A dozen butter-free chocolate cupcakes with teddy bear cookies, white chocolate chips and a simple topping.
Because today’s the day the
Teddy Bears have their picnic.
When it comes to buying food, I have a particular weakness for three things: bargains, fruit and teddy bears. Hence why I end up buying excessive amounts of strawberries when they’re on sale, cheap popping candy, way more apples than I can afford during autumn, and cookies shaped like teddy bears.
Actually, these particular cookies were both half-price and adorably bear-shaped, so resistance was futile.
Sometimes these impulse buys give me ideas for recipes, and sometimes the bargain products just sit in my kitchen, patiently waiting to be used (like that on-sale chickpea flour sitting in my pantry). The teddy bear cookies clearly had to be used in a recipe – for one thing, I was eager to take pictures of their cute little faces!
But what to do with those teddy bears? Well, my brain jumped from teddy bear cookies to cupcakes. Quite a few years ago – yikes, it was actually seven years ago – I made the truly amazing Cookies ‘n’ Cream Cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World (it’s one of the variations on the Basic Chocolate Cupcake).
So I knew that cookies in cupcakes worked. Ergo, teddy bear cookies in cupcakes would work.
The cupcakes themselves are on the healthier side – at least when compared to most cakes in the foodiverse. The little cakes are made with only two tablespoons of oil (for a dozen cupcakes) and no butter. Instead, the moisture in the recipe comes from pumpkin puree and buttermilk (which, despite the name, doesn’t involve butter). There’s also a little less sugar than most cupcakes out there.
If you ask me, that gives us all the more reason to load these cupcakes up with fun, not-so-healthy things like cookies and chocolate. As well as chopped teddy bear cookies, these über chocolatey cupcakes also include white chocolate chips (another impulse buy) and are topped with more chocolate.
Since I usually find frosting is (a) way too sweet; and (b) more hassle than it’s worth, I stuck with a ridiculously easy chocolate topping. The topping is simply made from milk and chocolate chips. The milk stops the chocolate from setting completely, so it’s almost like a less-rich chocolate ganache.
But if you’d prefer a more traditional frosting, I bet these cupcakes would be delicious with a vanilla, chocolate or peanut butter buttercream frosting – or this cream cheese frosting.
Last of all, top those cupcakes with additional white chocolate chips and extra teddy bear cookies!
Man, I just can’t get over the ‘angry’ teddy bear (pictured below)!
- Cupcakes
- 1 cup (130g) all purpose flour
- ½ cup (40g) cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon (10g) cornstarch (cornflour)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup (100g) brown sugar, packed
- ½ cup (125g) pumpkin puree
- 2 tablespoons (30mL) maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons (30mL) canola oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ cup (120mL) buttermilk
- ¼ cup (60mL) room-temperature coffee
- ¼ cup (45g) white chocolate chips
- ¼ cup (25g) chopped teddy bear cookies
Chocolate Topping- 1 tablespoons (15mL) milk
- ⅓ cup (60g) chocolate chips
Decorations- White chocolate chips
- Teddy bear cookies
- Cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a 12-hole muffin/cupcake pan with cupcake papers, and lightly spray the papers with cooking oil spray.
- In a large bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, cornstarch, baking powder and baking soda. Add the salt, and stir to combine.
- In another large bowl, whisk the eggs with a fork. Whisk in the brown sugar, pumpkin puree, maple syrup, canola oil and vanilla extract. Add the buttermilk and coffee, and whisk until well combined.
- Pour the dry ingredients (the flour mixture) into the wet ingredients (the buttermilk mixture). Mix until just combined. Fold in the white chocolate chips and chopped cookies.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared muffin/cupcake pan, filling each hole approximately two-thirds of the way up.
- Bake for 17 – 20 minutes, or until the tops are dry and a skewer comes out clean (or with a few dry crumbs). Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooking rack. Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before decorating.
- Chocolate Topping: Pour the milk into a microwave-safe bowl, and heat it in the microwave for 20 seconds. Add the chocolate chips and stir vigorously until the chocolate has melted. If the chocolate has not completely melted, microwave the bowl for 10 – 20 seconds on a low wattage, and stir well.
- To decorate: Spread or dollop the chocolate topping over the cupcakes. Before the topping dries, top each cupcake with a few white chocolate chips and some teddy bear cookies. Store the cupcakes in an airtight container.
There should be just enough chocolate topping for the cupcakes. If you’ve topped the cupcakes generously, you may wish to melt a little more chocolate.
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