Cookies & Cream Oreo Buttercream Frosting

Why This Recipe Works

This easy-to-make cookies and cream frosting is for all the Oreo cookie lovers!

• Easy - This recipe comes together in just 10 minutes using a handful of simple ingredients.
• LOTS of Cookies - While some other Oreo buttercream recipes include just a handful of crushed cookies for a light sprinkling of crushed cookies through the frosting, this recipe is absolutely packed with Oreos cookie crumbs for the best cookies and cream flavor.
• Versatile - This frosting can be used so many different ways, and it pairs beautifully with both vanilla and chocolate desserts. Use it to fill layer cakes, frost sheet cakes, decorate cupcakes, top cookies, fill macarons... or simply grab a spoon.

Ingredient Notes & Substitutions

Butter - Butter is key to buttercream frosting, so opt for a good quality butter for the best flavor. Choose an unsalted butter so that you can control the amount of salt in the frosting. And before you begin, be sure that the butter is a cool room temperature so that it will become perfectly smooth when blended.

Oreo Cookies - Oreo cookies are crushed and blended into the frosting for an authentic cookies and cream flavor. There's no need to remove the cream filling before crushing the cookies. Feel free to substitute your favorite chocolate sandwich cookie or chocolate wafer cookie.

Confectioners' Sugar - Confectioners' sugar adds sweetness to the frosting. Its fine texture allows it to dissolve into the butter. Granulated sugar won't dissolve and will create a gritty frosting, so do not use it as a substitute in this recipe.

Whole Milk - Milk adds a bit of creaminess to the frosting. I recommend using milk with a high fat content (whole milk or even heavy cream) for the creamiest frosting, but any dairy milk you prefer will work. 

Vanilla Extract - Choose a high-quality pure vanilla extract for the best flavor.

Salt - Don't skip the salt, which enhances the frosting's flavor.

See recipe card at the bottom of this post for full ingredient list and measurements.

Special Equipment

In addition to essential baking equipment (like a rubber spatula), I recommend some special tools for making this recipe.

• A food processor, for crushing the cookies. Or you can crush the cookies inside a plastic zip-top bag using a rolling pin or meat tenderizer.
• A stand mixer with the paddle attachment (or an electric hand mixer) for mixing the frosting.

Step-By-Step Recipe Instructions

Step 1: Crush cookies (including creme filling) into fine crumbs using a food processor or by sealing the cookies in a plastic zip-top bag and crushing the cookies inside the bag using a rolling pin or meat tenderizer.

Step 2: Beat butter until smooth. Add vanilla and salt and beat until blended.

Step 3: Add sugar slowly, beating well on medium speed and scraping the bowl often. When all sugar is added the frosting will be slightly dry. Add milk and beat until the frosting is light and fluffy.

Step 4: Add crushed cookies and mix until they're completely blended into the frosting.

See recipe card at the bottom of this post for detailed recipe instructions.

Allison's Top Tips

Don't bother sifting the sugar before blending the frosting. Since it contains bits of crushed cookie and therefore isn't perfectly smooth, it's a waste of time to sift the sugar.

Be sure to crush the Oreos into fine crumbs to avoid large chunks of cookies in the frosting. And if you'll be piping the frosting, choose a piping tip with a larger opening to allow the crumbs to pass through easily without clogging the tip.

If the texture needs tweaking, adding a tiny bit more milk or sugar will alter the frosting's consistency. If the frosting seems a bit too dry, add more milk, a teaspoon at a time, until the frosting is smooth and creamy. If the frosting seems a bit too wet, add more confectioners' sugar, a Tablespoon at a time, until the frosting reaches the desired thickness.

If you'll be serving the frosting on a hot day, consider replacing half of the butter with vegetable shortening. Since shortening has a higher melting point than butter, frosting made with shortening can stand up to the heat better than an all-butter frosting.

Recipe FAQs

Storage Instructions

Refrigerator: Store buttercream frosting in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. If you plan to refrigerate the frosting before using to decorate a dessert, let the frosting come to room temperature and briefly re-whip it with a stand mixer or handheld electric mixer so that it's soft and fluffy before using.

Cakes or other desserts that have been decorated with American buttercream frosting can be stored on a covered cake plate or stand at room temperature for up to 3 days.