Thick chocolate chip cookie baked in a muffin tin for cupcake-sized cookie treats. These cookies have chewy edges, soft centers, and they're packed with chocolate. Enjoy them as-is or top with buttercream, whipped cream or ice cream.
½cupunsalted buttersoftened slightly but still cool
¾cuppacked brown sugar (light or dark)it should be fresh and soft
¼cupgranulated sugar
1large eggcold, straight from the fridge
1 ½teaspoonspure vanilla extract
1 cupsemisweet chocolate chips or chunks
Frosting:
¾cupunsalted buttersoftened
3½cupspowdered sugarsifted if lumpy
¾teaspoonspure vanilla extract
1-2tablespoonsmilkplus more, if needed
⅓cupunsweetened cocoa powderoptional, for chocolate frosting
chopped chocolate or chocolate shavingsfor garnish
Instructions
Cookie cups:
Preheat oven to 325°F with a rack in the center of the oven. Grease a 12-cup standard size muffin pan.
Combine flour, baking soda, salt, and cornstarch. Set aside.
Using a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until combined (about a minute). Add egg and vanilla, beating until combined and scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Beat in the flour mixture until fully combined. Add the chocolate chips, mixing until combined.
Scoop the dough into 3-tablespoon portions and form into balls. Place one ball in each muffin cup (don't flatten them; they'll spread and fill the cup while baking). Bake for 12-15 minutes, until the edges are just beginning to turn golden brown and the centers are still underdone. The cookie cups should be so soft that if you tried to lift them out of the muffin pan they would fall apart.
Place the muffin pan on a cooling rack and cool completely, they will firm up as they cool. Once cool, proceed with the frosting.
Frosting:
Using a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter until smooth. Add half the powdered sugar and all the cocoa powder (omit cocoa powder if making vanilla frosting). Beat in vanilla and 1 tablespoon milk followed by remaining powdered sugar. Add as much more milk as you need to get your desired consistency (if you're making chocolate frosting you'll need a bit more milk than for vanilla frosting). Turn speed up to medium-high and beat for 30 seconds. Using a piping bag fitted with an open star tip to swirl frosting onto the top of each cookie cup. Top with chopped chocolate, if desired.
Notes
Make ahead option:If you need to get a head start on this recipe you can make the dough in advance.Freeze: Freeze portioned dough balls double wrapped for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight then let the dough balls sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before baking. Refrigerate: Dough can be portioned, double wrapped, and refrigerated for up to 3 days. Let the dough balls sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before baking.