Have your cake and eat it too…with cookies…and peanut butter.

I did something fabulously sinful.

It was dirty.

It was wrong.

It was down-right filthy.

I want to tell you about it, but even the thought of it makes me blush.  Brace yourselves, and cover your children’s eyes…

What the h-e-double hockey sticks is this?!  Well for starters, it’s a cupcake…duh.  More questions?  No problem, I have answers.

Yes, that’s a chocolate cupcake.  Yes, it’s filled with peanut butter cookie dough, and yes, that’s cookies n’ cream cream cheese frosting.  Your questions are oddly specific – smarty pants!

I’m in love with the idea of filling cupcakes. As if cupcakes weren’t great enough on their own (which they totally are), some genius had to go along and just cut a hole in one and put more sugary goodness inside!  Man, I wish I was that innovative.

Boom.  It’s like magic.  Corer goes in, twist, the cupcake comes out.  Looking for a cupcake corer?  You can find one at Williams-Sonoma.  You can find one elsewhere, but if you get it there you also get to browse around at all of the nifty things they have!  Win.

This cupcake is simple – if you like Oreos, you’ll enjoy this.  If you like peanut butter cookies, you’ll enjoy this.  If you like chocolate cake, you’ll enjoy this.

I’m only keeping your marvelous taste buds in mind when I make these things, you know.

The chocolate cake recipe is easy as pie.  The cookie dough isn’t really cookie dough (for baking) at all, considering it doesn’t contain any of the stuff that will make you sick if you eat it raw.  So if you’re feeling hungry during baking (which, hellooo, always happens), you may nibble.  What am I saying?!  Was I just rationing your cookie dough intake?  I’m sorry.  Don’t nibble…you can munch. By the spoonful, if you feel so inclined. (Not by the handful though, let’s keep it classy, people!)  I won’t judge you.  I’ll just grab a spoon and help you polish the bowl off.  Then I’ll go halfsies with you at the grocery store when we’re buying new ingredients to remake the dough.

Do I sense a vicious cycle?  Nahhh.

…

Well okay yeah maybe a little bit…

Peanut Butter Cookie Dough filled Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Cookies n’ Cream Cream Cheese Frosting

Chocolate Cupcakes
recipe slightly adapted from Organic and Chic

2 1/4 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup veggie oil
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp coffee
2 cups cold water

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line cupcake pans.

2. Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Set aside.

3. Whisk vanilla, oil, vinegar, and water in a separate bowl.

4. Slowly add the wet mixture to the dry, being careful not to overmix. It is not a thick batter that most recipes produce. This is a-okay.

5. Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full, and bake for 20-24 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

6. Cool the cupcakes in the pan for 5-10 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack and allow them to cool completely. Place them in the freezer until you’re ready to assemble.

Peanut Butter Cookie Dough

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup + 1 tbsp sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2-3 tbsp peanut butter (to taste…if you really like peanut butter, like me, you’ll use 3ish going on 4.)
1 tbsp Oreo crumbs (finely ground)

1. Cream butter and sugars together until fluffy.

2. Beat in peanut butter, and stir in vanilla.

3. Whisk flour, baking powder, salt and Oreo crumbs until thoroughly combined.

4. Pour dry mixture into the wet mixture, stirring until completely combined. Feel free to add chocolate chips or larger cookie chunks if you’re feeling extra indulgent.

…ASSEMBLY…

1. Core the frozen cakes using a cupcake corer or small spoon.

–> Why frozen? Less crumbs and easier to handle. Plus really cold chocolate cake is heavenly. And what else are you going to do with those miniature cylinders of cake? Throw them out? I’ll disown you. Just kidding, I could never do that. But I will give you the silent treatment for a good 5 minutes. Oh yes, I’ll go there.

2. Transfer the cookie dough to a frosting bag or ziplock bag and cut a small bit off the corner of the bag, as if you were about to frost a small cupcake.  The hole should be about the size of a dime.

3. Squeeze dough in the center of the cupcakes until they’re full. You’ll know when that is, because it will start to overflow at the top. After a few you’ll get a feeling of when they are full and you’ll have less spillage (not that a little overflow of cookie dough is a bad thing).

Peanut Butter Cookies n’ Cream Cream Cheese Frosting
(this is enough to liberally frost 24 cupcakes)

16 oz cream cheese
5 tsp vanilla extract
3 1/2 – 4 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 tbsp peanut butter
1/2 cup crushed Oreos

1. Beat cream cheese, peanut butter and vanilla until combined.

2. Add confectioners’ sugar and beat just before you’ve reached desired consistency.

3. Add crushed Oreos and combine on high until thoroughly combined and frosting is a thick consistency.

4. Do yo thang and frost them cupcakes!

Bon appétit!