Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

A couple of weeks ago, I asked the husband to pick me up a few baking necessities for my favorite chocolate chip cookies.  For the record, the husband has seen me make these cookies a million times and devoured them a million times.  Now what I consider common baking sense, the husband is clueless.  The sweet man comes home with three different types of chocolate chips.  Milk chocolate chips, semi-sweet chocolate chips, and a fancy chocolate chips with the percentage of "cacao" on the bag.

"I didn't know which kind you use for your cookies," he said, "so I just got an assortment and hoped one was the right kind."

Well, he's got a good heart.  I kindly told him that most basic chocolate chip cookie recipes called for semi-sweet...and then I called him a goofball...and made him cookies.

So I've had these milk chocolate chips sitting in my pantry for weeks and I'm not good about just letting things sit in there and not get used.  Which is why I decided to try out a new cupcake recipe....Chocolate Chip Cupcakes  (with milk chocolate chips).

I adapted the cupcake recipe from Dorie Greenspan's Baking: From my home to yours cookbook.  It's her recipe for the "Perfect Party Cake" that I made a few tweaks and adjustments to.

The icing is a very vanilla buttercream that I adapted from My Baking Addiction. 

I stuck a mini chips ahoy in the top for good measure.

Props to the husband for holding up a placemat for a good background for the pictures.

Thoughts about these cupcakes:

1. The chocolate chips sank to the bottom.

2.  The milk chocolate chips didn't melt like I thought they would and make an ooey-gooey cupcake.  Instead the hardened right when they cooled.

3.  I'm sorry all my cupcake wrappers are in birthday print. I need some solid colors.

4.  I prefer cream cheese icing to buttercream.  

5.  The white cake was good, but is better microwaved than just at room temperature. 

6.  I need to move on from cupcakes.

Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

Cake recipe adapted from Dorie Greenspan

2 1/4 cups cake flour

1 tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/4 cups whole milk or buttermilk

4 large egg whites

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 stick (8 tbsp) butter, room temperature

1 tsp vanilla extract (clear)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line cupcake tin with wrappers.

Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt.

Whisk together egg whites and milk.

Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes).  Add vanilla extract.  Alternate adding wet mixture and dry mixture until fully combined.  Beat another 2 minutes to ensure batter is thoroughly aerated and mixed.  Scoop batter into cupcake pan.

Bake 18-20 minutes.

Very Vanilla Buttercream

3 sticks butter, room temperature

2 lbs powdered sugar

2 tbsp clear vanilla extract

6 tbsp whipping cream

pinch of salt

Beat butter until light.  Slowly add in powdered sugar until combined.  Add vanilla extra.  Add whipping cream 1 tbsp at a time until desired consistency.  Frost cupcakes.