I think Valentine’s Day gets a bad rap. Everybody calls it an excuse for comercialism, but I disagree. It’s an excuse for chocolate. The end.
To be clear, there’s no waiting around for the Hubster to give me chocolates either. I mean, he’s a peach, and he likes to surprise me with pretty flowers and yummy chocolates sometimes, but he usually doesn’t need an excuse like Valentine’s Day. Toldja…he’s a peach.
But no…the way I see it, the New Year is way under way by this point, and everybody is probably still trying to maintain stupid diet resolutions, and then bam! Valentine’s Day. You have to eat chocolate…it’s the rule. And nobody is allowed to be a jerk about your diet. Because Valentine’s Day.
So chocolate it up, friends. 😉
For my chocolate binge, I couldn’t decide if I wanted to make cookies or cupcakes for Valentine’s Day this year, so I made both.
To make the cupcakes, I simply filled the prepared pan as usual, then placed a ball of cookie dough in the center. I was worried about how much cupcake batter to pun each liner, because I thought the added cookie dough wold cause them to overflow. In the end, I did the same amount I always do (two tablespoons), and it worked out perfectly, so don’t fret over the measurements. I did all the fretting for you. 😉
For the frosting, I picked cinnamon to enhance the snickerdoodle flavor and compliment the chocolate. Then, I piled it up, up, up in mile high swirl. Because pretty.
I don’t often use tons of frosting on cupcakes, but don’t you think it just looks so pretty?? In the end, though, (in other words, after my pictures were taken), I only used about a quarter of the amount of frosting pictured, and it was perfect.
To dress these lovelies up for Valentine’s Day, i simply topped them with a couple of large heart sprinkles, then added a little dash of bitty baby hearts for more fun.
The combination of the rich chocolate cupcakes and the soft cookie dough is so amazing! The cupcake recipe on it’s own is wonderful, but the cookie dough adds a great cinnamon cookie flavor and a super soft center. The chocolate and cinnamon flavors are so perfect for Valentine’s Day, too! Cookies, cupcakes, and chocolate…you’ve got all your bases covered. 🙂
Happy Valentin’s Day and enjoy!
- FOR THE COOKIE DOUGH
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 can sweetened condensed milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- FOR THE CUPCAKES
- ½ cup (4 ounces or 125 ml) strong brewed coffee, hot
- ¾ cup (42 grams) cocoa powder
- ½ cup (4 ounces or 125 ml) warm milk
- 1½ cups (191 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoons baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (1 stick or 113 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup (200 grams) sugar
- 2 eggs, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract
- To make the cookie dough:Combine the flour, cinnamon, and salt in a small bowl; set aside.
- In a large bowl, or the bowl of a standing mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Stir in the vanilla and most of the milk; mix well. Add the flour and mix until the ingredients are thoroughly combined. If the mixture is too dry, add more milk. If it's too wet, add a little more flour. Cover the bowl and chill for at least 1 hour in the refrigerator.
- Once the cookie dough is chilled, remove it from the refrigerator and roll 1 tablespoon of dough into balls. Place the rolled cookie dough on baking sheets lined with parchment paper or Silpat mats and chill until the cupcake batter is ready.
- To make the cupcakes: In a medium bowl, or a two cup measuring cup, stir the coffee and cocoa powder together until dissolved. Stir in the milk. Set aside until cooled to room temperature, or place in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.
- Once the cocoa/coffee mixture has cooled, preheat oven to 350 degrees (180 C). Line a muffin pan with cupcake liners; set aside.
- In a medium bowl sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
- In a large bowl, or the bowl of a standing mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix until combined; stir in the vanilla. Sprinkle ⅓ of the flour mixture over the bowl and mix until just combined. Add ½ of the chocolate mixture, mixing again until just combined. Repeat with reamining flour and chocolate mixtures, ending with flour. Mix only until flour is just incorporated. Do not over mix.
- Place 3 tablespoons of batter in each cupcake liner. Place one cookie dough ball in the center of each raw cupcake. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a few crumbs clinging to it. Allow to cool completely before frosting.
Cinnamon Buttercream
makes about 24 ounces
Ingredients
1 cup (2 sticks or 226 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 lb. (about 4 cups or 500 grams) confectioners’ sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 to 3 tablespoons (30 to 45 ml) heavy cream
2 teaspoons (10 ml) vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
In a large bowl, or the bowl of a standing mixer, beat the butter for 3 minutes. Beat in the sugar and salt until combined. Add 2 tablespoons heavy cream and whisk on high for 4 minutes, until light and fluffy. If the frosting is too thick, add more cream, 1/2 teaspoon at a time, until desired consistency is reached.
Stir in the vanilla and cinnamon.
Recipe by Darla
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Oh. My. Gosh.
Darla, where do I send a love letter and thank you note for these???? Incredible flavor. The Chocolate cupcake is my new go-to for evermore. The cookie dough with E. Milk is genius!!!! I combined your recipe with my standby buttercream (flour/milk rue) recipe. Results yielded a standing ovation…. XOXO XOXO FOR LIFE!!!!
I’m in love with these cupcakes. I I love chocolate and cinnamon together, so I know these are gonna be ridiculous.
I think snickerdoodle is an underappreciated cookie. Great combo with chocolate!
I 100% agree with you. Valentine’s Day is for chocolate! Who cares if you’re with someone or not? Who cares if it’s commercialized? It’s guaranteed there will be chocolates, and I just can’t argue with that. Love these with the surprise cookie dough filling! Too clever!