Chocolate Cookie Cups with Peanut Butter Cheesecake Frosting

By srumbel

These petite, sweet cookie cups are made of buttery rich chocolate and are topped with a light and luscious peanut butter cheesecake frosting, then garnished with the cutest Reese's Peanut Butter Cup"cake" for an impressive dessert that's stylish and scrumptious!
from thedomesticrebel.com

Ingredients

• For the Cookie Cups:
• 3/4 cup Real California Butter, softened to room temperature (I used unsalted butter)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 & 1/4 cups chocolate cake mix (the dry mix)
• 1 & 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• Pinch salt
• For the Peanut Butter Cheesecake Frosting:
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) Real California Butter, softened to room temperature
• 1 pkg (8 oz) Real California Cream Cheese, softened to room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 3-4 cups powdered sugar
• Chocolate sprinkles
• 12 Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Minis
• 12 Miniature M&M's (just the brown ones)

Details

Preparation time 30mins
Cooking time 45mins

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Liberally grease a 12-cavity muffin tin with cooking spray and set aside. Meanwhile, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, brown sugar and white sugar on medium-speed, about 2 minutes. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Lastly, beat in the dry chocolate cake mix, the flour, baking soda and salt until a soft dough has formed.
Using a cookie dough scoop, drop heaping Tablespoonfuls of cookie dough into the muffin tin, filling about 2/3 of the way full. Gently press the cookie dough into the tin so it's nestled in. Bake the cookie cups for about 12-15 minutes or until the tops are sunken in and the edges appear set. Do not over-bake! Remove from the oven and allow the cookie cups to cool mostly in the tin. Gently remove from the tin after about 20 minutes by carefully running a small knife around the edges of the cookie cups and lifting them from the muffin tin. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
To make the frosting: In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and cream cheese on medium speed for about 1 minute. Beat in the vanilla and peanut butter until combined. Gradually add in the powdered sugar, about one cup at a time, until a softer frosting consistency has been achieved. You do not want it super stiff, but not so soft that the frosting will fall.
Place 3/4s of the cheesecake frosting into a disposable plastic piping bag affixed with a large open-star tip. Place the remaining cheesecake frosting into another disposable plastic piping bag affixed with a smaller open-star tip.
Begin piping the cheesecake frosting high onto the cooled cookie cups using the large-tipped bag. Sprinkle with chocolate sprinkles. Using the smaller-tipped frosting bag, pipe little mounds of frosting onto the tops of the unwrapped Reese's Peanut Butter Cups to make little cupcakes. Top them with a brown miniature M&M candy, and garnish with a light sprinkle.
Place the miniature "cupcakes" on top of the cookie cups and serve!