Sometimes bad things happen to good people. I had the wonderful idea to combine my current obsession with my craze for cupcakes and make a Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcake, but the first batch of cakes turned out horrible. They were incredibly heavy (no, I didn’t forget the leavening!), super oily and all the chocolate sank to the bottom. 🙁

Feeling defeated, I almost abandoned the idea, but turned to the web and found this incredible brown sugar cupcake recipe from How Sweet It Is that adapted beautifully! Notice the chocolate chips that didn’t sink!

For the frosting I turned to my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe and made some adjustments so it’s egg-free, but with a spreadable consistency. This is the good stuff. If I had mini chocolate chips on hand I would have mixed them into the dough. As it was, I only had regular and since they wouldn’t fit through the opening of my pastry tip, I just sprinkled them on top.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes

Name: Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 18 min
Total time: 33 min
Yield: 12
Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour; 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda; 1/4 teaspoon salt; 1 cup brown sugar; 1 large egg; 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla; 3/4 cup milk; 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled; 1/2 cup chocolate chips; 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted; 1/2 cup brown sugar; 1/2 cup granulated sugar; 2 teaspoons vanilla; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 1/2 cup milk, half-and-half or cream; 2 cups all-purpose flour; 1/2 cup chocolate chips Note: I recommend using mini chips if you want chips mixed into the frosting, otherwise use regular chips and sprinkle on top after frosting

Yield: 12

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 18 minutes

Total Time: 33 minutes

Chocolate chip cupcakes topped with edible chocolate chip cookie dough frosting!

Ingredients

Ingredients for cupcakes:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Ingredients for frosting:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk, half-and-half or cream
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup chocolate chips [Note: I recommend using mini chips if you want chips mixed into the frosting, otherwise use regular chips and sprinkle on top after frosting]

Instructions

For the cupcakes:

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a muffin tin for 12 cupcakes. In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, beat brown sugar and egg. Add vanilla and milk, mixing until combined. Gradually mix in melted butter, then add dry ingredients, stirring until smooth. Do not over-mix. Fold in chocolate chips.
Divide batter among cups and bake for 16-19 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with only a few dry crumbs. Let cool in pan on a wire rack before removing.

For the frosting:

In a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat butter and sugars on medium speed until smooth and well combined. Add vanilla, salt and milk. Reduce speed to low and stir in flour. Whip until light and fluffy, adjusting liquid or flour as necessary to reach frosting consistency.
Fold in mini chocolate chips. [Note: skip this step if using regular sized chocolate chips and sprinkle them them on after frosting, unless tip of pastry bag is large enough for chips to pass through easily].
Pipe frosting onto cupcakes.