Chocolate Fudge Cookie Stuffed Cupcakes With Chocolate & Vanilla Butter Cream

I recently celebrated my 18th birthday and decided to create an extra special cupcake just for my special day. I combined some of my favorite flavors and managed to stuff it all into one cute little cupcake! I knew from the moment I took the cupcakes out of the oven that everything was going to be delicious... and I was right! Stuffed with the most decadent cookie, these chocolate cupcakes satisfy everyone's sweet tooth. I hope you all enjoy them as much I did. And always remember: "Life's short, eat a cupcake!"

Chocolate Fudge Cupcakes:
1 box chocolate cake mix of your choice.

Prepare as directed; bake according to directions on box.

Cookie Dough Center:
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup miniature chocolate chips

Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside. Beat the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl until smooth. Add 1 egg and the vanilla extract and beat until smooth. Mix in the flour mixture until just incorporated. Fold in the chocolate chips; mixing just enough to evenly combine. Form the dough into tablespoon-sized balls; place onto a baking sheet, and freeze until solid, about 2 hours.

Vanilla Butter Cream Frosting:½ c. butter.
½ c. margarine.
3 c. confectioners’ sugar. (SIFTED!)
1 tbsp. vanilla.
¼ tsp. salt.
2 tbsp. milk.

Beat butter and margarine for a few minutes at medium speed. Add confectioners’ sugar and reduce mixer to low speed. Blend until sugar is incorporated. Increase to medium speed and add vanilla, salt, and milk. Beat for 3 minutes. Frost cupcakes and sprinkle with miniature chocolate chips.


Chocolate Butter Cream Frosting:
½ cup butter
½ cup margarine
3 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon table salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 tablespoons milk

Cream butter and margarine for a few minutes on medium speed. Sift 3 cups powdered sugar and cocoa into the mixing bowl. Turn your mixer on the lowest speed until the sugar and cocoa are absorbed by the butter. Increase mixer speed to medium and add vanilla extract, salt, and milk and beat for 3 minutes. If your frosting needs a more stiff consistency, add a little more sugar. If your frosting needs to be thinned out, add additional milk 1 tablespoon at a time.


Enjoy!






　

Quite Possibly One Of The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies... Ever!

Whenever I would search "the best chocolate chip cookie recipe" on the internet, this recipe kept popping up, so I figured my computer was trying to tell me something. It was the little things about this recipe, 2 cups PLUS 2 tbsp. flour, one egg PLUS one egg yolk, that had me believing that maybe everyone was right! Maybe this was the best chocolate chip cookie out there! So, of course, I had to try it and, either prove everyone wrong, or have the privilege of tasting one of the best cookies on the planet! Lucky for me, it was the second thought! I now understand what everyone has been talking about when they labeled these "the best". So, here it is... the recipe for the best chocolate chip cookie!

"The Best Chocolate Chip Cookie"

2 cups plus 2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled until warm
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1. Heat the oven to 325 degrees.

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

3. With an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugars until thoroughly blended. Beat in the egg, yolk, and vanilla until combined. Add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed just until combined. Stir in the chips to taste.

4. Scoop dough out with cookie scoop and place the formed dough balls on parchment paper lined baking sheets, spacing them 2 1/2 inches apart.

5. Bake until the cookies are light golden brown and the outer edges start to harden yet the centers are still soft and puffy, about 12 minutes. Cool the cookies on the sheets, and get ready to bite into one of the best cookies in the world! Enjoy!

Oatmeal Butter Cookies.

For the start of the new year, I felt that it was time for a new cookie. With some of my favorite flavors and ingredients in mind, I constructed an oatmeal butter dark chocolate chip cookie which came out quite tastey. They look like your classic oatmeal cookie, however, they did not flatten out when baked. Either way, they are pretty delicious, and not to mention, you won't feel as guilty indulging in one of these babies! Enjoy!

Oatmeal Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
¼ cup I can’t Believe It’s Not Butter
¼ cup unsweetened applesauce
½ cup dark brown sugar
2 egg whites
1 ½ tsp. butter and nut extract
1 cup flour
1 ¼ cup ground oatmeal
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup dark chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. In a mixing bowl, combine butter, applesauce, and brown sugar. Beat until well combined. Add egg whites and extract and beat until combined. Combine flour, ground oats, baking soda, and cinnamon and add to creamed mixture. Stir until combined. Stir in chocolate chips.

Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes.



Calories 117
Carbohydrates 19
Protein 2
Fat 4

Sprinkles Cupcakes NYC

Just a few short years ago, in Los Angeles, CA, I visited the very first cupcake bakery, Sprinkles Cupcakes, founded by the one and only, Candace Nelson. Located on the west coast, and, me, living on the east coast, I could not wait until Sprinkles came to an area near me. Finally, in early 2011, Sprinkles opened a new location in New York City! I was super duper excited and couldn't wait to go back so I could enjoy that delicious cupcake that I haven't stopped dreaming about. After all those years of waiting for that cupcake, I returned to Sprinkles the other day! For their Holiday special, Sprinkles was offering a unique flavor for the month: Eggnog Spice Cupcake. The moist spice cake was complimented by a creamy eggnog frosting that simply melted in your mouth. While I enjoyed my eggnog cupcake, my parents were delighted by the most wonderful chocolate cupcake topped with only the best chocolate frosting. For a cupcake queen, like me, this wasn't just a visit to some cupcake bakery, but the highlight of my week!

For those cupcake lovers, like me, I highly suggest you visit the nearest Sprinkles. As a matter of fact, it is totally worth hopping on a plane if you are not within driving distance. I would never lie about cupcakes, so it is safe to say that these are the world's best little treats!





Gingerbread Cookies

Christmas time is my favorite time of year... mostly because of the Christmas cookies! Every year I usually buy the Nestle Toll House Gingerbread Cookie Dough in the huge tub from the store, but this year, I decided to make my own gingerbread cookies from scratch. I was extremely excited to try my hand at it, because I absolutely love gingerbread cookies! The recipe I tried was so delicious and the cookies came out soft and fat! They definitely did not disappoint, and a major plus was that the dough did not have any eggs in it, which made me believe it was perfectly safe to taste. So, if you are a gingerbread lover, like me, be sure to try out this recipe! Merry Baking!

Gingerbread Men
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1/4 cup water
1 tsp vanilla extract

In a medium bowl, sift together flour, salt, baking soda, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, cinnamon.
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in molasses, water and vanilla, then gradually add in flour mixture until a smooth dough forms. Place dough in container and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, until firm.

Preheat oven to 375F.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough 1/4 inch thickness. Use cookie cutters of your choice (2-3″ gingerbread men are perfect!) to cut dough. Place cookies on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 9-12 minutes, depending on size of cookie cutter. Cookies should be slightly firm to the touch at the edges. Let cookies cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Nutrition Information 1 cookie:

Calories 66   
Fat 2
Carbohydrates 9  



French Chocolate Macaroons

After spending some time in Paris, France this past April, I've been dying to make french macaroons. They are so light and delicious and I love a new challenge! I always have to work some chocolate into my baking one way or another, so my best bet was chocolate macaroons. For a first timer, I must say that I think I did pretty well in my macaroon making. It took a bit of time, considering I wasn't a pro at it, but overall, I will definitely make these again.

FRENCH CHOCOLATE MACAROONS

Macaroons:

1/2 cup blanched whole almonds
1 3/4 cups confectioners' sugar
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
3 large egg whites
Pinch of salt
2 teaspoons granulated sugar

Filling:1/2 cup heavy (whipping) cream
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
5 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

　Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.

To make the macaroons: Pulse the almonds with 1 cup of the confectioners' sugar in a food processor until finely ground. Add the cocoa powder and the remaining 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar and pulse until well blended.

Beat the egg whites with the salt with an electric mixer on medium-high speed in a large bowl just until the whites form soft peaks when the beaters are lifted. Add the granulated sugar and beat just until the whites form stiff peaks when the beaters are lifted. With a rubber spatula, gently fold in the almond mixture.

Transfer the batter to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain tip. Pipe out 1-inch-diameter mounds about 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bake, one sheet at a time, for 6 to 8 minutes, until the tops are cracked and appear dry but the macaroons are still slightly soft to the touch.

Transfer the cookies, still on the parchment paper, to barely dampened kitchen towels and let cool for 5 minutes. Carefully peel the paper off the macaroons and transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

To make the filling: Bring the cream just to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the cocoa powder. Add the chocolate and butter and whisk until smooth. Let cool to room temperature, then refrigerate, covered, for at least 30 minutes, or until the filling is firm enough to hold its shape when spread.

If desired, transfer the filling to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain tip. Pipe the filling, or spread it with a knife, generously on the flat side of half of the macaroons. Top with the remaining macaroons, flat-side down, pressing together gently to form sandwiches.

Chocolate Pumkpin Pie.

Happy Black Friday everyone! I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving as much as I did! Of course, the best part was the dessert, which is why I wanted to post the recipe for my delicious Chocolate Pumpkin Pie. I must admit, I am not a huge fan of pumpkin pie, but I thought a chocolate pumpkin pie just might do the trick. I found this great recipe which added semi sweet chocolate bits to the spiced pie filling. Made with a fillo dough crust, this pie is a healthier version of your typical pumpkin pie. Yet still so tastey, you won't feel as guilty going for that second slice. I also topped the pie with light whipped cream for extra flavor and decoration.

Chocolate Pumpkin Pie

Butter flavored cooking spray
6 sheets fillo dough
½ cup light cream
½ cup fat free cream
6 ounces semi sweet chocolate bits
15- ounce can pumpkin puree
½ cup dark brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ginger
½ tsp. cloves
½ tsp. allspice
¼ tsp. nutmeg
½ tsp. salt
3 egg whites



Unroll fillo dough, then cover with plastic wrap while you work. Lay one sheet of fillo dough on the counter. Lightly mist the fillo with cooking spray. Set a second sheet of fillo over the first, rotating it slightly. Mist the second sheet of fillo, then repeating this process with the remaining fillo sheets, rotating each time a sheet is added. Mist the final sheet of fillo. Use a knife to carefully trim the stack of fillo into a 12- inch circle. Discard the scraps. Carefully lift the stack and set into the prepared pie pan, gently pressing the fillo against the bottom and sides of the pan.

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

In a small saucepan over medium-high, heat the cream until just bubbling. Remove from the heat and add the chocolate bits. Stir until completely melted and smooth.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, allspice, nutmeg, salt, and the chocolate cream mixture. Add the egg whites, whisking until everything is thoroughly combined.

Pour the pumpkin mixture into the crust. Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until the center is set and no longer jiggles.

Nutritional Info:
Calories- 290
Fat- 14
Carbohydrates- 40