Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes

For some reason this weekend, I was in the mood to bake. Maybe it's because since school ended, I'm only work two days a week and that urge to cook and bake just isn't being satisfied like it was when I was in the kitchen 7 hours a day, 5 days a week. Maybe it's because I had baked brownies the day before with my cousin, and they just hadn't turned out quite like I would have liked. Whatever it was, I turned to my roommate Shaun and said, "What do you want?"

He quickly directed me to foodgawker.com (think porn for foodies) and gasped at the sight of what appeared to be chocolate chip cupcakes. Frankly, I've never really gotten into sites like foodgawker. I prefer trusted blogs that I've followed for months and months, where I'm familiar with the person who is testing the recipe. But, as luck would have it, when I followed the link for the picture, it led me to a blog, which actually linked to the recipe on a blog I DO follow, Annie's Eats. Oh the blogosphere, so big, and yet so small.

I reviewed the recipe and decided it looked pretty promising and I only needed 6 items from the store (well, four really since I actually had enough vanilla extract and powdered sugar, but I didn't know that at the time). Bonus! So I made my shopping list and called it a night.

The next morning I got up, made a quick trip to the small market just across the street, and Shaun queued up Sex and the City. There are three elements that go into making these cupcakes, which may sound daunting and time consuming, but from start to finish, the whole process only took about 2 hours.

First up was making the batter and baking the cupcakes. Here's the recipe (which I halved) for just the cake portion, adapted from Annie's Eats:

Ingredients
Yield: 24 cupcakes
3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature (or softened in the microwave for just 15 seconds)
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar, packed
4 eggs
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup whole milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Procedure
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pans with liners (24 total).
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and brown sugar. Beat together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy.
3. Add the eggs, one at a time, incorporating each completely before adding the next, and scraping down the bowls as needed.
4. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
5. With the mixer on low, alternated the dry and wet ingredients, beginning with a third of the dry ingredients, followed by half the milk, mixing until almost completely incorporated. Add half of the remaining dry ingredients and the rest of the milk. Finish with the remaining 1/3 of the dry ingredients, but stop the mixer before completely incorporated.
6. Fold in the chocolate chips by hand, finishing the incorporation of the dry ingredients.
7. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared muffin cups. It will fill the cups almost completely. Place in preheated oven and bake 20-21 minutes, until the cake springs back to the touch and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan 5-10 minutes, and then transfer to a rack to cool completely.

Tasting just the batter (think of it as research for my craft), I was satisfied with the chocolate chip cookie flavor. Over the years, I've found that the key to a good chocolate chip cookie is brown sugar. And butter. So the use of solely brown sugar instead of granulated in this recipe was a good sign. The batter tasted very similarly to chocolate chip cookie dough, but a little thinner of course, and not quite as molasses-y (which is the "brown" in brown sugar).

Upon filling my cupcake tin, I was a little concerned that the cups were too full. I was halving the recipe, but I felt like I had enough batter for 18 cupcakes instead of 12. I thought about throwing away what seemed to be excess or baking 12 and then baking 6 more, but instead I decided to trust the recipe and just filled the cups almost to the top. I figured it was better to have conehead cupcakes than sad little flat ones. And I was glad I followed the recipe. They all came out the perfect size and shape.

Halfway through baking

As the cupcakes baked and cooled, I worked on the cookie dough filling. Here's that recipe:

Ingredients
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
6 Tbsp light brown sugar, packed
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
7 oz sweetened condensed milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips

Procedure
1. Cream together the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy.
2. Add the flour and salt, and mix on low until partially incorporated.
3. Add sweetened condensed milk and vanilla extract. Mix until almost completely incorporated.
4. Fold in chocolate chips by hand, incorporating all remaining ingredients. The dough will be dense, so this may be easiest to do by hand.
5. Wrap dough well and chill until firm, about 1 hour.

I have to confess, although I halved the batter and frosting, I made the full amount of cookie dough filling. Since there are no eggs in the recipe, it's safe to eat without cooking, and who doesn't want salmonella-free cookie dough just hanging out in their fridge? I also added a good pinch of salt to the recipe, which wasn't originally included because I think chocolate chip cookies desperately need a little nugget of salt in each one. Please, I beg of you, don't forget the salt. But when I tasted the filling before putting it in the fridge, I was a little disappointed. It was too sweet and the flavor of the condensed milk was too strong. There was a subtle chocolate chip cookie dough flavor, and the texture was right, but I wasn't wowed.

The last thing to make was the icing. In the original picture of these on foodgawker, the cupcakes were topped with chocolate icing. At first this seemed like a good idea, but Shaun and I agreed that the original icing for this recipe sounded better. Plus, it included flour as one of the ingredients which was intriguing. Only in one other frosting recipe have I seen flour listed, and that was in a roux-based frosting, another anomaly I had never heard of. But since a roux is basically just a thickening agent, I could imagine it working in a frosting recipe where a lot of sugar is added and the roux is beaten until light and fluffy. In this recipe however, the flour is simply added raw, and I was a little concerned it would impart that raw flour flavor that isn't exactly pleasant. Here's the recipe. I'll leave you hanging about the results (for now).

Ingredients
3 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
3 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp salt
3 Tbsp milk
2 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Procedure
1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed until nice and fluffy (3 minutes). Add the brown sugar and continue to beat for another minute.
2. Mix in the confectioner's sugar until smooth.
3. Beat in the flour and salt.
4. Slowly add the milk and vanilla extract.
5. Continue to beat on medium-high speed until very light and fluffy (5 minutes or more).

Again, you'll notice the inclusion of brown sugar in the frosting in addition to the confectioner's sugar. I can't stress this enough, but the brown sugar flavor is essential to getting that chocolate chip cookie taste. Tasting the frosting on its own, I had a similar impression as I did with the filling: close, but not exactly cookie dough. But thankfully, the flour was nicely camouflaged.

By now, the cupcakes were cool so I needed to hollow them out to make room for the filling. I did this using a #5 star tip, hollowing them out from the top. But I found that if I pushed the star tip in too far, the whole cupcake would start to split, so it was butter to push it in a little and sort of slowly dig out a valley for the filling to go into. Be sure to save the cupcake scraps to munch on! And there's no need to worry about the hole in the top of the cupcake since it will just be covered up with the frosting.

Once all the cupcakes were hollowed out, it was time to re-fill them! I got the filling from the fridge which had firmed up slightly but was still nice and workable. I tried another little sample and was pleasantly surprised that it tasted much more authentic after chilling for an hour. Perhaps it gave all the flavors an opportunity to meld a little bit more. I pinched off a portion of the filling, molded it slightly with my fingers, and pushed it into the channel in the cupcakes, making sure to fill each one up to the very top. I packed in the filling pretty tightly with no real fear it would burst through the bottom of the cupcake since the liner was there for added structure, and they all held up perfectly well.

Using a #7 star tip, I topped off each cupcake with the frosting (of which I had just enough!) and then sprinkled on more mini chocolate chips. And voila!

After a photo shoot with Shaun's spiffy camera and homemade light box, it was time for the taste test.
Shaun tasted first and declared them delicious. I asked if they tasted like chocolate chip cookie dough, and with his mouth full, he confirmed that they did.

Next, it was my turn. For me, the dough filling was a little overkill, but that is what really makes these chocolate chip cookie dough cupcakes. I actually preferred just the icing (which upon tasting a second time, I actually really enjoyed) and cake, which together tasted just like a chocolate chip cookie, thanks mostly to the icing, not to be confused with a chocolate chip cupcake which is just a vanilla cupcake with chocolate chips inside. Very confusing and technical, I know. But after tasting the cake with the frosting, I was really happy I hadn't substituted with chocolate frosting instead since this frosting really has the flavor of chocolate chip cookies. I would suggest, if you like the idea of a chocolate chip cookie cupcake but don't want to go through all the steps, just make the cupcakes and frosting and call it a day. You'll be more than satisfied.

Now I just have to figure out what I'm going to do with all that leftover sweetened condensed milk. Any ideas?

Ma Peche & Momofuku Milk Bar

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Ma Peche was one of those places I really wanted to experience with someone else. Although Chelsea is my usual lunch buddy, I was lucky enough to have my wonderful boyfriend Dan in town visiting me this weekend. Thankfully, he indulges me, and shares in (although at a lesser intensity), my obsession with cooking, eating, and talking about food, so I always try to take him somewhere special when he visits.

Ma Peche, or My Peach, is a member of David Chang's Momofuku empire, which includes Momofuku Noodle Bar, Momofuku Ko, and Momofuku Ssam Bar. A departure from his typical downtown location, Ma Peche is located in Midtown in the Chambers Hotel, and features a menu filled with a fusion of Vietnamese and French food.

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Typical of many of Chang's restaurants, Ma Peche is mostly filled with walk-ins rather than reservations, but only open for a short, two-hour window for lunch, I was anxious to get there earlier rather than later. Luckily, Dan's flight arrived before noon on Friday, and by 1:15 we were walking into the Chambers Hotel. The hostess informed us that the restaurant, including the bar where smaller parties typically sit, was full and the wait was 25-45 minutes. We agreed to wait and settled ourselves into the hotel lobby. By 1:45 my stomach was growling and we were still waiting. We decided to check how much longer it would be, and also to give the hostess a little reminder since we were way out of her line of vision. Thankfully we were seated immediately, although I have the sneaking suspicion that she had forgotten about us. When we asked her about an available table, she went downstairs to check the main dining room and then checked around the corner at the bar. She offered us a seat at one of the communal tables downstairs, or a cozy booth upstairs. Dan and I looked at each other, quickly agreed on the booth, and were seated.

"Was that even a choice?" Dan asked, as we sat down.
"Only if by communal table she meant I could sample everyone else's food," I said, laughing a little.

Now, I've dined out a fair bit since I've been in New York, sometimes at casual spots and occasionally at fancier fine dining restaurants, and across the board I have found a universal truth about service in New York: it's either the best (Eleven Madison Park) or the worst (Butter). Sadly, Ma Peche was the latter. Sitting at our cozy booth, we had a view of the (full) bar, which it seemed overlooked the lower dining room. The light was low and amber and the room was void of windows. This made for a nice, warm atmosphere that we had the pleasure to enjoy while we waited to be greeted by a server, handed menus, and poured water. We were waiting for at least 10 minutes. Finally, after glancing at the only bartender a few times, she came over and abruptly slapped two menus down on our table before walking away. No hello, no nothing. Ok, fine. I was too happy that Dan was here to get annoyed.

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Dan went with the pre fixe menu, which of course included an appetizer, entree, and dessert (a Momofuku milk bar cookie, but we'll get to that later). The entree I really wanted to try sadly wasn't on the pre fixe menu, so I went a la carte. We both got appetizers; Dan chose a venison and pork terrine, and I chose the pork summer rolls. By the time we ordered, we had thankfully been poured ice water although still had no napkins or silverware. Once we ordered, I realized that the sole bartender was also the only server on our level, taking orders from all 5 tables plus the full bar. This was really unfortunate, both for her and us, but at a place with such a notorious reputation, I expected better service. And although I felt bad that she had such a heavy load, the restaurant's inadequate staffing isn't my problem. If one person can't handle the whole dining area herself, she or her management need to figure something else out instead of making their patrons endure poor service.

Thus endeth my rant. Dan's terrine came out first, very quickly in fact. Served with two slices of bread, a sweet (mungbean?) sauce, and some pistachio and mushroom garnishes, the terrine was certainly interesting. Dan likened the texture to that of a sausage, but as opposed to a sausage which is put into a casing, a terrine is built in a rectangular pan and then thickly sliced. I wasn't a fan of the texture which was sort of spongy, and the temperature (cold) was a bit unpleasant for me. We were both also underwhelmed by the flavor of the meat which was pretty subtle, but really liked slathering the sauce on the bread. By the time my summer rolls emerged, Dan was already more than halfway through his appetizer. Not great timing, but since we were happily sharing everything, we didn't really mind. The lack of silverware and napkins on the other hand... It was at this point that I got up, went to the bar, and helped myself to a stack of napkins and two sets of chopsticks, the only flatware I could readily get my hands on.

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My choices for summer rolls were pork, shrimp, or tofu. I immediately ruled the second option out since I don't eat shrimp, and, trying to be a little adventurous, I went with the pork. In hindsight, this was, I think, a mistake. Also filled with fresh and crunchy lettuce, carrots, and cabbage, the pork portion of the rolls had the same temperature and texture as the terrine: sort of spongy and very cold. Although it did add a nice smokiness to the entire thing, I was just as happy removing it from the roll and enjoying a vegetarian version. Probably the highlight of the whole dish is the spicy peanut sauce that accompanies it, which was FAN-TASTIC. Could have spread it on toast and been a happy girl.

For our second courses (which arrived while we were still polishing off my summer rolls and still with no silverware), Dan ordered Lemon Sole and I ordered Pork Ribs, an unorthodox choice for me since I rarely ever eat pork or ribs, and they had a whole list of sandwiches on the menu! But given the chef's reputation, and a review I read which specifically mentioned these delectable caramel pork ribs, I just couldn't resist. The Lemon Sole was accompanied by golden raisins, and was a little fishy for my wussy palette, but Dan enjoyed it pretty well. My pork ribs were every bit as delicious as I hoped they would be (and fingerfood so my lack of silverware was overlooked. Dan made do, quite well I might add, with his chopsticks).

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The ribs, which were served as a generous portion, were so tender and flavorful. After my first bite, I was in love. Which was sort of awkward since Dan was sitting right. there. I felt like I was cheating on my boyfriend with my lunch. They were sticky and sweet, with traces of thai basil and lemongrass, and just a hint of spice. The sauce in the bottom of the plate was so incredibly delicious I could have eaten it with a spoon (if I'd had one!). For the most part, eating meat right off the bone was perfectly enjoyable. A few squishy bites of cartilage left me feeling a bit uneasy, but the delectable-ness of the rest of the meat was too enjoyable to be overpowered by some unfortunate texture. Being the good girlfriend I am, I lovingly shared a rib and a half with Dan, who wholeheartedly agreed with my tasty assessment.

Dan's pre fixe menu came with a cookie from Momofuku Milk Bar, which we shared. He had his choice between a chocolate or corn cookie, and after taking stock of who he was with (Me), he wisely chose chocolate.

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We were not disappointed. It was chewy and intensely chocolatey, but not in a bitter way, which I really dislike. It was big enough for us to share, or to satisfy a serious cookie craving for just one. The true chocolate flavor made it one of the best chocolate cookies I've had (besides the ones I make myself). I had every intention of raiding Milk Bar's whole stock of goodies before we left, but since we were so stuffed, we decided to return after our visit to MoMA, just a few blocks away.

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A couple of hours and six floors of Modern art later, we returned for a chance for me to satisfy my sweet tooth and curiosity. Milk Bar is famous for a few things: the Compost Cookie, Crack Pie, and Cereal Milk. While the restaurants in Chang's empire have a decidedly Asian influence, Milk Bar serves up American treats, but in unique manifestations. I've been dying to visit ever since I started hearing more and more about it. Call it research, if you will. This time, we entered through a door next to the Chambers Hotel to discover Milk Bar up front, and Ma Peche in the back (you can see the amber light in the left of this photo).

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Trying to contain myself, I quickly filled a paper bag with five different pre-packaged cookies: Corn, Compost, Cornflake-Chocolate chip-Marshmallow, Peanut Butter, and Blueberry Cream. At the counter, I asked for a taste of their Cereal Milk frozen yogurt, since I was curious about the flavor but was still full from lunch. Dan and I each had a little spoonful and were intrigued and surprised by the flavor. Up until then I hadn't really understood what was meant by "Cereal Milk" but after just this small taste, I got it. You know when you finish with your cereal, there's that little pool of sweet milk left at the bottom of the bowl? That's exactly what this tasted like. Although I was impressed with the uncanny similarity, Dan and I both agreed that it wasn't exactly appealing. It sort of felt like we were finishing off someone else's leftovers from breakfast.

To round out my loot, I also snapped up a slice of their famous Crack Pie (packaged in a neat little cardboard container) and a slice of Candy Bar pie. Happy as a little clam pastry chef, we returned home with all our goodies.

Frankly, I could devote an entire post just to the products from Milk Bar, and maybe I will eventually, but for now, I'll give you the highlights.

Let's start with the Crack Pie.

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From what I've heard (and from the ingredients), this was mostly just a lot of sugar. After taking a few bites, I could see where it gets its name though, as it was a bit addicting. Of course incredibly sweet, it still had layers of flavor and a nice, soft texture. The crust was nice and tender, not too crunchy against the very soft filling.

Next up, the Candy Bar Pie.

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This pie was a layer of chocolate crust, gooey caramel, peanut butter nougat, and chocolate glaze, garnished with pretzels (although contrary to this (borrowed) picture, my slice only had one). With the gooey caramel and peanut nougat, this pie was certainly reminiscent of a candy bar, but was actually too sweet for my palette. I really loved the texture and flavor of the peanut nougat and the chocolate crust was also great, but the caramel was way too sweet and overpowering. Perhaps had there been more salty pretzels to add some dimension to the bites, I could have polished off the whole thing, but as it was, my pretzel was a bit soggy, and I ended up scraping off about half the caramel layer.

As for the cookies, I already told you about the chocolate one, so here's the cliff's notes about the other five, which all have the perfect soft, chewy texture and beautiful flat circular shape:

Compost Cookie: Delicious. There are coffee grounds in the mix which adds so much dimension to the cookie without being overwhelming. Like a true "trash" cookie, there are also ground pretzels and potato chips. It's sweet, chocolatey, and wonderful.

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Corn Cookie: Like the best, sweetest corn muffin you've ever had, all packed into a neat little cookie.

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Blueberry and Cream: This one was a little weird. It basically had the flavor of a blueberry muffin but the white chocolate that added the "cream" to the cookie was too sweet for me.

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Cornflake-Chocolate Chip-Marshmallow: This one had the worst texture out of the bunch in that it was a little sticky and tough, sort of similar to toffee. I suspect the baked marshmallows are to blame. I was a little let down by this one since it sounds so unique and I was looking forward to some crunch from the cornflakes, but the flavor was still good.

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Peanut Butter: There seemed to be little pockets of peanut butter throughout this cookie, although the peanut flavor was a little muted for my taste, and a little too sugary. It was also a little greasy, no doubt from the oil in the peanut butter.

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So you want my verdict? Go to the Chambers hotel, but skip dinner (or lunch) and go straight to dessert. Momofuku Milk Bar's confections are so worth it.

The Meatball Shop

Originally, for Valentine's Day, I was going to treat myself to lunch at Ma Peche, but laying in bed the night before watching Unique Eats on the Cooking Channel, I was suddenly inspired to go somewhere else. Namely, The Meatball Shop.

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Located on the Lower East Side, the Meatball Shop has quickly become the place to go for the ultimate meatball experience. As such, it's also become quite crowded, to the point that you can call ahead to see what the current wait time is. I planned to go for a late lunch, at 2:00, and since I was going alone, I didn't think being seated would be much of an issue. And although the place was nearly full when I arrived, I was still able to immediately get a seat at the bar.

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The space is small but really comfortable and cozy. With a long communal table in the middle, antique fixtures and pictures everywhere, and great classic rock songs playing over the speakers, the vibe was hip but relaxed.

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With a such a niche product, co-owners Daniel Holzman and Michael Chernow needed to come up with a unique concept, which they have. Sick of menus dictating the dishes, Holzman and Chernow let their customers do the picking. So once I was comfortably seated at the bar, I was given a laminated menu and a dry erase marker. The bartender explained all of my options briefly. Basically first you pick what medium you want for your meatballs. You can have them "naked" with just sauce and a piece of focaccia bread. You can have them as sliders or in a hero or crushed up like a sloppy joe. Or you can have them over the chef's selection of greenmarket veggies and salad. So once you've picked your medium, you pick your meat. Always on the menu is beef, spicy pork, chicken, vegetable, and a special which changes daily. Their special Mediterranean lamb meatball with mint, raisins, and walnuts is supposedly exceptional. Once you've picked your meatballs, you pick sauce: classic tomato, spicy meat, mushroom gravy, parmesan cream, or pesto. If you choose "naked" balls you also have choices of sides, which you can get on the side or served under your meatballs, such as pasta, mashed potatoes, beans, or risotto.

My book was my lunch date. And there's the menu on the right.

I ordered a glass of red sangria (which was good but a little heavy on the lime) and quickly made my decisions. Since I'm such a sandwich girl, especially at lunch time, I went with the meatball hero. I chose classic beef meatballs with spicy meat sauce, and since I was getting a hero, I also got to choose my cheese (provolone) and sub roll (white). Served alongside the hero was a small green salad, and although I really wanted to try the special side of the day, collard greens with garlic, I resisted knowing that would be way too much food. And in no time at all, my lunch arrived.

 
I started with a bite of the salad, which was delicious and simple. Just arugula and apple slices dressed with apple cider vinaigrette, although it could have used a little salt and pepper. I quickly dug into my sandwich and immediately wished I had more than one napkin. And with a sandwich with tomato sauce, that's always a good sign.

The bread was nice and soft, although it got just a little soggy in some places where there was more sauce than meatball. But I always think a soft bread is better than a bread that's so crusty it makes the roof of your mouth raw. Obviously all the meatballs are not made to order, so it was even more impressive that they were still nice and tender and moist, not at all dried out. They were flavorful on their own, but were especially delicious covered in their "spicy meat sauce." Everything blended and was balanced so well together that it was hard to discern individual flavors, although I didn't find the sauce particularly spicy or meaty, which was OK with me since it was still delicious. The provolone was nice and light and had melted right into the bread. On the one hand, it wasn't overpowering, but on the other, I almost couldn't even tell it was there.

I really wanted to eat every bite of this sandwich, but halfway through I was already feeling full. Please don't think that stopped me from diving right into the second half though, which I made it about halfway through, sort of deconstructing it as I went. Finally I was nearing defeat. But not before dessert: your choice of homemade ice cream put between two cookies or served as a float with cream soda or rootbeer. I thought about doing a chocolate ice cream sandwich with 1 chocolate chip cookie and 1 peanut butter, but the special ice cream of the day was too tempting. So I ordered a chocolate chip ice cream sandwich with their special, brown sugar ice cream.

You may not be able to tell from the picture, but this sandwich was really big, which I was surprisingly disappointed by. I was sort of looking forward to picking this up and eating it like a true ice cream sandwich, but it was way too big and I had already made enough of a mess eating my sandwich. Instead, I took bites of the cookie and spoonfuls of ice cream together and separately. The cookie was OK, but very chewy and since the cookies were a little on the thinner side, this made them a little tough, not the good chewy kind that are soft and thick. There also didn't seem to be a lot of chocolate in them. The ice cream, on the other hand, was the perfect temperature and texture, and had a distinct brown sugar flavor, but was a little too sweet for me, which is saying something. I think a little salt would have gone a long way for both the cookie and the ice cream.

This is a place I would definitely return to. It would be tough to go with more than one or two other people since space is limited, but I can see why a wait would be worth it. Plus, I'd have to bring someone else so we could order a bunch of sliders in different meat and sauce combinations and I could sample them all!