Cookie Dough Stuffed Dark Chocolate Cupcakes

I had a recent request for Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes.  While I was excited for the challenge and am a lover of cookie dough, I was worried about the safety of eating it raw.  Well wouldn't you know on one of my daily library trips when we were out of power and cable due to Hurricane Sandy ~ I stumbled upon a little gem of a book, called "The Cookie Dough Lovers Cookbook" by Lindsay Landis.

This genius invented the perfect cookie dough that is egg-free and safe to eat raw and use in many many recipes from cookies, cakes, candies, frozen treats and more.  This book is packed with cookie dough lovers dream desserts!  And yes it had a recipe for cupcakes.  If you are a cookie dough lover you must have this book, available here:

 http://astore.amazon.com/rosscoubak-20/detail/1594745641  
 


Now onto the cupcake recipe.  Basically you bake a cupcake, it could be chocolate or vanilla, cut out a wedge from top, and fill with cookie dough, put top back on and garnish with cookie dough buttercream and chocolate chips.  Use your favorite chocolate or vanilla cake recipe or the one below.

Recipe: 

Cupcakes ~ 
1 cup flour
1/3 cup dutch-processed cocoa powder, sifted
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup whole milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
Cookie dough ~ 
1 stick unsalted butter @ room temp
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup whole milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips, divided
Buttercream ~ 
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, @ room temp
2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
reserved cookie dough mix from above (see instructions)
Milk

Instructions:  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a 12 cup cupcake pan with paper liners.  In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment mix together the flour, cocoa, sugars, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  Make a well in the center and add the milk, oil, vanilla and eggs.  Beat until just combined, scraping bottom of bowl as needed.  Fill the cupcake liners with a little less then 1/4 cup batter, they should be just under 2/3 full.  Bake for about 18 mins or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Let cool, while cooling prepare cookie dough and buttercream.  When cooled, use a paring knife and cut a cone shaped piece, approx 1 in from the top of each cupcake, cut off cone and save top. See pic below.
Prepare cookie dough - In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle beat together butter and sugars on med until light and fluffy about 2 mins.  Add milk and vanilla and beat until blended.  Add flour and salt and mix on low until incorporated.  Set aside 1 cup of this mixture for the buttercream.  Add to remaining mixture 1/3 cup of the chocolate chips and blend.
Buttercream - In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter until fluffy, add powdered sugar a little at a time and beat until smooth.  Add the reserved plain cookie dough and mix on med-high until light and fluffy.  Add milk by tablespoons if too dry until desired piping or spreading consistency.
Assembling, fill cupcake holes with about 1 tsp cookie dough, then replace topper and frost with buttercream.  Sprinkle remaining chocolate chips on top.

Enjoy!

Potato Mushroom Gratin

This Potato Gratin is so good, its simple ingredients of tender slices of Yukon potatoes, olive oil, garlic, cream, fresh Parmesan cheese, thyme, baby bella mushroom slices and salt and pepper combine to make one very tasty and satisfying dish.  It goes so well with Thanksgiving dinner or any festive feast.  If you make it be prepared for future requests for this dish!

This recipe was found In Bon Appetit December 2008 issue and is also available on Epicurious.com.  I've doubled the recipe for a big, hungry crowd,  will feed about 20.

Ingredients:
10 Tbsp olive oil, divided
5 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, cut lengthwise and sliced into 1/8 in thick slices
3 tsps  kosher salt, plus additional for mushrooms
1 1/2 tsps freshly ground black pepper, plus additional for mushrooms
2 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream, divided
2 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese, divided
12 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
24 oz fresh baby bella mushrooms, sliced thin

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Brush 2 large 13X9X2 inch glass or oval ceramic baking dishes with 2 Tbsp oil each.  Arrange 1/3 of potatoes, slightly overlapping, in dish.  Sprinkle each dish with 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper.  Pour 1/3 cup cream evenly over potatoes in each dish, sprinkle each dish with 1/4 cup cheese.  Repeat layering of each dish:  1/3 of potatoes - divided into the 2 dishes, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper on each dish, 1/3 cup cream over each dish, 1/4 cup cheese over each dish - - 2 more times.  Bake uncovered until potatoes are tender, adding cream by Tbsps if dry, about 45 minutes.  Remove from oven, maintaining oven temp.  Sprinkle thyme and garlic over potatoes.  Toss the mushrooms in a large bowl with 5 Tbsps oil, sprinkle them with salt and pepper.  Arrange 1/2 the mushrooms atop the gratin around each dish, slightly overlapping each mushroom.  Drizzle mushrooms on each dish with 1/4 cup cream and sprinkle with 1/4 cup cheese.  Continue to bake uncovered until mushrooms are tender and edges of potatoes are golden brown, about 20 minutes longer.

Layering the potatoes with the salt and pepper, heavy cream and freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Finished cooking potato cream mixture until tender, now sprinkling with thyme and garlic and arranging mushrooms around the dishes. Then sprinkle mushrooms with heavy cream and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, bake till mushrooms are tender and edges of potatoes are golden brown 

 

Enjoy!