Although our freezer isn’t yet completely devoid of Christmas cookies, I couldn’t wait any longer to make something. I’ve had so many ideas rattling around in my brain that if I didn’t do something soon, some of them would probably have been lost to time completely and never been made 🙁 They never would’ve felt the warmth of oven heat on their collective faces, but would’ve instead been trapped in the deepest recesses of my brain for all time. That would just be a crying shame, because who knows? I might’ve had the next cronut on my hands!
These babies are a delicious trifecta of all the desserts I would’ve been able to make if I weren’t trying to hold myself off until after Christmas. Vanilla almond cupcakes stuffed with a chocolate oatmeal cookie dough pudding and topped with chocolate chip cookie dough icing (say that 3 times fast). It’s cake! It’s cookies! It’s pudding! (Take that cronut! You call yourself “innovative” 😉 ).
This piece of deliciousness can now take the guesswork out of what to make for dessert at your next dinner party (or what to have at your next 2am, pajama-wearing sweet-tooth attack party). So unless you end up with a monocle-wearing house guest who’s an elitist snob and turns up their nose at anything that isn’t pie (which part of me couldn’t blame them for, pie rocks my world too), this should be able to satisfy anybody’s sweet tooth (even the health nuts…well…sort of. I mean there is some oatmeal in there, so I say it’s fair to count this as a few servings of fibre.)
This empty cupcake looks so sad, it’s clearly in need of a little something extra:
…a little something called chocolate oatmeal pudding.
Can something so right really be wrong?
1 1/2 cups cake/pastry flour
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup vegan butter room temperature (I use earth balance because I find it has the most buttery flavour, but I’m sure you can use whatever you want/have on hand)
2 egg replacer (you should be able to get this almost anywhere – The Bulk Store, organic section of the grocery store etc.)
1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
Chocolate oatmeal cookie dough pudding (recipe below)
Cookie dough icing (recipe below)
Makes 12 cupcakes
1.Preheat oven to 325F (170C)
2.Line cupcake pans with cupcake liners (I highly recommend doing this, the cupcakes are very moist/soft, and it will be a bit hard to fill them later if they don’t have a bit more structural integrity from the cupcake liners).
3.In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder and salt).
4.With a mixer on medium speed, add the butter by heaping teaspoonfuls. Add 4-5 teaspoons and mix to incorporate into the flour mixture. Repeat until all the butter has been incorporated. It’s ok if it’s not completely mixed in, you just don’t want any large chunks of butter.
5.Add egg replacer one egg at a time.
6.In a separate small bowl, whisk together the almond milk, vanilla, and almond extract. Add this slowly to the rest of the dough mixture. Beat until just incorporated (try not to overmix)
7.Divide the batter evenly among your prepared cupcake liners (should be 2/3 – 3/4 full). Bake about 18-20 minutes, or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
8.Remove from oven and allow to cool completely (very important to cool completely before adding the filling as the cupcakes will likely fall apart when you cut into them if they’re too warm).
9.Using a teaspoon (or bread knife), carefully cut a circle into the top of the cupcake and scoop out some of the cake so that you have a well in the center. Fill with approximately a teaspoon of the oatmeal cookie dough pudding and replace the “cap” carefully on top.
10.Ice the cupcakes with your cookie dough icing and sprinkle with chocolate chips.
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons melted vegan butter
2 tablespoons vegan cream cheese (I used Tofutti)
2 tablespoons unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup quick cooking rolled oats
1 tablespoon custard powder (e.g. Bird’s custard powder is vegan)
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1/4-1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (optional – I just love cinnamon and add it indiscriminately to everything 🙂 )
1.Using an electric mixer, combine brown sugar and melted butter. Mix in cream cheese, almond milk and vanilla.
2.In a separate bowl sift together all the dry ingredients.
3.Slowly beat the dry ingredients into the wet.
4. Refrigerate until about 10 minutes before using.
1/4 cup vegan cream cheese (I used Tofutti)
1/2 cup vegan butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup flour
1/4 to 1/2 cup icing sugar
1.Using an electric mixer, combine cream cheese, butter and brown sugar. Mix in almond milk and vanilla.
2.Sift in flour and mix until incorporated.
3.Slowly add in icing sugar until it reaches spreadable consistency (and to a level of sweetness that you enjoy).
4. Refrigerate until ready to use.
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