Most of the baking I do is with my friends or family in mind. I rarely bake things just for me, because dangerous things happen, whereby I usually eat way too many treats. So I always have to bake when people are coming over, or I can bring leftovers to work. My birthday is the one time of year when I make whatever I want, without considering anyone else’s preferences (i.e. last year’s Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake). So that brings us to Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes.

If you’ve been following along here, you know I’m becoming obsessed with sticking things in the middle of cupcakes, like Nutella or Dulce de Leche. This time, it’s little balls of Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. It’s okay, because there’s no egg in them, so it’s a naughty little surprise inside.

*Updated 11/8/10 with a pic from May’s Blackberry of the inside*

And most importantly, here is the super cute new cake/cupcake carrier that Brooke ordered for me for my birthday from Etsy. I love it:

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes

Source: Cookie Dough Centres from Blue Eyed Bakers, Cupcakes from Annie’s Eats, Icing from Ming Makes Cupcakes

**Warning up front that the Cookie Dough Centres need to be frozen for 4 hours before baking…so plan ahead!**

Ingredients

Cookie Dough Centres – note that the measurements are a little weird because the full recipe made 48 balls…you only need 12…so I quartered the recipe. Of course you could always make more, dip them in chocolate and call them truffles. Which I plan to do next weekend.

1/4 cup butter, room temperature

3 tbsp sugar

3 tbsp brown sugar

1 tbsp milk

1/4 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup + 2 tbsp flour

pinch salt

1/4 cup mini chocolate chips

Cupcakes

3/4 cups (1 1/2 sticks) butter, room temperature

3/4 cups brown sugar

2 eggs

1 1/3 cups flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/8 tsp salt

1/2 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Icing

4 oz cream cheese (1/2 block)

1/2 tsp vanilla

2 cups icing sugar

3 tsp cocoa powder

splash of milk or cream

Directions

  1. For cookie dough, beat butter and sugars until fluffy, then mix in the milk and vanilla. Stir in flour and salt until just combined, then add mini chocolate chips. Roll 1/2 tbsps of dough into balls and place on a parchment paper lined plate. Stick in the freezer for at least 4 hours or overnight.
  2. For cupcakes, beat butter and sugar until fluffy, then mix in the eggs. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder,  baking soda and salt. Add half the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until just combined, then repeat with the milk, and remaining dry ingredients. Add vanilla, then stir in chocolate chips.
  3. Preheat oven to 350. Line a muffin tin with 12 paper liners, and scoop batter into liners. Place a frozen cookie dough ball in the center of each cupcake. Bake for 18-20 minutes, and let cool completely before icing.
  4. For icing, mix cream cheese and vanilla at medium speed until creamy. Gradually mix in icing sugar, cocoa powder and milk until blended and creamy.