Chocolate chip cookie dough cupcakes

My obsession with the sweet/salty combo is still in full swing. (You can see more here & here)


A cupcake stuffed with cookie dough and topped with cookie dough buttercream. You won't believe how amazing these are. Definitely the best cupcake I've had in my life (to be fair, i haven't try THAT many varieties). The frosting?? To die for. I'm not huge on frosting, AT ALL. I usually scrape most of it off. This stuff however I would eat by the spoonfuls.

They are INCREDIBLY rich. So rich I could barely finish one. You'll definitely need plenty of water (or milk) to wash these down, and chase them with some fruit and vegetables.

Since I only ate 2 over the course of a couple days, I froze the rest (cupcake and frosting separate). I pulled some out for friends a few days later and they were still perfectly delicious. I plan on pulling some out after a month and seeing how they are.

This is how its done

Chocolate chip cookie dough cupcakes
makes 12

For the cookie dough:
1 1/8 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, softened
3/8 cup granulated sugar
3/8 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3 tablespoons soy milk or milk
*3/4 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chip (See note below)

Beat the butter, sugars, and vanilla with electric mixer until creamy. Add the soy milk and beat well. Add in the salt, baking soda, and flour and slowly mix until combined. Stir in chocolate chips.

Form teaspoon-sized balls (approx. 1″ across). Roll and place on a foil-covered baking sheet. Make approximately 14 dough balls, reserving at least 3/4 cup of the dough for frosting. Refrigerate or freeze until firm.

*i'd strongly suggest using mini chocolate chips, or finely chopped regular chocolate chips. Otherwise they'll get stuck in the pastry tip.

For the cupcakes:
1/2 cup soy milk
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/3 cup canola oil
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin pan with cupcake liners.

Whisk together soy milk, coconut milk, sugars, oil, and vanilla. Sift in the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and mix until no large lumps remain.

Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes or until tops are puffed and golden. Transfer to a cooling rack, and let cool completely before cutting.

For the frosting:
3/4 cup butter or margarine, room temperature
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons soy milk
3/4 cup eggless cookie dough, room temperature

Cream butter with electric mixer until fluffy. Slowly add powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, until well-incorporated. Add soymilk and mix until smooth, 1-2 minutes. Add cookie dough, approximately 3/4 cup of it, and mix until combined. Taste, and add more cookie dough if you like.

To assemble:
Cut hole in the top of the cupcake, drop ball of dough in. Pipe or spread the delicious frosting on.

(Recipe adapted from here)

Cookie no-dough ice cream and bake it pretty giveaway

Bake it pretty giveaway after recipe!

Sugar. It's my weakness. For the past few months (read: years) I've been battling the addiction. I really love my sweets. I love ice cream, cookies, cakes, muffins, and candy. Even really cheap "gross" candy.

I don't want to be addicted to the stuff but I also don't want to give up something that I get so much enjoyment from. That is where balance comes in.

I'm sugar "fasting" for six days a week. No brown sugar on my steel-cut oats in the morning, no sweet and sour tofu, no spaghetti sauce (unless homemade without sugar), ect. But one day a week I'll bake and eat whatever sweet I desire.

As a result, I don't feel sluggish all day, everyday. But I still get to indulge once a week. It's been working out great.

This week I could not decide for the life of me what I wanted to make. I had about 1001 ideas but nothing was popping out at me. Until I remembered this recipe I had bookmarked. I guess I have a thing for chocolate chip cookie dough.

Cookie no-dough ice cream
(adapted from joythebaker)

Note #1 from Abi: I used whole milk instead of half and half. I understood this would result in a less creamy ice cream but I was okay with that. And it was still absolutely divine. But if you want super creamy ice cream, go with the half and half.

Note #2 from Abi: After you pour the egg mixture back into the sauce pan, keep stirring the entire time! otherwise you might end up cooking some of the egg. If you do end up with some graininess (cooked egg), no worries. Just strain through a fine mesh strainer a few times until smooth.

1 cup chopped dark or semi-sweet chocolate

2/3 cup dark brown sugar

4 large egg yolks

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 cups half and half

1 1/2 cups whole milk (or reduced fat, if you prefer)

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

pinch of salt

Directions:

In a small sauce pan, melt the butter until it is a deep golden brown color. There will be charming little brown bits at the bottom of the pan. You don’t want it too burnt, otherwise it’ll taste, for lack of a better word, weird. Add the half and half and heat until scalding (not quite boiling).

In a separate bowl, whisk together the sugar and egg yolks until pale and fluffy. Take the half and half mixture off the heat, and add a little to the egg mixture while mixing. This is called tempering the eggs: introducing hot liquid a little at a time to eggs while stirring, as to not cook the eggs with the hot liquid. Add a little more (just over half of the hot mixture total) and the healthy pinch of salt, then pour everything back into the sauce pan.

Heat, stirring very often or constantly, until about 170 degrees, or until it coats a metal spoon. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and chill. Once the mixture is chilled, whisk in the additional 1 1/2 cups of milk and add it to your ice cream machine. When it’s almost fully churned, add your chopped chocolate. Eat directly from the ice cream maker or freeze overnight. Enjoy!


Now for the best part of this post.

I am sure many of you already know and love bake it pretty. If you don't, click on that link and you'll see what I'm talking about.

It is the cutest store you'll ever see. I seriously want ten of EVERYTHING they sell.

On bake it pretty, you'll find tons of cute cupcake liners like these: (Pictures via bakeitpretty.com)

ever adorable cookie cutters like these:






and even cute cupcake toppers like these

Plus sprinkles, cupcake kits, and tons more


To enter:

Head on over to bake it pretty and have a peek, then come back and leave a comment to tell me which item/s you'd want. And be sure to leave an email address so we can contact you if you win.

If you want to double your chances, post a link on twitter or your blog and link it back here in an additional comment.

The giveaway will be open until Sunday (3/21) at 9pm EST. I'll select the winner randomly, and announce on Monday.

Chocolate chip cookie dough truffles

I've been in a cooking rut for the past two weeks. It isn't that I can't find inspiration, my bookmarks folder is bursting at the seams with delicious recipes for goodness sakes. It has much to do with the fact that I'm still (after over two years!) getting used to juggling two dinners a night. You see, I am a long time vegetarian gone mostly vegan, and my husband is a carnivore who hates cheese and garlic, (however he does love every vegetable, which is more than I can say). So this leaves me with cooking two separate meals each night. Good thing I like to cook, right?

Well sort of.

Most days I plan our menu with all the same elements, subbing orange tofu with brown rice for his orange chicken with white rice. Lasagna means cheese-less, just meat sauce in between noodles for him. Cheese-less, meatless, add eggplant, spinach and pine-nut spread for myself.

But lately I haven't done so well at the planning and by the time I've prepped, started and finished his dinner I have absolutely no energy to make mine. Then I sit down with pretzels and a small dish of melted chocolate chips and call it a night.

And it was two of these cookie dough truffles that made up the majority of my dinner on valentines day. And for once I was quite okay with being tuckered out after fixing dinner for my husband.

It is exactly what you think it is. Chocolate chip cookie dough, dipped in chocolate. And they are egg-free for those who worry (and easily adapted to be vegan). My chocolate coating doesn't look perfect but that was okay with me cause once in my mouth they were nothing short of perfect, and cut me a break, as I was dipping them in the chocolate I was balancing the phone on my shoulder so I could chat with my mom about a future vacation. And that night I found chocolate in my hair.



Chocolate chip cookie dough truffles (a love and olive oil recipe)
makes 3-4 dozen, depending on size.

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup milk or soy milk
1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips, or small chocolate chunks.

14 oz dark chocolate candy coating, (i didnt have any so i used chocolate chips)

Directions
Beat butter and sugars and in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add soymilk and vanilla. Stir in flour, baking soda and salt and mix on low speed (or by hand) until incorporated. Stir in chocolate chips.

Cover and chill dough for 1 hour.

When dough is firm enough to handle (it may help to lightly flour your hands), form dough into 1″ balls and arrange on a baking sheet lined with waxed paper. Place sheets in freezer and let chill for 30 minutes.

Melt chocolate candy coating in a double boiler or in microwave according to package directions. Using forks or a dipping tool, dip cookie balls into candy coating to cover. Tap fork on side of pan to remove any excess coating, and return to waxed paper-lined baking sheets. Chill until set. Store, chilled, in an airtight container for up to 1 week. Or freeze for frozen treats.