~Marie Williams Johnstone
"I absolutely love making chocolate chip cookies. I mean, it's fun. It's exciting. Beyond the fact that I love making them, I love eating them."
~ Debbi Fields
I would like to take a moment to thank two very important women in the history of civilization: Eliza Leslie and Ruth Graves Wakefield.
Not familiar with these two enlightened souls? For shame!
The earliest documentation of the term "cupcake" can be found in Eliza Leslie's seminal work, Seventy-five Receipts for Pastry, Cakes, and Sweetmeats, published in 1828. Yes, cupcakes were around before that, possibly as early as the late 1700s, but Ms. Leslie chronicled the sobriquet we know and love.
Cupcakes:
Bake the cupcakes 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cupcake portion of the cupcake, and not through the center where the cookie dough is, comes out clean.
When the cupcakes are cooled completely, it is time for assembly.
The earliest documentation of the term "cupcake" can be found in Eliza Leslie's seminal work, Seventy-five Receipts for Pastry, Cakes, and Sweetmeats, published in 1828. Yes, cupcakes were around before that, possibly as early as the late 1700s, but Ms. Leslie chronicled the sobriquet we know and love.
Ruth Graves Wakefield owned the Toll House Inn, in Whitman, Massachusetts. Toll House. Yes, that's ringing a bell in your head, isn't it? Ms. Wakefield's very popular restaurant featured home cooking and her cookbook, Toll House Tried and True Recipes, published in 1936, included the recipe for "Toll House Chocolate Crunch Cookie". The first chocolate chip cookie recipe.
Without these two women the world would be bereft of cupcakes and chocolate chip cookies.
Take a moment to think about that. And to thank them.
Of course, anyone who has made chocolate chip cookies has eaten the cookie dough. And this is a bit of heaven, dropped by large spoonfuls, in itself. Perhaps all the more so because we are so often admonished today with warnings of avoiding eating anything containing raw eggs. But eat the raw dough we do. And we love it.
Cupcakes.
Chocolate chip cookie dough.
Who it was that first decided to combine these two pieces of bliss I do not know. But that person, inspired by divine insight or blessed with the clumsy luck that also gave us Reeses Peanut Butter Cups, also holds a special place in my heart.
Enough rambling. On to the recipe.
The cupcake is a basic chocolate cupcake that is so ridiculously simple to make (you mix in a blender) that it is almost unbelievable how good it is. The eggless cookie dough is completely safe to eat. The frosting, the pièce de résistance, is simply amazing. It tastes just like cookie dough.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes
Cookie Dough Filling:
Cookie Dough Filling:
(This is an egg-free recipe and therefore safe to consume raw!)
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
4 Tbs (1/2 stick) butter
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 Tbs white sugar
2 Tbs milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup chocolate chips
In a small bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda and salt.
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
4 Tbs (1/2 stick) butter
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 Tbs white sugar
2 Tbs milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup chocolate chips
In a small bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda and salt.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the butter, sugars, milk and vanilla.
Stir in the dry ingredients.
Add the chocolate chips.
Refrigerate this dough for about 20 minutes, or until firm. Scoop out dough in heaping tablespoon scoops and place it on a cookie sheet. You will want 12 balls of cookie dough.
Freeze until firm, at least 30 minutes. This helps keep the cookie from baking, and remain soft dough, when you bake the cupcakes.
Cupcakes:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup granulated white sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup hot water
1/2 cup oil (I use olive oil)
1 large egg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Preheat the oven to 375° F. Line a cupcake tin with 12 liners.
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup granulated white sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup hot water
1/2 cup oil (I use olive oil)
1 large egg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Preheat the oven to 375° F. Line a cupcake tin with 12 liners.
Place the flour, cocoa, sugar, baking soda and salt in a blender. Blend to combine.
Add the water, oil, egg and vanilla. Blend well, scraping down the sides as needed.
Divide the batter evenly between the 12 cupcake liners.
Drop a ball of frozen chocolate chip cookie dough into the center of each cupcake.
Bake the cupcakes 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cupcake portion of the cupcake, and not through the center where the cookie dough is, comes out clean.
The balls of cookie dough have been hidden away by the rising of the cupcake batter!
Cool the cupcakes completely before adding the frosting.
Frosting:
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) salted butter
1 3/4 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 Tbs milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
In a medium bowl, combine the butter and sugars, mixing until smooth and creamy.
Frosting:
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) salted butter
1 3/4 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 Tbs milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
In a medium bowl, combine the butter and sugars, mixing until smooth and creamy.
Mix in the flour, milk and vanilla and continue to mix until all is well combined.
When the cupcakes are cooled completely, it is time for assembly.
Frost the cupcakes with a knife or spatula. You want the frosting to resemble a dropped cookie, so avoid covering the cupcake completely or making it too smooth.
Sprinkle some chocolate chips on top and press them slightly into the frosting to complete the look of an uncooked chocolate chip cookie.
What you get are a dozen delicious chocolate cupcakes filled with chocolate chip cookie dough and topped with what looks and tastes like an uncooked chocolate chip cookie! Delicious!
