So through some collaborative thinking this past week Julee and I had the idea of making some cupcakes to celebrate the arrival of Girl Scout cookies season. At first I thought of just adding a cookie into the actual cupcakes, but then I figured you would only be able to make them at cookie time. So after a little more thinking I went for an Girl Scout Cookie "inspired" cupcake. I made two different kinds and I'll be posting about the other later, but for know let's focus on the Tag a Long Cupcake. One thing I really wanted to do with this cupcake was to use a box mix. I know some folks get a little intimidated by baking from scratch and to be honest I like to use mixes from time to time just to make things a little easier. For this cupcake you will need a yellow cake mix. My goal was to recreate the three flavors that are in the cookie, the shortbread cookie, peanut butter filling and chocolate coating. So this cupcake consists of a shortbread cookie crust, peanut butter cupcake and rich chocolate frosting. Here is a step by step on how to put them yummy's together.
Tag a Long Cupcakes
makes 24
Crust
24 shortbread cookies (I used Lorna Doone) ground into crumbs
3 tbs melted butter
Ground up the cookies into fine crumbs in a food processor. In a bowl mix the crumbs and the butter until well combined. In the bottom of each cupcake liner place a small amount of the crumb mixture and use the back of a spoon to press it into place. Bake at 350 fro 10 minutes or until golden. Remove from oven and let cool.
Cupcakes
1 yellow cake mix (follow the instructions)
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1 extra egg
Follow the instructions on the back of your cake mix box, add and extra egg. After mixing all the ingredients together add the peanut butter and stir well. Spoon the batter on top of the cooled crust filling the liners 3/4 of the way full. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.
Frosting
1 stick softened butter
2/3 c. cocoa
3 c powdered sugar
1/3 c milk
2 tsp vanilla
In the bowl of your mixer beat the softened butter until fluffy. Add the vanilla and the cocoa. Stir until well combined. Alternate between the powdered sugar and milk. Beat until smooth and no lumps. If you need to add more milk to thin do so a tbs at a time. To frost the cooled cupcakes add the frosting to a decorator's bag fitted with an open star tip. Pipe a generous swirl of icing. Top with a Tag a Long and orange sprinkles if desired.
