'Coooookkkkieeee!' 😃. I had a lovely family BBQ a few days ago and could not resist making these fun, delicious and indulgent muffins for my nieces and nephews! Growing up watching sesame street, i loved the cookie monster. He and Elmo were my favourite characters! Such cool muffins and so MOIST! I often find that any cake-like dessert with heavy icing can taste very sickly or too sweet. However, my recipe is the perfect balance of sweetness. The bitterness of the chocolate muffin combined with the sweetness of the frosting work perfectly together. Super cute and are perfect for a children's birthday party or any fun party for that matter!
Simple & Easy Recipe
Delicious
Moist
Soft
Airy
Moreish
Indulgent
Perfectly Chocolatey
Health Benefits;
Cocoa Powder:
Cocoa powder is rich polyphenols. Polyphenols are naturally occurring antioxidants found in foods like fruits, vegetables, tea, chocolate and wine.They have been linked to numerous health benefits, including reduced inflammation, better blood flow, lower blood pressure and improved cholesterol and blood sugar levels.
Recipe
~ Makes 12 Servings ~
Prep Time - 35 mins ~ Cook Time - 20 mins ~ Total Time - 55 mins
Ingredients for:
Chocolate Muffins:
1 & 1/2 (190gs) cups of plain flour
1 cup (45gs) unsweetened natural cocoa powder
1 & 1/2 tsps of baking powder
1 tsp of baking soda
1/2 tsp of salt
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup (200gs) of granulated sugar
1 cup (200gs) of packed soft light brown sugar
2/3 cup (160mls) of vegetable oil
4 tsps of vanilla bean extract
1 cup (240mls) of milk
Blue Butter Frosting:
280gs/10oz unsa;ted butter, softened
560gs/20oz icing sugar
2-4 tbsps of milk
1/2 tsp of pure vanilla bean extract
A few drops of blue food colouring
Decorations:
20gs of Ready To Roll White Icing
10gs of Ready To Roll Black Icing
3 Original Oreo Cookies
6 mini chocolate chip cookies
Method for:
Muffins:
1. Begin by preheating the oven to 175C/350F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with muffin liners of your choice. I recommend to use brown or blue liners as it will go well with the theme. Set aside.
2. Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl until thoroughly combined. Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, granulated sugar, brown sugar, oil, and vanilla together until combined. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until smooth.
3. Pour or spoon the batter into the liners. Fill only halfway (this is imperative, only halfway) to avoid spilling over the sides or sinking. Bake for 28-31 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before frosting.
4. Begin to make the blue butter frosting.
Blue Butter Frosting:
1. In a large mixing bowl, Add the butter and half of the icing sugar. With an electric whisk or by hand beat until smooth.
2. Add the remaining icing sugar and one tbsp of the milk and the vanilla extract. Beat the mixture until creamy and smooth. Beat in the remaining milk, if necessary, to loosen the mixture.
3. Stir in the food colouring until well combined. You want there to be a rich blue colour as the cookie moster's blue colour is vibrant.
4. Once made, pour mixer into piping bags. I used 3 different nozzles as i wanted to be creative and give the muffins that 'fur look' the cookie monster has.
*A good trick for getting the mixture into a pipping bag is to add the nozzle into the bag, then using a tall glass, place the empty piping bag into the glass (nozzle first) and wrap the edges of the bag around the glass pulling the pipping bag down slowing, giving you a nice and open space to add the frosting into.
5. Place piping bags in the fridge. Cool for about 20 mins. You don't want the icing to be soft when piping, it needs to be able to hold its shape and have a stiff peak.
Decorations:
1. Begin by rolling out the white icing (you can sprinkle some icing sugar on your rolling pin and on the suface so it does not stick) and create about 1cm wide and 0.5cms thick circles. I used the other half of a piping nozzle for this part and cut out 24 circles. Place on a baking sheet once completed.
2. Then do the same with the black icing. Roll out and using either a straw or a 0.5cm round pipping nozzle cut out 24 black circles. Place the circles onto the white circles creating eyes. I make googly eyes so placed the black dots towards the edges.
3. Place in fridge for 30 mins to cool.
4. Whilst you are waiting for the frosting and googly eyes to chill, you can move onto preparing the cookies!
5. Slice each Oreo in half down the middle of the white center and the into four pieces. Bare in mind to do this step gently as they crack very easily. This will create the smiles for the muffins.
6. Then half each mini chocolate chip cookie. Set aside.
7. Now everything is chilled and ready we can decorate! Begin by slowly mixing the piping bags from the outside, just moving the frosting around to make sure its not too tough. Begin by pipping small circles around the edges of muffins and working your way in.
8. Once you have completed the piping you can add on the eyes, i just pocked them in so that they are standing up a little at an angle. Add in the oreo smiles and half a choc chip cookie on the sides of the oreo to create the illusion that he is eating the cookie. And your done!
9. Store in and airtight container and eat within 3 days. Alternatively, pack in a box and give as a present or enjoy with family/friends as i did!
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