Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes

When I was a little kid I’d go to the grocery store with my mother and when we’d go down the cereal aisle, I’d BEG and PLEAD her for that mini chocolate chip cookie cereal. You know the one. Every kid’s dream come true. I’d grab the box and say, “please please please please please, I’ll never ask for anything again.” All I ever wanted was to eat a giant bowl of mini chocolate chips with milk first thing in the morning. Can you blame me? She’d of course always say no and we’d end up getting that bran cereal with raisins. Talk about a nightmare. Now as an adult I’m putting that cereal on top of cupcakes and eating them for breakfast, so I guess this means I’ve officially made it. These Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes are every cookie dough lover’s fantasy turned reality. The frosting will make you think you’re eating chocolate chip cookie dough straight from the fridge, but better because there’s no raw flour scare involved. Make them as soon as possible. 

Let’s start by whisking (or sifting, if you’re into that) together the flour, baking powder and salt until well combined. Set aside until ready to use.

Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Then add the egg yolks and vanilla, stirring until well-incorporated. 

**Tip: Whenever you’re baking, for the most part, it’s best to work with room temperature ingredients. The eggs will blend in better (and your cake’s texture) if they’re at room temperature.**

Add the dry ingredients, alternately with the buttermilk, starting and ending with the dry ingredients. 

**Tip: Make sure to only mix just until combined after each addition. You don’t want to over-mix the batter at this point, or else you’ll end up with a dry tough cake.**

Beat the egg whites in a separate bowl until stiff peaks form. Make sure you’re using a clean bowl and beaters because any residual oil or anything will prevent the whites from forming. Then add to the batter and fold in gently until just combined.

**Tip: Whenever you’re separating eggs, keep in mind that eggs separate a lot easier when they’re cold but the whites will beat up better when they’re at room temperature. I don’t know. Science. Baking.**

Gently fold in the chocolate. We’re using unsweetened chocolate for this because the cake and frosting are already sweet and you we don’t want to overdo it. 

**Note: You can grate the chocolate using the large holes of a box grater. You can also finely chop with a knife. You want the chocolate very fine so that it melts into the cake nicely. Using chocolate chips, would be okay, but I find that the chocolate flavor isn’t evenly dispersed that way and really you don’t want to take away from the frosting which is the star of the show.**

Divide the batter into a cupcake tin, lined with paper liners. I use an ice cream scoop to make sure they’re all the same size. Fill about 3/4 of the way up. Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle, comes out clean, about 15 to 18 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely on a wire rack. 

In the meantime, let’s make the cookie dough frosting. Beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Stir in the vanilla, salt, milk and almond flour.

**Tip: Because we’re trying to replicate cookie dough and it’s raw, you can’t use ap flour, so you can either use almond flour, or if you can’t find it, oat flour would be great as well!**

Beat on high until fluffy and light, about 7 minutes. Then fold in the mini chocolate chips. At this point it’s done and you can go in with a spoon, but control yourself because we still have to frost the cupcakes.

Once the cupcakes have cooled, frost the cupcakes. Feel free to add as much or as little of the frosting on each cupcake. You can use a pastry bag or just an offset spatula if you want to make them look a bit more rustic. At the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter because they’ll be gone quicker than people can stare at them.

Once frosted, you can garnish the top with mini chocolate chips or you can use chocolate chip cookie cereal like I have. Or you can just leave them plain. A garnish is completely optional. 

 
Serve the cupcakes immediately or keep at room temperature if you plan on eating them within a few hours. Any leftover can be wrapped in plastic and stored in the fridge for up to 2 days. Just make sure you let them come to room temperature before you plan on serving them. They’ll taste better that way.

I’m in love with this cake recipe, yes I just said that the frosting is the star, but the cake can’t go unnoticed. You can turn it into a delicious layered cake, if you want to impress. Just double the batter recipe and divide it between two 9-inch cake round pans.

 
This cookie dough frosting could be great on any of your favorite cake recipes. Chocolate cupcakes topped with this frosting would be incredible as well. Red velvet with this cookie dough frosting would be great for valentine’s day!

Next time you’re craving a chocolate chip cookie, you might as well take that craving all the way and make these chocolate chip cookie dough cupcakes instead because if you’re going to eating dessert…you should go all the way.

4.67 from 3 votes

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes

These Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes are the perfect dessert for any and all cookie dough lovers and eaters out there! It's the ultimate sweet treat!

Servings 12 cupcakes

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 40 minutes mins

Ingredients

Cake:

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs separated
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extracted
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 1/2 ounces unsweetened chocolate grated or finely chopped

Frosting:

• 1/2 cup 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup light-brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup almond flour or oat flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup chocolate chip cookie cereal optional

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cupcake tin with paper liners and set aside.
• In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
• Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the egg yolks ad vanilla and beat until combined. Stir in the flour mixture alternating between the buttermilk, mixing just until combined after each addition.
• In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites on high until stiff peaks form, about 5 minutes or so. Then add to the batter and fold until just combined. Fold in the chocolate and pour into the prepared cupcake tin, filling each about 3/4 of the way up. Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 15 to 18 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.
• To make the frosting, beat the butter and sugar until creamy, about 2 minutes. Stir in the vanilla, flour, salt and milk and beat on high until light and fluffy, about 7 minutes. Fold in the chocolate chips. Frost the cooled cupcakes and garnish with the cookie cereal, if using. Serve immediately. Any leftovers can be stored in the fridge, wrapped well with plastic wrap, for up to 2 days. Allow to come to room temperature before serving. Enjoy!

Author: The Candid Appetite