Chocolate Chip Cookies are my BFF

 

The secret is out. Even though my last name is "Cupcake", I LURVE (that's my word for extra credit love) chocolate chip cookies. Making chocolate chip cookies is a fun hobby for me. I don't sell them anywhere.I've baked them for many reasons.One..is that I eat the dough and never eat the cookie ♥♥♥♥ 

Perfect gift idea: Scoop the dough into a jar and give it to a friend to eat with a wooden spoon. Or throw yourself a **me** party and gift it to yourself! Just to be safe, if I am eating the dough only, I substitute 1/4 cup milk in place of the eggs. It works and still tastes just like cookie dough!

I have used the eggless cookie dough recipe to make chocolate chip cookie dough balls dipped in candy melts. Heaven on earth. ♥ What's better than cookie dough on a stick?!

I throw sprinkles in my chocolate chip cookie dough because I'm a big kid.
I love giving these to kids of all ages. (Hmm maybe a back to school treat or great for a college care package?!)

But did you know..there is something that a chocolate chip cookie does to fill a void in your spirit?! A warm ball of soft gooey slightly crispy chocolate chip cookie in your tummy replaces a hole and makes you feel better if even just for the moment you are eating the cookie.That's why I  hand deliver generous sized packages of them to people who I know are grieving. ♥

What tummies will your chocolate chip cookies travel to?

The possibilities are endless. Don't be afraid to add bits and pieces of the things that you crave. (Sprinkles, m&ms, sparkles, white chocolate chips, cherry chocolate chips, marshmallows?! Use your imagination)!

Recipe below ♥
This recipe takes patience, so make sure you plan at least 24 hours in advance.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients needed:
2 Cups Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
A little dab of salt
3/4 Cup Unsalted Butter, Softened
3/4 Cup Light Brown Sugar

1/4 Cup Fine Baking Sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon almond extract
1 small box of white chocolate instant pudding mix (dry powder form)
1 egg
2 cups chocolate chips
optional: 1 cup rainbow sprinkles

**Note, to make this recipe eggless for cookie dough treats: replace the egg with 1/4 cup whole milk. Omit the pudding.

Method:

1.  In stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream the egg, softened butter, sugars, and extracts together.

2.  In separate bowl, whisk the dry ingredients (flour, salt, pudding mix, and baking soda) together.
3.  Gradually add the dry ingredients to the creamed ingredients and beat until all ingredients are thoroughly mixed. Scrape down the sides and the bottom of the bowl to make sure there are no forgotten bits of valuable ingredients ♥
4. Fold in chocolate chips and sprinkles.

5. Line baking pan with parchment paper. Scoop cookies onto baking pan. I like using a cookie scoop to make sure they are all uniform in size.
6. This is the secret to amazing puffy cookies that won't flatten when you bake them: Cover cookies with plastic wrap and refrigerate them on the pan overnight.

7. Get up the next morning, and bake at 325 for appx 12-15 minutes. I like to under-bake my cookies and take them out at about 10-12 minutes so that they are super soft and gooey.

A few chocolate chip cookie tips:

♥Cookies last forever in the freezer when covered in an airtight container (my "forever": is about half a year)...but I don't think these will last long enough. They are toooooo yummy!!!! ♥ Cookie dough can also be frozen for up to about 90 days.

♥If you want to add more color and sparkle to your cookies, top them with extra chocolate chips, m&m gems, mini peanut butter cups, or sprinkles immediately after you remove them from the oven.   The extra pieces will add more color and will "melt" just enough to stick to the top of your cookies!

♥And as always..don't be afraid to sprinkle some edible glitter on top!

Fresh chocolate chip cookies always taste good with cupcakes....and coffee! ♥♥♥

Chocolate Chip Cookie and Monster Cookie Dough Cupcakes

Chocolate Chip Cookie and Monster Cookie Dough Cupcakes 

A story & recipe by Amanda Cupcake

This one is dedicated to my mom. Not only because I love her and it is Mother's Day (I'm at the tail end of it right now).  But also because one of my favorite memories of my mom is the smell of her baking chocolate chip cookies for me after school.  I'd come home from school, walk in the door and immediately be entranced by my mother's chocolate chip cookies baking in the oven.  Or if we were ever baking together, I'd steal the cookie dough right out of the bowl and eat most of it before she could finish baking the cookies. (Tummy ache but so worth it).

Ever since then.. I've loved chocolate chip cookies and chocolate chip cookie dough. Thank you mom!

And that's where these cupcakes come from. A true love for a dessert that once was not a cupcake. (Take something that was once not a cupcake and turn it into a cupcake, it is magical).  You get all of the best worlds here.  A Baked Cupcake, An Eggless Cookie Dough filling (with M&Ms and chocolate chips folded in), and a Cookie Dough Frosting.  I placed each chocolate chip on top of each swirl of Cookie Dough frosting by hand so the cupcakes would look just like chocolate chip cookies ♥  This cupcake is loaded..with mostly love.


This picture is proof that I bake love inside of my cupcakes.  A heart shape appeared in my egg yolk the other day. I caught it with my camera just in time.   If this isn't a sign that baking has a greater power than just making cute & pretty little sweets in your kitchen, I don't know what is!


You can add more powdered sugar to your cookie dough frosting to thicken it up, and scoop out a big scoop of this indulgence onto each of your cupcakes (just like how you scoop the cookie dough out of the bowl with your spoon).  I call these my monster cookie dough cupcakes. You can really fold in anything you want to the cookie dough frosting at the end to make it the type of cookie dough you love (I use M&Ms of all flavors and chocolate chips). 

They are so monster-ific that I gave some of them sugar eyes like real monsters!



The monster cookie dough cupcakes are like a double dessert. The cookie dough on the top that you can eat with a spoon.. but don't forget, there is a cupcake under that scoop of cookie dough for you to finish.  What separates this cookie dough frosting from regular cookie dough and turns it into frosting are the ingredients used: Brown Sugar, Almond milk, Malted Milk Powder, and Powdered Sugar instead of Granulated Sugar.

For all of you who eat the cookie dough instead of the cookie..Try this at home:

Cookie Dough Frosting Recipe
(Swirl it or Scoop it onto your favorite vanilla or chocolate cupcake)

Had to post this picture, mainly because it is fun!

Ingredients (double this recipe for extra treats!!! I do all the time).
1 Cup Butter (softened)
1 Tablespoon Pure Vanilla Extract
1 Cup Flour
3 teaspoons Vanilla Malt Powder (optional)
¾ Cup of Brown Sugar
3 Cups Powdered Sugar
½ tsp salt
2 Tablespoons Milk or Almond Milk
+M&Ms & Chocolate Chips,any other ingredients you want to add

This recipe is really simple.  Combine all the ingredients together (except for the powdered sugar and M&Ms, Chocolate Chips) using the flat beater attachment in a stand mixer until creamy.  Gradually add powdered sugar.  For a creamy dreamy swirl like on the chocolate chip cookie cupcakes, you will want to add about 3-4 cups powdered sugar.  Do not fold in any chocolate chips or M&Ms into this version of the frosting since you will be using a piping bag to swirl it onto the top of the cupcake.   For the monster cookie dough frosting, add as much powdered sugar as needed to reach desired thickness for scooping frosting on top of the cupcake.  At the end, fold in M&Ms and chocolate chips or any other ingredients you want to add to the cookie dough frosting.

Decor:

For Chocolate Chip Cookie Cupcakes:  
You will need:  
1 bowl of creamy dreamy cookie dough frosting

1 bowl of thick monster cookie dough frosting to use as filling.  
Chocolate Chips
Cupcakes to decorate in flavor of your choice

Core out the center of each cupcake using an apple corer or a cupcake corer.  Fill each cupcake with the thick mosnter cookie dough frosting.  Fill a disposable piping bag with the creamy dreamy cookie dough frosting and pipe onto the top of your cupcake.   Add little chocolate chips by hand to the top of your cupcake as pictured above to make your cupcake look like a chocolate chip cookie!

For Monster Cookie Dough Cupcakes:
You will need:

1 big bucket of thick monster cookie dough frosting to use as filling
Ice Cream scoop
Cupcakes to decorate in flavor of your choice.

Spray an ice cream scoop with non-stick canola oil spray.  Scoop the cookie dough frosting out of the bucket right on top of each cupcake, just like you'd do with ice cream.

They are so pretty, can you really eat them?

Of course you can.

Love you forever mom. You inspire me everyday in new ways that I am always discovering.