Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes

It was Nate's 1st birthday on Wednesday. I went with a cupcake theme party for him. I frosted cookies to sent home with the kids that were in the shape of cupcakes and the #1. Since I made my cookies look like cupcakes, I thought it would be fun to make my cupcakes look like cookies. :) These were really great cupcakes! The cupcake is made with chocolate chips and tastes similar to a cookie. They are stuffed with an egg-less cookie dough that is made with sweetened condensed milk, and then topped with a butter-cream frosting that tastes like cookie dough as well. If that isn't enough, they are each given a mini chocolate chip cookie for decoration. The original recipe actually called for me to make my own chocolate chip cookies for decoration, but seriously - who has the time for all of that?! I was thrilled to find MINI break and bake cookies in the dairy section. You could even cut a Chewy Chips Ahoy cookie in half and stick it in there. The recipe make 24 cupcakes. I made a whole batch and shared a dozen with Jay's work. These really are a must try!!!

Recipe from Annie's Eats
Yield:24-28cupcakes
Ingredients:
For the cupcakes:
3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
11/2 cups light brown sugar, packed
4 large eggs
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup milk
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup regular sized chocolate chips (semisweet)

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
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips

For the frosting:
3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
3 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp. salt
3 tbsp. milk
2 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

For decoration:
Tiny chocolate chip cookies (I used the break and bake cookies from the dairy section - they sell mini 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 - sometimes I can get up to 28). 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 16-18 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.  *It would be best to bake the pans separately and not side by side so the cupcakes can bake evenly.

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 (not exactly necessary).

To fill the cupcakes, cut a cone-shaped portion out of the center of each cupcake (I like to use an apple corer). Fill each hole with a chunk of the chilled cookie dough mixture (I used my 1 1/2 inch cookie scoop.  You can just eyeball it.  If the cookie dough sticks to your fingers, dab your fingers in flour first).

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 (I used a large star tip), sprinkling with mini chocolate chips and topping with mini chocolate chip cookies for decoration (wait to top your cupcake with the cookie until you are ready to serve, as they may get soggy).




Here are the cookies I made for the kids (recipe found under frosted sugar cookies).

I placed the cookies in a goodie bag and tied each bag to a helium filled balloon. The kids loved it and it was so much less expensive than traditional goodie bags filled with random toys.


Here is a cute pic of the birthday boy!