Your brownie-loving dreams have come true—a rich, gooey brownie is baked into the center of a vanilla cupcake and topped with heap of cookies and cream frosting. There’s the moist brownie, the crunchy cookie crumbs, the creamy frosting… it tastes amazing.

This will make about 22 cupcakes.

For the brownies you’ll need:

4 oz. unsweetened chocolate

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter

2 c. granulated sugar

3 eggs

2 t. vanilla

1 c. flour

For the cupcakes you’ll need:

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter

1 1/2 c. granulated sugar

3 eggs

2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. baking soda

1/4 t. salt

2 t. vanilla

2 1/2 c. flour

1 1/3 c. whole milk

For the buttercream you’ll need:

2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

2 c. powdered sugar

2 t. vanilla extract

about 10 chocolate cookies (or Oreos!)

Directions:

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees (F).

Butter a 9x13 pan and line it with parchment paper, then set aside. To make the brownies, melt the butter and the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl on high for 90 seconds. Mix until the butter and chocolate are all combined, and all the chocolate is melted. Stir in the sugar, and then add the eggs, one at a time. Add the vanilla. Then stir in the flour. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for about 25 minutes until the brownie is set and a toothpick inserted into the center of the brownies comes out clean.

Set aside and allow to cool in the pan, then cut into 24 equal pieces (you might have a few brownies left over—a reward for all your hard work!).

For the cupcake batter, cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix until combined. Add the baking soda, baking powder, vanilla, and salt and mix for about a minute, on medium high, until creamy (be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl once or twice, to ensure everything is getting worked in). Then add the milk and flour, alternating between the two ingredients (to avoid lumps) until the batter is smooth and everything is well combined.

Scoop a heaping tablespoon of batter into your paper-lined cupcake tins, then place one cooled brownie into each tin and press it gently into the batter. Cover the brownie with another heaping tablespoon of batter so the top and the sides of the brownie are completely covered and the cupcake tins are about ¾ of the way full.

Bake for about 22-25 minutes, until the cake is golden brown and set (it will bounce back when you gently press your finger into a cupcake).

Allow the cupcakes to cool, while you make the buttercream.

For the buttercream, whip up the butter to get it good and creamy. Then add the powdered sugar a cup at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl between additions (to make sure everything is getting incorporated). Crumble up the cookies into pieces and add them to the buttercream, mixing again for a few seconds to get them incorporated. Then frost your cupcakes! And then eat your cupcakes.

My cookbook, Bake It in a Cupcake: 50 Treats With a Surprise Inside, is available now at: Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, and Indiebound.com!