Cookie Dough Cupcakes Recipe

When you're craving something sweet, it can be hard to decide which dessert you want. A fluffy cupcake with luscious frosting may be the perfect cure for a sweet tooth. On the other hand, the delicious flavor of chocolate chip cookies may sound even better. Luckily, now you don't have to choose.

This recipe for cookie dough cupcakes combines the best of both worlds into one dainty dessert. With a brown sugar cupcake and brown sugar frosting, it's delicious on its own. But what takes this cupcake to the next level? It's stuffed with edible raw cookie dough for a sweet surprise. And don't forget the chocolate chips!

Ready to dive in on making this creative take on two classics? We have a step-by-step guide for you. And the best part is that you'll be able to pull off making these from-scratch treats with simple, easy-to-find ingredients in just over 30 minutes.

Ready to get started on making these cookie dough cupcakes at home? Start off by grabbing all of your ingredients. This will make the baking process flow smoothly. 

For this recipe, you'll need light brown sugar, white sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, 2 eggs, oil, pure vanilla extract, milk, butter, powdered sugar, and mini chocolate chips. You can swap out the mini chocolate chips for regular-sized chocolate chips or even chopped chocolate, if needed. 

Go ahead and preheat your oven to 350 F. Allow it to heat to the proper temperature while you prepare the cupcake batter.

You'll make your cookie dough filling first. In a mixing bowl, add in 5 tablespoons softened butter, ¼ cup white sugar, ¼ cup brown sugar, and ½ cup flour. Combine the mixture with a hand mixer, then add in the chocolate chips. The mixture may be crumbly, but that's fine! Use your hands to form the cookie dough into a large ball and place it in the fridge to chill while you make the cupcake batter. 

To make the brown sugar cupcake batter, start by mixing the dry ingredients in a bowl. Add in ¼ cup white sugar, ¾ cup brown sugar, and 1 cup flour, along with the baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Use a hand mixer to mix the dry ingredients until they're well-combined. Be sure the mixture is free of any large chunks before adding in the wet ingredients to finish the batter. 

With the dry ingredients mixed together, it's time to add the wet ingredients to finish the batter. First up, add in the eggs one at a time. Next, mix in the oil, the vanilla extract, and ½ cup milk.

Mix the batter until just combined. Be sure not to overmix at this point. Overmixing the batter will ultimately change the texture of the finished cupcakes, making them too dense. 

To prepare the cupcakes for baking, line a cupcake pan with paper liners. Scoop and divide the batter between the liners, filling each cupcake well about halfway. 

Remove the prepared cookie dough from the fridge and break off small pieces to form into balls. Dip the bottom of each cookie dough ball into a bit of flour before placing it in the cupcake well. This will help prevent the cookie dough from sinking while baking. 

Once the cupcakes are ready, place the pan in the oven to bake for 18 minutes. When the cupcakes are lightly golden brown and the tops are set, they're ready to be removed from the oven. Set the baked cupcakes aside to fully cool before topping them with frosting. 

To make the brown sugar frosting for these cookie dough cupcakes, start by adding ½ cup softened butter into a mixing bowl. Cream the butter with 2 tablespoons of brown sugar, then mix in 2 cups of powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons of milk. Gradually mix in the remaining powdered sugar until the frosting comes together. Once the frosting has formed, turn the speed up on the mixer to mix the frosting until fluffy.

Once the cupcakes are completely cooled, top them with the brown sugar frosting. Decorate each cupcake with additional mini chocolate chips or leftover cookie dough.