(Dark) Chocolate Chip Cookie Cupcakes!

Well, today was a little bit crazy. I drove all the way to Seattle from Olympia to grab Built to Spill tickets and they were sold out even before they went on sale! Guhh... And to top it all off I was stuck in traffic GALORE on the way back.... you would think I would have been a grouchy when I got home this evening BUT  I have been thinking about these cupcakes all day.. and well... it kind of saved me. So here we go!

DARK CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE CUPCAKES!

These puppies are like a chocolate chip cookie and a cupcake combined... well duhh... but seriously try these out.

Ingredients

3 and 1/4 cups     Cake flour (sifted twice... just do it)
4 and 1/2 tsp.       Baking powder
1/4 tsp.                 Sea salt (fine)
1                          Vanilla bean (can substitute with 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract)
1 cup                    Whole milk
1 and 3/4 sticks    Butter, unsalted, room temp.
2 cups                   Sugar
5                           Egg whites (LARGE), room temp.
2 cups                  Dark chocolate chip (good quality... I used 90% cocoa dark chocolate)

For the frosting....

1/4 cup + 2 tbls.   Cocoa powder, dutch-process, unsweetened
1/4 cup + 2 tbls.   Boiling water
1 and 1/2 cups      Butter, unsalted, room temp.
1/2 cup                 Confectioners' sugar
1 pound                Dark chocolate (Best quality), melted, cooled



 Mix the cake flour (SIFTED), baking powder, and salt together in a bowl... set aside.  In a small bowl mix vanilla and milk... set aside. In a mixer cream together butter and sugar (I like to cream the butter a little and then add the sugar in a steady stream). Add the flour mixture to the creamed butter/sugar in thirds alternating with the milk mixture... set aside. With a hand mixer, whisk egg whites until they come to stiff peaks (DO NOT OVER MIX... please oh please!). Carefully...gently... fold half the egg whites into the batter to lighten it up a bit... then fold in the rest of the egg whites. Fold in chocolate chips.

This makes 30 average sized cupcakes OR 24 large cupcakes.

Bake at 350 until done.  (Meaning you insert a toothpick to the middle of the cupcake and it comes out clean)

YOU JUST CAN'T COUNT ON TIME! ha


The frosting is pretty easy-peasy... but it's rather time consuming. First off, melt the chocolate over a double boiler until it almost completely melted, take it off the heat and stir it with a rubber spatula. Let it cool for about 30 minutes stirring occasionally. Next, mix together cocoa powder and boiling water until the cocoa has dissolved. In another bowl, cream together butter, confectioners' sugar, and salt until its light and fluffy... slow it down a little (the mixer, I mean) and add the cooled melted chocolate. Scrape down the sides and beat in the cocoa mixture. WA-LA!




 

(NOTE: The frosting is satiny smooth... So its a little hard to pipe if you are doing the fancy-schmancy.)