Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes

As many of you may already know, I don't have any siblings. I always wanted a little sister, and 14-years-ago on this day I was blessed with the next best thing - a baby cousin named Audrey. Audrey has the most beautiful heart, and I've loved watching her grow up throughout the years.

This year, Audrey has taken an interest in baking cupcakes! It's been a lot of fun sharing this interest with her and baking with her. So when I asked her what she wanted for her birthday and she said anything with cookie dough, I knew exactly what to make - Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes! 

I started with a brown sugar cake to give it a hint of molasses flavor like an actual chocolate chip cookie. I then made an edible cookie dough filling - basically what I did was make a chocolate chip cookie recipe except I omitted the eggs (keep reading to find out why it's necessary to omit the eggs). I then scooped out the edible cookie dough into twelve cookie dough balls, and I froze them. You CANNOT forget this step! The cookie dough must be thoroughly frozen. If it is not frozen it will bake into a cookie and not stay "gooey" like cookie dough when you bake the cupcakes

And THIS is why it is also very important to use edible dough (dough without eggs). Since the dough does not bake-through, the eggs wouldn't bake and you would risk giving your recipients salmonella.

Once your dough is frozen (give it at least an hour), just plop it into the cupcake batter before baking. When the cupcake bakes, it bakes around the dough until you can't even tell from the outside that it's in there. Magic!

And lastly, my favorite part - cookie dough butter cream frosting! I could get sick off this stuff because it's just so darn hard to stop eating!

Sprinkle the frosting with mini chocolate chips and a mini cookie if you like!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes

Yield: 12 cupcakes

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

For the Cookie Dough Filling

·      3/4 cup all-purpose flour (93.75 grams)

·      1/8 teaspoon baking soda

·      1/8 teaspoon salt

·      4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

·      1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons packed brown sugar

·      2 Tablespoons milk

·      1 teaspoon vanilla extract

·      1/2 cup miniature chocolate chips

For the Brown Sugar Cupcakes

·      1 and 2/3 cup all-purpose flour (208.3 grams)

·      1/2 teaspoon baking powder

·      1/4 teaspoon baking soda

·      1/2 teaspoon salt

·      1 cup brown sugar (207 grams)

·      1/2 cup unsalted butter

·      1 large egg

·      3/4 cup milk

·      1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

For the Cookie Dough Buttercream Frosting

·      1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature

·      1/4 cup brown sugar, packed (51.75 grams)

·      1 and 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar 

·      1/3 cup all-purpose flour (41.66 grams) (flour makes the frosting a little gritty, just like real cookie dough!)

·      1/4 teaspoon salt

·      1 Tablespoon heavy whipping cream

·      1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

For the Cookie Dough Filling

1.     In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.

2.     In a medium bowl, mix the butter, brown sugar, milk and vanilla.

3.     Slowly stir in the dry ingredients and the chocolate chips.

4.     Scoop out the dough into 2-tablespoon scoops.

5.     Put cookie dough scoops in freezer and freeze until thoroughly frozen (at least an hour)

For the Brown Sugar Cupcakes

1.     Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit

2.     Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.

3.     In a large microwave-safe bowl, melt butter in the microwave.

4.     Add the brown sugar to the melted butter and whisk vigorously until no lumps remain.

5.     Whisk in egg, yogurt, milk, and vanilla extract until combined.

6.     Add dry ingredients to the bowl and mix until no lumps remain.

7.     Divide batter between 12 cupcake liners. Fill cupcake liners halfway with batter.

8.     Add 1 frozen cookie dough ball to each liner

9.     Bake for 16-18 minutes

For the Cookie Dough Buttercream Frosting

1.     Beat together the butter and brown sugar until creamy, about 2 minutes

2.     Beat in the confectioners’ sugar until smooth

3.     Beat in the flour and salt

4.     Mix in the heavy whipping cream and vanilla extract until smooth

5.     Garnish with mini chocolate chips

Cookie dough filling inspired by Recipe Girl. Brown Sugar Cupcake inspired by Sally's Baking Addiction. Cookie Dough Buttercream Frosting inspired by Annie's Eats.

MINI PUMPKIN CHEESECAKES WITH CINNAMON WHIPPED CREAM

In my opinion, mini desserts are the best desserts. They're easy to serve up and you feel less guilty indulging (or you feel less guilty eating more than one)! So when my dad told me yesterday that October 21st was National Pumpkin Cheesecake Day I made an impromptu decision to drop everything I was doing in order to properly celebrate this wonderful holiday. But I didn't want to make just regular cheesecake, I opted for MINI cheesecakes of course. I also decided this treat would be best paired with homemade cinnamon whipped cream, so I decided to whip some of that up to!

Believe it or not, I had never had pumpkin cheesecake before, but they turned out just as I imagined. They're a little more savory than the Mini Oreo Cheesecakes recipe I posted in July making them perfect for the fall season. I figured I couldn't go wrong by putting two of my favorite things together - pumpkin and cheesecake!

P.S. Don't worry dad, I'm saving one for you :)

MINI PUMPKIN CHEESECAKES WITH CINNAMON WHIPPED CREAM

Yield: 12 mini cheesecakes

Calories: Approximately 200 calories per cheesecake

Printable Recipe

INGREDIENTS

For the cheesecake crust

• 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
• 1 and 1/2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

For the cheesecake filling

• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
• 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon  pumpkin puree
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons sour cream
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

For the cinnamon whipped cream

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/8 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

For the cheesecake crust

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Combine graham cracker crumbs, butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon in bowl.
3. Divide mixture among 12 mini cheesecake spaces (you can either use a mini cheesecake pan or a muffin pan)
4. Press down the crumbs to form a crust.

For the cheesecake filling

1. Beat the cream cheese until smooth. 
2. Add the pumpkin, egg, sour cream, sugar, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice to the bowl.
3. Beat until well combined. 
4. Add the flour and vanilla, and once again beat until well combined.
5. Spoon filling onto prepared crusts, dividing it evenly among the 12 spaces.
6. Bake mini cheesecakes for 20 minutes.
7. Remove cheesecakes from oven and let cool for 15 minutes.
8. Cover cheesecake pan lightly with saran wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

For the cinnamon whipped cream

1. Pour heavy cream into bowl of mixer
2. Whip cream on high for a bout a minute
3. Add sugar, cinnamon and vanilla to cream.
4. Beat mixture on high until soft peaks form.
5. Top cheesecakes with whipped cream.

Recipe adapted from Glorious Treats.

I think I could have just eaten the ingredients for the crust plain - it smelled so good!

Ready to fill cavities with filling.

There's nothing quite like homemade whipped cream!

Sprinkle cinnamon on top for an extra decoration.

Don't mind me, I'm just subtlety trying to incorporate these 

mini pumpkins in as many pictures as possible.

PRETZEL KISS TREATS

Everyone loves a good sweet and salty combination, and these pretzel kiss treats are perfect for satisfying that craving! My mom and I typically make these at Christmas, using pretzels, Hershey's Hugs and red and green M&M's. But I recently discovered Pumpkin Spice Hershey Kisses and I knew I had to try them out. So I decided to remix the typical recipe and add candy corn in place of some of the M&M's. They turned out great, and they are perfect for the month of October. This goes to show that cooking is all about experimentation and making a recipe "your own." Try out this recipe for yourself using your favorite Hersheys and small candies!

PRETZEL KISS TREATS

INGREDIENTS

• 1 bag of waffle pretzels
• 1 (12 ounce) bag of Hershey Kisses or Hugs (any flavor)
• 1 (9.9 ounce) bag of M&Ms or 1 (11 ounce) bag of candy corn

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
3. Align pretzels on baking sheet.
4. Place a Hershey candy on each of the pretzels.
5. Put baking sheet in oven for 4 minutes or until candies just start to melt.
6. Remove baking sheet from oven.
7. Carefully place a candy in the center of each soft Hershey and press down to spread the chocolate
8. Place the baking sheet in the refrigerator until the chocolate has set (about 15 minutes).
9. Store in an airtight container.

These are the only ingredients you need!

Align pretzels on baking sheet and add Hershey on top.

Carefully press down the candy as soon as you remove the baking sheet from the oven.

If you use a Hershey candy with a soft center like the Pumpkin Spice Hershey they seem to melt faster so keep a close eye on them

Add candy corn or M&Ms!

Delicious!

Display them on a cute pumpkin plate.