cookies and cones are available at my local Harris Teeter. I always buy the flour in bulk on Amazon.
Let’s talk about cone cupcakes versus regular cupcakes. The cones take about 10 minutes longer to bake, which is the time included in the recipe’s cooking time. Definitely keep that in mind if you use wrappers! The cones I used came in a package of 12, so I just made 12 cones and 3 standard cupcakes. Either way the recipe yields 14-15 cupcakes. You’ll need a cupcake cone baking rack, like this one.
The first step is crushing the oreos into crumbs. (“Oreos” refers both to the gluten free cookies and standard Oreos.) For the cupcake base, don’t worry if there are some larger chunks. That just gives the cupcakes a little more texture. But for the frosting you’ll want fine crumbs. You’ll need 16-18 cookies for the cupcake and 3-5 for the frosting. Crush them creme filling and all!
The easiest way to get cookie crumbs is to use a food processor. But if you don’t have one, a coffee grinder or rolling pin will work just fine. If using the rolling pin method, place the cookies in a ziplock bag on top of a cutting board.
What I love about this recipe is you don’t have to wait for ingredients to come to room temperature (other than the butter for the frosting). You can also mix everything quickly by hand!
Mix the dry ingredients in one bowl, and everything else (other than the milk and cookies) in another.
Add the flour into the wet ingredients in two batches, adding the milk in between. Then fold in the cookie crumbs.
When you’re ready to decorate, I recommend using Wilton tip #1M to pipe that characteristic ice cream swirl. Cut whole cookies in half to garnish each cupcake.
The easiest way to store cupcake cones is leaving them in the rack and placing them in a tall airtight container (like a cake container).
Tag me @rosesandwhiskers on Instagram if you try these cookies & cream cupcake cones and use the hashtag #rosesandwhiskers. Happy baking! 🙂
Cookies & Cream Cupcake Cones
Equipment
- cupcake cones baking rack
- food processor
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups gluten free 1 to 1 baking flour substitute all-purpose flour for gluten-full cupcakes
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 2 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 2 cups crushed gluten free chocolate creme cookies (16-18 cookies) substitute Oreos for gluten-full cupcakes
- 15 flat-bottomed gluten free waffle cones or substitute gluten-full cones (see recipe notes)
Cookies & Cream Buttercream Frosting
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup Crisco
- 6 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 tbsp whole milk
- 3 tbsp heavy cream
- 1/4 cup crushed gluten free chocolate creme cookies (2-3 cookies) or substitute Oreos for gluten-full frosting
- additional cookies for garnish optional
Instructions
- Place the cupcake cone baking rack on a baking sheet and insert the waffle cones. If you're not using the cones, or if you're only baking 12 cones, line a muffin pan with cupcake wrappers. Preheat the oven to 350°F (176°C).
- Use a food processor to crush 16-20 chocolate creme cookies into crumbs. For the cupcakes don't worry if there are slightly larger chunks. You'll need 1 cup.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
- In a large bowl, whisk the vegetable oil, sugar, eggs, sour cream and vanilla until fully combined. Whisk in half of the flour mixture, then the milk, and the rest of the flour until just combined. Fold in the cookie crumbs.
- Spoon the batter into the cones or prepared pans, until 3/4 full. Bake the cones for 26-30 minutes and the regular cupcakes for 16-20 minutes. They're done when a toothpick inserted in the center of a few cupcakes comes out clean, or with a few crumbs clinging to it. Let the cupcakes rest on the pan for 5 minutes before removing to a wire cooling rack. Leave the cones in the baking rack and move the entire thing. (It's easier to store them that way, too.)
Decorating the Cupcakes
- Make the frosting while the cupcakes are cooling. Cream the butter and Crisco until smooth. Mix in half of the powdered sugar on low speed until combined. Add in the remaining sugar, milk, heavy cream and vanilla on low speed until combined, and then cream on high speed until light and fluffy. Mix in the cookie crumbs on low speed.
- Pipe ice cream swirls on each cupcake using Wilton tip #1M. Cut whole cookies in half for an optional garnish. Store in an airtight container. Enjoy!
Notes
- There are 12 gluten free cones in a standard box, so I only made 12 cupcake cones and then three regular cupcakes.
