special occasion

When you love someone…

You do nice things for them. Things that will make them happy. Because seeing them happy makes you happy too.

Like…making them a CD of their favorite music. (That is, if they still own a CD player. In this day and age, maybe you make them a playlist and put it on their iPod. I still like CDs. Call me old-fashioned).

Like…writing a special note or card to them, and mailing it to them, or leaving it in their mailbox.

Like…surprising them with tickets to a concert with their favorite band.

Like…leaving a package of their favorite candy in their coat pocket when they’re not looking, so that when they reach into their coat pocket later that day, they will find a sweet little surprise.

Like…making the most ridiculously and absurdly delicious cupcakes for them, and delivering them to that special person’s door on their birthday.

These are the kind of cupcakes you make for someone that you care about very much. They take some time to make. They’re a labor of love. But they are totally worth it.

I know because I did it. I made them, and I delivered them, and I helped eat them, and I put a smile on a very special somebody’s face. Family, friends, significant others…make these for someone special in your life.

This recipe was adapted ever-so-slightly from Joy’s version. Joy is the creator of always-fabulous recipes. But I did my own thing with the cookie dough, since I was making these for a Skor chocolate bar lover. The cookie dough options are endless! The end result was a rich, decadent, and over-the-top cupcake. They tasted extra wonderful straight out of the fridge, cold and moist, ridiculously good.

Chocolate Skor Cookie Dough Toasted Marshmallow Cupcakes (slightly adapted from Joy the Baker)

For the cupcakes:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups cane sugar

1 cup cocoa powder

2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 TBSP. vanilla

2/3 cup canola oil

2 tsp. white vinegar

2 cups cold water

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Prepare two cupcake pans with cupcake liners. In a large bowl, sift the dry ingredients together and set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together the oil, water, vanilla and vinegar. Slowly combine the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients. Do not overmix. The mixture will be quite runny, but it’s all good! Fill each cup two-thirds full and place in the oven for 22-24 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes then place on a wire rack until completely cool.

For the cookie dough (I got some help here):

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. salt

3/4 cup butter, melted

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1 TBSP. vanilla

4 TBSP. milk

1 cup chopped Skor chocolate bar (about 2-3 bars)

Mix everything together and refrigerate until you’re ready to use. This cookie dough is safe to eat without cooking because there are no eggs in it. Delightful!

And finally, for the meringue:

4 large egg whites

1 1/2 cups white sugar

1/2 cup light corn syrup

A large pinch of salt

2 tsp. vanilla

In a large pot, bring a couple inches of water to a simmer. Place a large, heat-proof bowl over top (to create a double-boiler). In the bowl, whisk together the egg whites, sugar, corn syrup and salt. Keep whisking as the mixture heats. The sugar will dissolve after about 5 minutes. Be careful, we don’t want to cook the eggs. Transfer the mixture to the bowl of an electric mixer. With a whisk attachment, beat the mixture on high until stiff peaks form (about 5 minutes). The mixture will be sticky and glossy and look like melted marshmallows. Finally, beat in the vanilla. Set aside.

Putting it all together:

Use a small spoon to scoop a small indent out of the top/center of the cupcakes (see above). The indent will help the cookie dough balls rest on the cupcake without falling off. Now, it is absolutely imperative that you eat each spoonful of cupcake. You need to keep up your strength on this long journey. Do it.

Roll your cookie dough into walnut size balls, and place one ball in the centre of each cupcake. Are you still with me?

Place the meringue frosting in a large ziplock bag (or in a pastry bag, if you’re fancy). Cut a small hole out of one of the bottom corners of the bag. Pipe frosting around the edges of the cupcake and over the dough ball in a circular motion like you’re topping a cone with soft serve ice cream.

And finally, turn your oven on to broil. Place 12 cupcakes on a baking sheet. Place cupcakes under the broiler for about 1 minute. Keep a very close eye on them, they can burn in an instant. As Joy suggests, you may need to remove the cupcakes and rotate the pan to ensure that they cook evenly. Once toasted, remove the cupcakes from the oven, and toast the other batch. These can be served right away, or cold from the fridge, whatever tickles your fancy. Amazing.