Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes

My kids are crazy about chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream, so when I heard of these cupcakes I had to try them. There are several versions around; I like this one because it uses a mix.

A few tips: It is essential that the dough centers be frozen thoroughly. I typically do mine overnight. Do not over bake these: 16 minutes is about right for me. If you over bake or do not freeze dough, you wind up with a dry crumply cookie in the middle instead of the soft dough. Toothpick test is not reliable for doneness if you stick it in the middle, because you'll be testing the dough; use the side.

I got the icing recipe from a different site. You can use any frosting you want, but this version has that "cookie dough" taste that makes it especially good. The original recipe made way more icing than I needed, (I don't put big swirls of icing on cupcakes) so the second time I halved it; which was barely enough. The version below is 2/3's of the original, which is about right.

Centers:

• 1 1/2 cup flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 cup mini chocolate chips

Cream butter and sugar, then beat in eggs and vanilla. Mix dry ingredients and stir in until combined. Fold in chocolate chips. Using about 1 tablespoon each, roll 24 balls of dough. Place on cookie sheet and freeze at least 2 hours or overnight.

Cake:

• 1 box yellow cake mix
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/3 cup water
• 1/3 cup oil

Beat eggs slightly, then add rest of ingredients. Mix with mixer on medium speed 2 minutes. Fill 24 paper-lined muffin tins 1/2 to 2/3's full with batter, then place one cookie dough ball on top. Cupcake will rise and cover ball as it bakes. Bake at 350 degrees for 16-20 minute. Cool in pan 10 minutes, then remove and cool completely.

Cookie dough buttercream frosting:

• 2 sticks butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 1/3 cups powdered sugar
• 2/3 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 2 1/3 teaspoons vanilla

Cream brown sugar and butter. Mix in powdered sugar until smooth. Mix in rest of ingredients to make a smooth frosting. Spread over cooled cupcakes. Top with mini-chocolate chips or a Famous Amos mini chocolate chip cookie, if desired.

These are best stored in refrigerator.

Hunger Games Cake

My daughter and I are both fans of Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games series, and are eagerly awaiting the finale, Mockingjay, on August 24th. Her 14th birthday falls the day before and she requested a Hunger Games themed cake for her party today.

Unlike Peeta, I am a decidedly amateur cake decorator, so I knew I wasn't up to assembling a Mockingjay. I settled for one of Katniss's arrows. I had also, with the help of a friend whose sister works at Borders, snagged a real Mockingjay pin as a surprise gift, so I decided to clip it to some wax paper and adapt as a cake topper; that's it on the arrowhead, though it's hard to see in the picture.

To make the arrow: bake a 9 by 13 inch cake. Freeze, then cut lengthways into 3 horizontal strips. The two from the edges will be placed end to end for the arrow shaft. From the middle strip, cut one right triangle from one side, and another from the opposite end, leaving a parallelogram-shaped wedge in the center. Slice this longways down the middle, so you get two smaller, thinner parallelograms. Turn one triangle and one parallelogram upside down. You can now place the two triangles back to back to make the arrowhead, and the parallelograms on the other for the tail feathers. Frost with your favorite icing, pipe birthday greetings or a favorite line onto the shaft and score the frosting on the feather with fork tines. Add Mockingjay pin, if available.

Note: this is a long cake, almost three feet. I used a foam board covered in plastic wrap for a tray.

May the odds be ever in your favor.

Murderous Strawberry Shortcake

With my fondness for both books and dessert recipes, it was only a matter of time before I got hooked on this series. It's about a young woman from fictional Lake Eden, MN* who owns a bakery and spends her spare time solving murders, the victims of which always manage to expire while consuming one of her confections.

In any case, strawberries have been cheap and plentiful here lately, so when I had to fix a church supper recently, I quadrupled the title recipe from the second book of the series "The Strawberry Shortcake Murder" and fed about 80 with it. It was wonderful.

Cake:

• 3 sticks butter
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup sour cream
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 cups cake flour

Topping:

• 3 pints sliced strawberries (or other fruit)
• 2 cups heavy cream
• ½ cup white sugar
• ½ cup sour cream

Butter and flour 2 9 inch pans. Cream butter and sugar, add eggs and beat until fluffy. Mix in sour cream, baking powder and vanilla. Add flour, one cup at a time. Spoon into pans and bake at 325 degrees for 45-50 minutes

Cool, wrap in plastic and foil and store in refrigerator for 48 hours. Remove an hour before serving. Beat cream with sugar, then fold in sour cream Serve with sliced berries, a dollop of cream mixture and garnish with whole berries. Hannah says this makes 12 pieces; for me it's rich enough to serve more like 20.

*where, judging from the amount of time the characters spend eating scrumptious-sounding desserts, the average weight must be around 500 lbs.

Buttermilk pound cake

My 12-year old recently had to prepare a family meal for a school assignment.  She chose this for dessert and it was wonderful!

• 1 stick butter
  
• 1/2 cup shortening
  
• 2 cups sugar
  
• 4 eggs
  
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  
• 1 cup buttermilk
  
• 3 cups flour
  
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
  
• 2 teaspoons lemon extract
  
• 1 teaspoon almond extract

Beat butter and shortening until creamy and soft, then gradually beat in sugar.  Beat in eggs, one at a time.  Mix soda into buttermilk, add to batter alternating with flour and salt.  Bake in greased and floured tube pan at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes.

Cranberry Fudge Cake

Want to make something delicious out of that 85% of a can of cranberry sauce left over after the holiday meal? Try this cake; it's wonderful!

• 2/3 cup chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 oz. unsweetened chocolate
• 1 cup cranberry sauce (whole berry or jellied)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Melt chocolates and butter together in microwave, beat with wire whisk until smooth. Beat in sugar and cranberry sauce, followed by eggs and vanilla. Mix flour and baking powder, stir into batter. Bake in greased and floured springform pan at 325 for 40 minutes. Chill.

Glaze

• 1/4 cup whipping cream
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup jellied cranberry sauce

Melt chocolate chips with cream in microwave, whisk in cranberry sauce. Remove side of cake pan and pour glaze over all, allowing some to drip down sides. Refrigerate to harden glaze.

Carrot Cake

This is my favorite carrot cake recipe. I like that it's made in a tube pan: no fussing with layers. If you're going to do a carrot cake from scratch, you might as well spring for homemade icing, too. I made this for my husband's birthday cake this year.

• 1 1/2 cups oil
  
• 4 eggs
  
• 2 cups sugar
  
• 2 cups flour
  
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
  
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
  
• 2 1/2 cups grated carrots
  
• 1 cup nuts (optional)
  

Combine first three ingredients. Mix dry ingredients together, add to sugar mixture. Fold in nuts, if desired. Pour into greased and floured tube pan, bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes. Remove from pan and cool before frosting.

Cream cheese frosting

• 8 oz cream cheese
  
• 1 stick butter
  
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
  
• 4 cups powdered sugar
  
• 1-2 tablespoons milk
  

Soften cream cheese and butter, beat until creamy.  Add vanilla.  Gradually beat in powdered sugar.  Add as much of the milk as needed, until frosting is desired consistency. Note: this makes a bit more frosting than needed for the cake.  About enough for a pan of brownies.

Roller Skate Cake

The cake I made for my daughter's 11th birthday party today. From the New Cake Decorating Book I've relied on so many times. It's not quite the color scheme as the Betty Crocker original but chocolate icing and blue trim were my daughter's choices. It was also her idea to use the un-iced cupcakes as roller skate wheels rather than cookies for online skates, to accommodate a friend of hers who doesn't like icing. Overall, I was pleased. Now to get it to the roller rink undamaged.

Double Chip Pound Cake

Glazed with my mom's special chocolate icing, this cake won the 2007 Pound Cake Contest at the Albemarle County Fair. I combined a from-scratch recipe from a friend's grandmother with the German chocolate and chips from a mix-based cake recipe I got from my aunt and member of my moms' email list.

• 3 cups flour
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 1 cup butterscotch chips
• 2 sticks butter
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 6 eggs*
• 1.5 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 bar German chocolate, grated
• 1 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoons salt

*Original recipe called for 4, contest requirements called for 6. I used 6 medium eggs with success.
Grease and flour Bundt cake or tube pan. Toss 1/4 cup flour with chocolate and butterscotch chips until coated. Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Mix together remaining flour, baking powder, salt and grated chocolate. Slowly add to creamed mixture, stir just until blended. Fold in chocolate chips. Pour into pan and bake at 325 degrees for 60 minutes or until cake tests done. Cool at least ½ hour in pan, then invert onto serving plate.