Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

Chocolate Chips...a baking essential that you must always have on hand, am I right? Let me just warn you now that chocolate chips in cupcakes are just as addicting as chocolate chips in cookies! You can never eat just one, or two. I recently whipped up a batch of these Chocolate Chip Cupcakes for my June feature on The Cake Blog and I must say, they were a huge hit with my family (check out photos below), friends and neighbors. All you really need to do is take a basic white cake recipe and jazz it up with some chips in the batter and a few more sprinkled on top of vanilla buttercream and you've got one amazing cupcake! It was hard to stop after eating 3 in a row, but I had to save some for others!

This cupcake recipe should definitely be on the top of your summer baking, or cupcake list! I hope you enjoy them as much as we did!

Here are a few behind the scenes photos with Sam and his little curious eyes and hands entering the cupcake scene! I LOVE all of these expressions I captured in just a few seconds.

I think he was saying "mmmm" in this photos....look at those cheeks!

I can't get enough of those big blue eyes!

I love that little wisp of hair peeking out behind his ears. His hair is definitely starting to curl a little in the back. Daddy thinks it's time for the first haircut, but I'm trying to hold out a little bit longer!

I hope you enjoyed a few snapshots of my little guy! I can't believe he is 14.5 months old already!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes

For all you cookie dough lovers out there, this recipe is for you! Jam packed with lots of cookie dough inside and out these cupcakes won't disappoint. Moist chocolate cupcakes with a ball of chocolate chip cookie dough hidden inside. Definitely a nice surprise once you take a bite through the first layer of cookie dough in the frosting!

The recipe is over at Half Baked so be sure to check it out.

So go grab a bag of chocolate chips and put this on your baking to do list for the weekend!

Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles

Whew! It was a busy weekend full of lots of baking and Christmas parties! But I must admit I loved every minute of it! Baking is one of my absolute favorite things to do this time of year. So many great recipes to share with friends and family. This weekend was packed with parties so I wanted to prepare sweets that wouldn't require a lot of time in the kitchen. One of my favorite go to recipes that doesn't require any baking and that everyone always loves is Cookie Dough Truffles.

I discovered this recipe a few years ago from Paula Deen and have loved it ever since. I mean who doesn't love an excuse to eat cookie dough right? And this recipe doesn't have raw eggs in them like chocolate chip cookie batter does, so that means you can keep popping truffle after truffle into your mouth!

Right after I finished preparing these truffles for a Christmas party on Friday night, I sat down for a few minutes to watch some Food Network and who else was on but Paula Deen...and what was she making...these exact same Cookie Dough Truffles. The timing couldn't have been any more perfect! Any what's even funnier is that one of the girls who came to the party had just watched the very same episode and had said "I sure do wish I had some of those cookie dough truffles". Well little did she know a few hours later I would be bringing them to the party for her to enjoy!

So if you are looking for a super simple, no bake dessert that is sure to be a crowd favorite this holiday then you must give these Cookie Dough Truffles a try! I followed Paula's recipe and just swapped out the pecans for a 1/2 cup of white chocolate chips! I loved the combination of the semi-sweet and white chips! YUM!

Hope you enjoy these! Up next is one of my favorite cookie recipes!

Chocolate Chip Whoopie Pies

It's a cake, it's a cookie...it's an amazingly yummy Chocolate Chip Whoopie! Let me just start this post by saying, you might as well run to your pantry right now and grab that bag of chocolate chips you have on hand. You know, the bag you keep just in case you get that craving for some chocolate chip cookies in the middle of the week! Doesn't everyone at least keep 1 bag of chocolate chips on hand in case of dire emergencies of cookie cravings, or is that just me? At any given time I have at least 2-3 bags of chips on standby just in case I get that cookie dough craving! I will admit, I am a lover of raw cookie dough by the spoonfuls! So now that you know I have a stockpile of chocolate chips and eat dough with raw eggs...well just go grab your chocolate chips because you are going to want to make this recipe immediately...I'll wait for you to return.

Got your chips? Ok well let's get started. If you have never tried a whoopie pie, well you have been missing out. These are simply some of the most delicious little sandwich sweets I have ever tasted. A whoopie pie resembles both a cake and a cookie and is assembled with some type of filling in between. Whoopie pies are all the rage right now and you can be sure to find some amazing flavor combinations in this popular book Whoopie Pies. There are your standard flavors like the Chocolate, Vanilla or Pumpkin whoopies for those who like traditional flavors. And for those of you who have a little more adventurous palete there are Pistachio-Cardamon or Jalapeno Cornbread whoopies to name a few.

But today we are going to focus on the ever popular Chocolate Chip Whoopie pie! For all you chocolate chip cookie lovers out there, I guarantee that once you sink your teeth into one of these babies you won't want to eat just 1 cookie ever again, but will forever want your cookies sandwiched with a sweet filling in between! These cookies baked up absolutely perfect, so soft and delicate and paired nicely with my favorite vanilla buttercream. I whipped up a batch of these when we had some friends over for dinner and everyone ate at least two whoopies and took some home to! I know it's hard to compete with a layer cake, but these are definitely at the top of my list of all time favorite sweet indulgences!

Chocolate Chip Whoopie (from Whoopie Pies)

Ingredients:
-2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
-1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
-1/2 teaspoon salt
-4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
-4 tablespoons vegetable shortening
-1/2 cup granulated sugar
-1/2 cup (packed) brown sugar
-2 large eggs
-1/2 cup buttermilk
-2 tablespoons milk
-1 teaspoon baking soda
-1 teaspoon white vinegar
-1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
-1 cup mini chocolate chips

• Position rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt onto a sheet of waxed paper.
• In the work bowl of stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter, shortening, and both sugars and beat until light and creamy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs and the buttermilk and beat until combined.
• In a measuring cup, combine the milk, baking soda, and vinegar. Add the milk mixture to the batter along with the flour mixture and beat on low until just combined. Add the vanilla and beat on medium for about 2 minutes, until completely combined.
• Using a wooden spoon, stir in the chocolate chips until just incorporated.
• Using a spoon, drop about 1 tablespoon of batter onto one of the prepared baking sheets and repeat, spacing them at least 2 inches apart. Bake one sheet at a time for about 10 minutes each, or until the cakes begin to brown. Remove from the oven and let the cakes cool on the sheet for at least 5 minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool completely.
• Makes about 48 two-inch cakes. (Total 24 whoopie pies)
  
• The book pairs this whoopie recipe with a Marshmallow Filling but I opted to use my vanilla buttercream recipe instead!
  
• Fill each whoopie with a spoonful of vanilla buttercream.
  

Vanilla Buttercream (this is my go to recipe!)
-2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
-6 cups confectioner's sugar
-1/4 cup milk
-1 tsp vanilla extract

• Cream butter in the bowl of a stand mixer.
• Gradually add confectioner's sugar and milk, mixing well after each addition
• Mix in vanilla extract.
  
• Add in more milk as necessary to reach desired consistency.
  

I hope you all enjoy these whoopies as much as I did! What are some of your favorite whoopie pie flavors?