Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes with Creamy Chocolate Frosting

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes with Creamy Chocolate Frosting (from Allrecipes, Servings: 24, Total Time: 3-3 ½ hours)

Cupcake

Ingredients

·         1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

·         ¼  tsp. baking soda

·         ¼ tsp. sea salt

·         ½ cup butter, softened

·         ¼ cup white sugar

·         ½ cup brown sugar

·         1 egg

·         2 tsp. vanilla extract

·         1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

·         1 (18.25 oz.) box yellow cake mix (I used vanilla)

·         1 1/3 cups water

·         1/3 cup canola oil

·         3 eggs

Directions

1.      Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and sea salt; set aside. Beat the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl until smooth. Add 1 egg and the vanilla extract and beat until smooth. Mix in the flour mixture until just incorporated. Fold in the chocolate chips; mixing just enough to evenly combine. Form the dough into tablespoon-sized balls; place onto a baking sheet, and freeze until solid, about 2 hours.

2.      Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F. Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners.

3.      Beat 3 eggs in a large bowl with an electric mixer to break up. Add the cake mix, water, and canola oil; continue beating for 2 minutes on medium speed. Spoon into the prepared cupcake liners, filling each 2/3 full. Place a frozen cookie dough ball on the top center of each cupcake.

4.      Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the cake portion of the cupcake (not the cookie dough ball) comes clean, about 20 minutes. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack.

While the cupcakes are cooling, make the frosting.

Frosting

Ingredients

·         2 3/4 cups confectioners' sugar

·         6 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder

·         6 Tbsp. butter

·         5 Tbsp. evaporated milk

·         1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions

1.      In a medium bowl, sift together the confectioners' sugar and cocoa, and set aside.

2.      In a large bowl, cream butter until smooth, then gradually beat in sugar mixture alternately with evaporated milk. Blend in vanilla. Beat until light and fluffy. If necessary, adjust consistency with more milk or sugar.

3.      When the cupcakes are cool, top with frosting.

I made these for my stepfather’s birthday party and everybody loved them!  They are dangerously addictive!  Although the recipe takes a while to make (because of the refrigeration of the cookie batter), I think it’s worth it.  Each bite was full of chocolate and vanilla flavor – absolutely delicious.  The frosting is not overly sweet, so it did not overpower the cupcake, it worked perfectly.  It did not add too much moisture to the cake, either.  It was so hard to eat only one at a time! 

While the cupcakes are baking, the cookie dough gets nice and soft, ending in a perfect bite after the cakes cool.  The dough just seemed to spread out and permeate each crevice of the vanilla cupcake.  As I’m sure you can tell, my mouth is watering as I relive the experience.  Oh, if only I hadn’t given up chocolate for Lent.  Come Easter, these will be tops on my list!