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These Cookie Dough Cupcakes are definitely having a their main character moment! And we can’t get our minds off these decadent little cookie dough flavored cakes. They are just right amount of indulgent, easy to make and are simply irresistible. Each cupcake starts with a soft vanilla chocolate chip cake base with a thick swirl of cookie dough cream cheese frosting on top. So delish!!
If you’re anything like me, the dinner party dessert dilemma often comes down choosing one of the two to serve a group: a cake or a crowd favorite, chocolate chip cookies. So why not save some time debating and serve a mashup of the two?! We can’t think of a better combo!
These cookie dough cupcakes are a fun way to impress friends at your next girls’ night, dinner party or honestly, just to make for yourself (no judgement here). Know that whatever occasion you make these for, they are going to be memorable, slightly nostalgic and for sure a yummy statement!
Why You’ll Love These Cookie Dough Cupcakes
- The frosting tastes just like cookie dough! And best part is that it is safe to eat! No eggs and heat-treated flour, make it super safe to eat.
- It’s a bit nostalgic. Everyone has vivid childhood memories of eating chocolate chip cookies after school, at grandmas house or the taste of a cookie cake at a friends birthday. They always seem to evoke those ‘warm and fuzzy’ feelings!
- They’re Bakery-Level Fancy. But Amateur-level easy! Even though these cupcakes look a little extra, they are actually surprisingly easy to make.
Ingredients You’ll Need
For the Vanilla Chocolate Chip Batter
For the Cookie Dough Butter Cream
- All purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Butter
- Sugar
- Eggs
- Vanilla
- Buttermilk
- Mini chocolate chips
- Mini chocolate chips
- Cream cheese
- Butter
- Salt
- Four (heat treated)
- Brown sugar
- Powdered sugar
- Vanilla
- Milk
How to Make Cookie Dough Cupcakes Step-by-Step
Step 1. Prep the muffin tin for baking.
Start by lining muffin tins with muffin liners and preheating the oven to 325ºF.
If you don’t have muffin liners, grease each well with butter or cooking spray. Make sure the bottoms and corners are greased well, so you can remove the cupcake easier after baking.
Step 2. Mix dry ingredients.
Whisk together all purpose flour, baking powder and salt. This will be your dry ingredient mixture that you will add to the batter after creaming butter and sugar.
Step 3. Cream butter and sugar.
Next step is cream butter and sugar. Make sure to warm you butter to room temperature. If the butter is too cold, it will be more difficult to incorporate with the other ingredients. Once butter is creamy, add in sugar and whisk until blended.
Next add in one egg at a time, making sure each egg is blended before adding the next one. Whisk in vanilla extract and you’re ready to start mixing in the flour mixture and buttermilk.
Step 4. Alternate adding in flour and buttermilk.
We love using buttermilk in cupcakes is that it makes the most tender crumb. And even though buttermilk can smell and taste sour, it only leaves a slight tangy taste to the cake. Depending on the flavor of your cake, you may not even notice it’s there.
Alternate adding flour and buttermilk into the mixture. You’ll start by adding in half of your flour, mixing on medium-low until blended, before adding in half of the buttermilk. You’ll repeat this step another time.
Alternating both dry and wet ingredients is going to make a smooth batter without over mixing.
Step 5. Mix in chocolate chips, fill muffin tins and bake!
Pour 1 cup of mini chocolate chips into the batter and gently fold into the batter until they’re mixed in.
Fill each muffin tin until it’s about 3/4 full. You should have enough batter to bake 12-14 cupcakes, depending on the size of your muffin tin. Bake in a preheated oven for about 18-22 minutes until the edges are golden brown.
Tips for the Perfect Cookie Dough Frosting
- Heat treat flour. This is a common thing to do when making edible cookie dough. Since we are essentially making an edible cookie dough frosting, we recommend heat-treating flour by microwaving for 60 seconds to kill any potential bacteria/germs.
- Use unsalted butter. This way you have more control over the flavor of the cake. Don’t over mix the batter. Overtaxing the batter can overwork the gluten in the cake, resulting in a tougher texture. One reason you alternate mixing in flour and buttermilk into the cake is to evenly mix the batter without over mixing.
- Use room temperature butter and eggs. Room temperature eggs are going to blend better into the batter, making it smoother.
- Don’t over mix cream cheese. Over whipping the cream cheese will whip too much air into the icing and will make it too thin. You just want to whip it until creamy.
Ingredients may seem strange, but trust us when we say it comes together to make a texture and flavor of a smooth chocolate chip cookie dough. And it tastes so delicious!!
How to Store and Serve These Cupcakes
Store iced cupcakes at room temperature in a airtight container, like a cupcake carrier or cake carrier.
If you are making cupcakes ahead of time, we recommend icing the cupcakes right before you’re ready to serve.
- Let the cupcakes cool completely before storing.
- Store cupcakes an airtight container or plastic bag, at room temperature for 2-3 days. You can also store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, but they may lose some of their moisture in the fridge.
- We recommend making frosting when you’re ready to ice the cupcakes. That way the icing is fresh! If you make frosting ahead of time, you can store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
More yummy desserts to try:
Serving Ideas for Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes
These cupcakes are perfect for serving at a birthday party, bake off party with your friends or for dinner party dessert. Or if you just have a craving for one, they’re super fun to bake.
Cupcake Garnishing Ideas
The fun thing about cupcakes is that you can add some personality with toppings!
Here’s some easy ways to make your cupcakes look elevated:
- Sprinkle top with cookie crumbs
- Roll frosting edges or sprinkle top with extra chocolate chips
- Top each one with a mini chocolate chip cookie
- Drizzle with some melted chocolate
Shop our Kitchen Favorites
Cookie Dough Cupcakes
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 12 cupcakes 1x
Description
A soft vanilla chocolate chip cake base with a thick swirl of cookie dough cream cheese frosting on top and cookie crumbles.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1.5 tsp vanilla
- 2/3 cup buttermilk
- 1 cup mini chocolate chips
Cookie dough butter cream
- 1 cup mini chocolate chips
- 8 oz cream cheese
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup flour (heat treated – microwaved for 60 seconds)
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 3 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 2 tbsp milk if needed
- Chips Ahoy cookies
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325ºF. Line muffin tin with muffin liners.
- In medium bowl. Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt. Set aside.
- In an electric stand mixer with paddle attachment, cream butter on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Add in sugar and mix until combined.
- Next add in eggs one at a time, blending on medium low until just blended in. Add vanilla and mix to incorporate.
- Slowly add in half the flour mixture. Mixing on medium-low speed until combined. Add in half of the butter milk and mix. Add in the last half of the flour mixture, then the remaining buttermilk. Mix until just combined.
- Fold in mini chocolate chips into the batter. Scrape any excess flour on edges and blend in. Be careful not to over mix the batter.
- Scoop batter into lined muffin tins. Make sure to fill 3/4 of the tin. The batter should evenly divide into 12 cupcake wells. Bake for 18-22 minutes. Transfer to wire rack to cool completely while you make the frosting.
- Make cookie dough frosting. Start by heat treating your flour by heating in the microwave for 60 seconds, storing at 30 second mark. *
- In an electric mixer, whip cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Mix in brown sugar, vanilla, heat-treated flour, salt and mix until combined. Mix in powdered sugar until fully incorporated.
- Fold mini chocolate chips into the batter. Fill each muffin tin until it’s about 3/4 full. You should have enough batter to bake 12 cupcakes. Bake in a preheated oven for about 18-22 minutes until the edges are golden brown.
- Let cupcakes cool completely before icing. Add a several dollops of frosting on top of each cupcake, using a icing spatula or butter knife to spread icing over top of each cupcake. Garnish with cookie crumbs or more mini chocolate chips!
Notes
* Heat treating the flour is going to help remove any potential salmonella contamination from the flour. This is commonly done when making edible cookie dough. And the icing is essentially a combination of edible cookie dough and cream cheese frosting. Since the flour is uncooked, you’ll need to heat treat it.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Icing: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
