Biscoff Cupcakes

by Jillian
Moist and fluffy cupcakes infused with the caramelized sweetness of Biscoff cookies and topped with an ultra creamy cookie butter Swiss meringue buttercream!

Moist and fluffy cupcakes infused with the caramelized sweetness of Biscoff cookies and topped with an ultra creamy cookie butter Swiss meringue buttercream!

At first glance, Biscoff cookies look rather ordinary. They don’t have the allure of a delicious creme filling, like Oreos, nor are they coated in frosting and colorful sprinkles, like the iconic Circus Animal Cookies. However, when it comes to Biscoff cookies, it’s definitely best NOT to judge a book by its cover. These humble little cookies are crisp, buttery, and brimming with rich toffee flavor. It’s no wonder someone decided to pulverize these cookies into the most heavenly spread to walk the planet–cookie butter, aka Biscoff spread or Speculoos spread.

Although Biscoff cookies can be enjoyed all throughout the year, they always seem to remind me of the holiday season. So this week, I decided it was the perfect time to bake up some LOVEly Biscoff Cupcakes.

These Biscoff beauties have it all, folks. The cupcakes are light, fluffy, and absolutely packed with buttery Biscoff cookie crumbs. They’re topped with a silky smooth cookie butter Swiss meringue buttercream. And finally, they’re drizzled in MORE delicious cookie butter and crowned with a crispety crunchety Biscoff cookie. If you’re counting, that’s FOUR times the Biscoff deliciousness in every cupcake!

What makes these cupcakes even better is the fact that they start off with an easy peasy one-bowl recipe, which means LESS dishes to wash. Yay!

You’ll start by combining the dry ingredients–flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and finely-ground Biscoff cookie crumbs. Make sure that the cookies are FINELY ground so that they melt nicely into the batter as they bake. With about 18 Biscoff cookies in the cake itself, you can definitely taste the Biscoff flavor and sweetness!

After the dry ingredients are whisked together, the wet ingredients are added–vegetable oil, sour cream, milk, egg, and vanilla. Instead of using ALL oil, I decided to substitute some of it with sour cream. I’ve found that using an equal ratio of vegetable oil and sour cream results in the perfect texture–fluffy, moist, and light!

After the cupcakes have baked, cooled, and filled your house with the most euphoric aroma, it’s time to get started on the buttercream. Since cookie butter can be pretty rich, I decided to go with a buttercream that’s less sweet than your traditional American buttercream. Swiss meringue buttercream, or SMB, not only provides a silkier texture, but it’s also not overwhelmingly sweet due to the fact that it contains about a quarter of the sugar that’s added to American buttercream. Although SMB requires a little more effort, it’s totally worth it for these cupcakes!

To make the buttercream, all you have to do is combine some egg whites, sugar, and salt in a large mixing bowl, and place it over a pot of simmering water. Whisk it constantly, and allow the mixture to warm slowly until it reaches 150-160ºF on a thermometer. If you don’t have a thermometer, just check to make sure that the sugar has completely dissolved and the mixture is heated through. This should take about 3-5 minutes.

Once the correct temperature has been reached, immediately remove the bowl from the heat, and whip the mixture until fluffy and cooled to room temperature. It helps to use a stand mixer (with a whisk attachment) during this step since it can take around 8-10 minutes for the mixture to cool down. It needs to cool down enough so that the butter doesn’t melt on contact. Also, no need to soften the butter before adding it–cold butter actually works best with this buttercream.

You’ll also want to make sure to slice your butter before adding them slowly to the egg whites. I just sliced my butter into tablespoon-sized squares. As you’re adding the butter to the egg white mixture, you might notice that it looks a little curdled–don’t panic! This is totally normal, and it should eventually smooth out into a super satiny buttercream as you continue beating.

BUT if your SMB still looks curdled no matter how long you’ve beaten it, just remove a couple of tablespoons of the curdled frosting and place it into a small microwaveable bowl. Heat it in the microwave until it’s completely melted, then add it back into the mixing bowl. Turn the mixer on, and beat everything until smooth. If it still looks curdled, just keep repeating this reheating technique a tablespoon at a time until the mixture comes together. I promise you, it WILL come together eventually.

If you find that the buttercream looks soupy or runny, chill the bowl of frosting in the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes, take it out, then beat the mixture until smooth and satiny. 

Once you’ve got your blissfully smooth Swiss meringue buttercream, add the cookie butter and continue beating. Oh, and if you’re unsure of where to find the most magical spread on the planet, you can usually find cookie butter at Trader Joe’s OR in the peanut butter section of your grocery store.

After piping a generous cloud of this cookie butter Swiss meringue buttercream on top of each cupcake, I decided that there STILL just wasn’t enough cookie butter, so I drizzled a little extra on top. If you’d like to do the same, just heat a few tablespoons in a heat-proof bowl in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds. Pour the melted cookie butter into a small ziplock bag, cut the very tip off, then drizzle away!

And just so people are aware that these cupcakes are made with one of the MOST delicious cookies in the world, make sure to top each cupcake with a Biscoff cookie!

Moist and fluffy cupcakes infused with the caramelized sweetness of Biscoff cookies and topped with an ultra creamy cookie butter Swiss meringue buttercream!

Biscoff Cupcakes

Moist and fluffy cupcakes infused with the caramelized sweetness of Biscoff cookies and topped with an ultra creamy cookie butter Swiss meringue buttercream!
Prep Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Cook Time 18 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 48 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 20 Cupcakes

Ingredients
  

Biscoff Cupcakes:

  • 1 ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 ¼ cup Biscoff cookie crumbs (about 18 cookies)
  • ¾ cup granulated sugar
  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • ½ cup vegetable oil
  • ½ cup sour cream
  • ¾ cup milk
  • 1 egg
  • 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla

Cookie Butter Swiss Meringue Buttercream:

  • 4 egg whites
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup unsalted butter, sliced into 16 pieces
  • ½ cup creamy cookie butter
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

For Assembly:

  • 3 Tablespoons Cookie butter, for drizzling
  • 20 Biscoff cookies

Instructions
 

Make the Cupcakes:

  • Preheat oven to 350ºF degrees and line a muffin pan with cupcake liners.
  • In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, crushed Biscoff cookies, and both sugars until well combined. Add the oil, sour cream, and milk and continue stirring with a whisk. Stir in the egg, followed by the vanilla.
  • Pour batter into cupcake liners, about 2/3 full. Bake for 17-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow cupcakes to cool in the pan for 15 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Make the Buttercream:

  • Combine the egg whites, sugar and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer, and place the bowl over a simmering pot of water. Whisking constantly, heat mixture until sugar is dissolved and the temperature registers 150-160°F on a candy thermometer, about 3 minutes.
  • Secure whisk attachment onto stand mixer, and beat the egg white mixture on high speed until stiff peaks form. It should be fluffy and cooled to room temperature. Add the butter, one piece at a time, until smooth and creamy. If the mixture looks curdled, that’s totally normal–just keep beating until it becomes smooth and satiny.*
  • Add the cookie butter and vanilla, and beat until fully incorporated. Transfer buttercream to a piping bag, fitted with a large round tip.

To Assemble:

  • Pipe the buttercream onto each cupcake. Place cookie butter into a microwave-safe bowl and heat in the microwave for 20-30 seconds. Transfer to a small ziplock bag and cut the tip off. Drizzle over the cupcakes. Insert a Biscoff cookie into each one.

Notes

*If you find that your SMB still looks curdled no matter how long you’ve beaten it, simply remove a couple of tablespoons of the curdled frosting and place it into a small microwaveable bowl. Heat it in the microwave until it’s completely melted, then add it back into the mixing bowl. Turn the mixer on, and beat everything until it’s smooth. If it still looks curdled, just keep repeating this reheating technique a tablespoon at a time until the mixture comes together. If the buttercream looks soupy and runny, chill the bowl of frosting in the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes. Take it out, then beat the mixture until smooth and satiny.
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