Peanut Butter & M&M Cookie Dough Filled Cupcakes

Today's a big day in my little world.  My husband joined a squadron unit last week and tonight is the first FRG meeting for me with his new troop.   If none of that makes sense to you... don't worry.... I'll explain.

My husband is in the Army and got moved to a new unit.  Each unit has an FRG or Family Readiness Group which help to create a community among the spouses and families as well as provide important information about training, community events, and deployments.  I've always been the FRG Leader in the unit my husband has been in... so this will be a bit of an adjustment for me, not being in charge.  Tonight is the first meeting and I thought I'd make a good impression and bring cupcakes.

(Side note:  I was not in the mood to set up and take fancy photos of these cupcakes... just didn't have time after I made them, honestly! Had to get to the meeting!  So... you get camera phone/Instagram pictures!)

I've made cupcakes similar to these before, so I had a pretty good idea how to make them.  They turned out pretty good... next time though I think I'll use a cake recipe that's a little denser... this cake is pretty light and the frosting and cookie dough ball are a bit heavy in comparison.  Cake doesn't quite hold up to them.  BUT... it's still darn delicious!

They're chocolate cake with a peanut butter m&m cookie ball baked inside.... topped with peanut butter cookie dough frosting and more m&m's.

VERY RICH!  You need a HUGE glass of milk with these cupcakes!

I'm bringing 2 dozen of these cupcakes to the FRG meeting with me tonight.  I hope the ladies enjoy them!!!

Wish me luck!

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Yield: 2 dozen cupcakes

Peanut Butter & M&M Cookie Dough Filled Cupcakes

Prep Time: 1 hour

Cook Time: 18 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 18 minutes

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Ingredients

Cookie Dough Balls

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• ¼ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• ½ cup creamy peanut butter
• ¼ cup sugar
• ¼ cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 ½ teaspoon milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• pinch of salt
• ¾ cup flour
• ½ cup M&M candies

Chocolate Cupcakes

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• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar, NOT packed
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 ¾ cup flour
• ¾ cup dark chocolate cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon espresso powder (optional)
• 1 ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup milk

Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Frosting

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• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• ⅔ cup brown sugar, lightly packed
• 1 cup flour
• 1 lb powdered sugar
• 2 teaspoon vanilla
• ½-3/4 cup heavy cream
• M&M candies to garnish

Instructions

Cookie Dough Balls

1. Cream together the butter and sugars.
2. Beat in the milk and vanilla until combined.
3. Add the flour and mix until combined.
4. Fold in the M&Ms.
5. Roll into 1 inch balls and place on a piece of wax paper on a cookie sheet.
6. Freeze at least an hour or until ready to use in cupcakes.

Chocolate Cupcakes

1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Line cupcake pan with liners.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix together the oil, sugars, eggs, vanilla and sour cream until smooth.
4. Add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the milk. Begin and end with the flour. Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix only until combined.
5. Fill cupcake liners HALF full and push a cookie dough ball into the batter to the bottom of each cup.
6. Bake for 17-19 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
7. Cool in pan for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Frosting

1. Cream together the peanut butter and butter.
2. Add the brown sugar and beat until smooth.
3. Mix in the flour and vanilla until incorporated.
4. Add the powdered sugar and mix until combined. NOTE: It will be VERY thick at this point and your mixer may not like you very much. hehe
5. Add the cream until you reach your desired consistency. I used almost 200ml of cream (about ¾ cup) and it was a thick, moist mixture, just like dough!
6. Using a large round tip, pipe a dollop of frosting onto each cupcake. Garnish with three M&M candies.

Did you make this recipe?

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