Brownie Cupcakes with Cookie Dough Frosting

Looking for a rich and indulgent cupcake recipe? Well look no further because I'm telling you this is the most indulgent cupcake I've ever eaten! Brownie + cookie dough. Yes, this is what dreams are made of. I just made the Brownie Cupcake with Marshmallow Frosting and I loved the cupcake so much I decided to do one more version of it by making these. 

What I would recommend is that you set aside half of the Cookie Dough Frosting to eat plain  then use the rest for the cupcakes. I've never said this before but with that much frosting over a brownie cupcake you'll have a hard to finishing one cupcake =). This frosting would also be incredibly delicious over a lighter cupcake such as a vanilla or chocolate cupcake. If you don't want to make cupcakes at the moment then just make a batch of this frosting to eat by the spoonful, that's the beauty of it, you can because it's egg free. I'm in love with this frosting! Just think fluffy chocolate chip cookie dough and here you have it! Enjoy!

Brownie Cupcakes with Cookie Dough Frosting
Yields 12 cupcakes

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp cocoa powder
3/4 cup butter, melted
2 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp milk

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl whisk together flour, baking powder and salt, set aside. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together granulated sugar, light-brown sugar and cocoa powder. Pour in melted butter and use a wood spoon to stir until combine. Mix in eggs and vanilla extract. Stir in milk. Add dry ingredients and mix just until combine (batter will be thick). 
Divide batter among 12 paper lined muffin cups filling each about 2/3 full (about 1/4 cup batter in each). Bake in preheated oven 16 - 20 minutes (lesser for gooier brownies). Allow to cool in muffin tin several minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool. Cool completely then frost with Cookie Dough Frosting. Store in an airtight container.

Cookie Dough Frosting

Ingredients:
10 Tbsp salted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp molasses
2-3 Tbsp cream or half and half
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:
In a mixing bowl, using an electric hand mixer, whip together butter and light-brown sugar until pale and fluffy, about 3 - 4 minutes. Mix in flour then add powdered sugar, vanilla, molasses and 2 Tbsp cream and blend together until smooth adding an additional 1 Tbsp of cream to thin if desired. Fold in chocolate chips.

Note that if you want a pipe-able frosting you will have to leave the chocolate chips out then simply add some of them to the top for garnish, otherwise they'll just get clogged in the piping tips.

Recipe Source: Cooking Classy

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M&M Cookies {Christmas Style}

M&M cookies were always one my favorites as a child (and still are today). They are basically a chocolate chip cookie enhanced with color and that delicious crunchy candy coating that covers those tasty little M&M's. It's funny I'm actually not a big fan of the plain milk chocolate M&M's but I LOVE the minis version of them, I don't know what it is. Cheap chocolate but when it's made into tiny form how can it be resisted =)?
I don't know what cookie Santa's going to request at your home but I'm pretty sure he's requested these from mine. If you are going to be a part of a cookie exchange this year, I would say these are definitely a great cookie choice to go with. It would be very hard to find someone who didn't love these cookies, young and old alike. They have a perfectly chewy and soft center along with a very light crunch around the cookies edge, just the way a cookie is meant to be. They are thick, full of sweet vanilla flavor and of course loaded with that chocolate candy goodness. This recipe could also be used to make a chocolate chip cookies just swap out the M&M's for a bag of chocolate chips. Enjoy!

M&M Cookies
Yields about 2 1/2 dozen

Ingredients:
2 1/4 - 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (for a thicker cookie use 2 1/2)
2 tsp cornstarch
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup salted butter, chilled and diced into cubes (about 1/2-inch)
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg 
1 large egg yolk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 (11 oz) bag M&M's (I used mini)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a mixing bowl whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda and salt, set aside. 
In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, blend together butter and sugar on low speed until it starts to come together then increase mixer to medium speed and whip until creamy, about 3 - 4 minutes. Mix in egg and egg yolk. Stir in vanilla. With mixer set on low speed, slowly add in dry ingredients and mix just until combine (batter will be thick due to the chilled butter). Mix in M&M's (I set aside about 1/4 cup of the M&M's to lightly press into the tops of cookies before baking so they show through more, totally optional). 
Scoop dough out 2 Tbsp at a time and shape into a ball, transfer to a Silpat lined or buttered cookie sheet - fitting 8 per sheet. Bake in preheated oven 10 - 12 minutes until edges are lightly golden. Allow to cool on baking sheet several minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool. Store in an airtight container. 

Recipe Source: Cooking Classy

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Salted Caramel Stuffed Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

Hello Christmas Cookie Season!! I'm obsessed with cookies so this gives me one more reason to love the holidays. I created this recipe to be a no refrigeration necessary recipe. A lot of chocolate crinkle cookie recipes require that the dough be refrigerated 2 - 4 hours before baking, I don't have time for that =). Mostly I just don't have the patience for that especially when I know what awaits me. 

If you prefer you can omit the coarse sea salt from the recipe if you are not a fan of salted caramel. I personally am unequivocally in love with the addition. These taste like caramel brownies in cookie form. They are intensely delicious! If you are baking them for someone else you'll have a hard time wanting to gift them after all =). If you wanted to go all out with these cookies you could even toss in some semi-sweet chocolate chips and toasted nuts.  Enjoy!

Salted Caramel Stuffed Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
Yields 2 dozen cookies

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
10 tbsp salted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 dozen caramels (such as Kraft), unwrapped (Rolos would also be good)
coarse sea salt
3/4 cup powdered sugar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt, set aside. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fit with a paddle attachment, whip together butter, granulated sugar and light-brown sugar on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add in eggs one at a time, stirring after each addition until combine. Mix in vanilla. With mixer set on low speed, slowly add in dry ingredients and mix just until combine. 
Scoop dough out 2 tbsp at a time and roll into a ball. Press one caramel into the center, sprinkle top of caramel with a small pinch of coarse sea salt then fold cookie dough around caramel and salt (make sure the caramel is fully covered with dough around all sides). Shape into a ball once more then roll in powdered sugar*. Align cookies on Silpat lined or buttered cookie sheets and bake in preheated oven 11 - 13 minutes. Allow to cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool (note that the caramel will set after it cools, I liked these cookies best warm for soft gooey caramel). Store in an airtight container.

*I gave my cookies a generous coating of the powdered sugar before baking, but when they baked a lot of the powdered sugar baked and dissolved into the cookie anyway. So I found you can coat the top again with powdered sugar after baking (which is not pictured) to get a prettier cookie. If doing so roll in powdered sugar once before baking (doesn't need to be generously), then bake them and allow to cool and dip the tops of cookies in a fresh batch of powdered sugar (so there is no cross contamination) and shake off some of the excess. If you want to do it that way I would recommend using 1/2 cup powdered sugar for rolling before baking and reserve 1/4 cup in a separate bowl to dip and coat the tops after baking.

Recipe Source: Cooking Classy

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