You know You Love It

Come on.  Admit it.  Cookie dough has a certain appeal.  I can certainly remember back to when I was a young baker enjoying the cookie dough far more than the finished product.  Of course, that was back in the years before we all got nervous about uncooked eggs.   It still has a certain appeal.

And I'm not going to lie to you.  I have been known to nibble on the  leftovers on the spatula even as an adult.  I don't love the dough the way I used to but it does bring back memories.  Now Kate is my cookie dough lover.  She goes for all the hybrids -- cookie dough ice cream, cookie dough malted milk balls, to name just a few.

So, when Kate came home from visiting a friend and reported that they had made cookie dough cupcakes, I had to investigate.

Just as you might imagine, there are a lot of cookie dough cupcake recipes out there.  It's funny because I had never even though about combining the two but obviously others had.  There were all kinds of recipes.  Some used boxed mixes and Pillsbury cookie dough.  Others cooked the dough inside the cupcake.  It wasn't until I hit upon this recipe from Annie Eats that I knew I had found the ultimate cookie dough cupcake recipe.

This recipe is for cookie dough cupcakes on steroids.  The cake is cookie dough flavored, there is a delicious eggless cookie dough filling, and just in case you haven't had enough of a cookie dough fix, the frosting is cookie dough flavored.  You might think this is all a little too much cookie dough but you would be wrong.  This is a delicious cupcake.

Beware.  These are not quick to make.  It's a multi-step process.  You have to make the filling.  You have to bake the cupcakes.  You have to cut little cone shaped holes in the cupcakes and then you have to fill them with the dough.  Then you have to make the frosting and decorate the cupcakes.  As I said, it's a multi-step process.

But it's worth it because you know you love it.


Recipe:  Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes
((Annie Eats)

Yield:24 cupcakes

Ingredients:


For the cupcakes:
3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1½ cups light brown sugar, packed
4 large eggs
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
1 cup milk
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate chips (semisweet or bittersweet)

For the filling:
4 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
6 tbsp. light brown sugar, packed
1 cup plus 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
7 oz. sweetened condensed milk
½ tsp. vanilla extract
¼ cup mini semisweet chocolate chips

For the frosting:
3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
¾ cup light brown sugar, packed
3½ cups confectioners’ sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
¾ tsp. salt
3 tbsp. milk
2½ tsp. vanilla extract

For decoration:
Tiny chocolate chip cookies
Mini chocolate chips

Directions:


To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350° F.  Line two cupcake pans with paper liners (24 total).  In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter and brown sugar.  Beat together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Mix in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.  Stir together to blend.  Add the dry ingredients to the mixer bowl on low speed, alternating with the milk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients, mixing each addition just until incorporated.  Blend in the vanilla.  Fold in the chocolate chips with a spatula.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cupcake liners.   Bake for 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Allow to cool in the pan 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the cookie dough filling, combine the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and cream on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.  Beat in the flour, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla until incorporated and smooth.  Stir in the chocolate chips.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until the mixture has firmed up a bit, about an hour.

To fill the cupcakes, cut a cone-shaped portion out of the center of each cupcake.  Fill each hole with a chunk of the chilled cookie dough mixture.

To make the frosting, beat together the butter and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until creamy.  Mix in the confectioners’ sugar until smooth.  Beat in the flour and salt.  Mix in the milk and vanilla extract until smooth and well blended.

Frost the filled cupcakes as desired, sprinkling with mini chocolate chips and topping with mini chocolate chip cookies for decoration.

Source: inspired by Hello, Baker!, cake adapted from Cupcake Bakeshop, frosting adapted from The Cupcake Review and How to Eat a Cupcake