Recipe share--cupcake edition!

Sometimes I have a major sweet tooth.  Other times I could go days without even the slightest thought of chocolate and continue to exist. Right now? The sweet tooth is on thanks to a mix of Pinterest, too good to be true food bloggers, and the game I play with myself to see how many sweets I can consume and keep the number on the scale the same.  Thanks to nursing, I’m winning this game.

Kris’ family came to visit last weekend making it the perfect time to make these cupcakes.  The more the merrier when it comes to cupcakes.  That means that I won’t eat the entire batch in a single weekend and try to rationalize with myself why this was okay. 

As usual, Parker assisted in this baking endeavor.  The appeal has went from the love of scooping the flour into the bowl to the love of eating the batter. While the motivation has changed the ultimate goal—having fun while making something we can enjoy together—is still fully present. 

These are slightly time consuming but well worth it.  Next time (and there will be a next time) I'll increase the amount of milk in the frosting.  It was so thick that I could barely squeeze it out of the icing bag.  I didn't care much for the cookie dough center by itself but when mixed with the cupcake and frosting? It totally works. 

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes--The Girl Who Ate Everything

Yield: 24 cupcakes

Ingredients

For the cupcakes:
• 3 sticks unsalted butter (1 1/2 cups), at room temperature
• 1½ cups light brown sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
For the filling and frosting:
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temp
• 1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 1/2 cups mini chocolate chips (you may want more to put on top)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350° degrees. Line cupcake pan with 24 liners.
2. For the cupcakes: 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. For the filling and frosting: With a mixer, cream together the butter and sugar at medium speed. Add the vanilla and beat well. Add the flour and salt and mix until combined. Add just a little milk until it's cookie dough consistency. Once it is, gently fold in chocolate chips. Then take half of the mixture out and chill it in the fridge. This will be the filling. For the frosting you'll want a little thinner consistency. Add more milk to the remaining mixture gradually until desired consistency is reached. This is your frosting.
6. To fill the cupcakes, cut a cone-shaped portion out of the center of each cupcake. I found this a little tricky to get the hole out but then you get to eat what you take out! Fill each hole with a chunk of the chilled cookie dough mixture.
7. Frost cooled cupcakes. Store in refrigerator.

Eat as many as you can before swimsuit season!