Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

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 Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with cream cheese buttercream frosting and chocolate chip cookie crumbs reign supreme in the dessert world. Soft, fluffy, moist, and bursting with flavor, these cupcakes are the absolute BEST!

And after you try Chocolate Chip Cupcakes, make sure to try these Banana Cupcakes, Pumpkin Cupcakes, and these Carrot Cake Cupcakes!

Chocolate chip cupcakes topped with rich icing and sprinkled with chocolate shavings.

Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

I’m thrilled to share one of our family’s favorite desserts: Chocolate Chip Cupcakes. They’re a fun mashup of chocolate chip cookies and cupcakes, a perfect combination, don’t you think?

It’s hard to resist a great cupcake, but when you add creamy cream cheese frosting and chocolate chip cookie crumbs on top, they become irresistible. Inspired by our favorite cupcakes from Milk & Cookies, a local bakery, these should be named Cookie Monster Dreams – they’re a dream come true for cookie lovers!

Freshly baked desserts surrounded by crunchy cookies and scattered chocolate chips.

Ingredients In Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

  • Cupcake Batter:
    • Eggs: Provide structure and act as a binding agent.
    • Full-fat sour cream & buttermilk: Add moisture and richness, making the cupcakes tender.
    • Canola oil: Keeps the cupcakes moist.
    • Vanilla & almond extracts: Enhance flavor.
    • Yellow cake mix & vanilla pudding mix: Form the base of the cupcakes, giving structure and flavor.
    • Miniature chocolate chips: Add chocolate flavor and texture.
  • Frosting:
    • Unsalted butter & cream cheese: Create a creamy base for the frosting.
    • Powdered sugar: Sweetens and thickens the frosting.
    • Vanilla extract & fine sea salt: Enhance flavor.
    • Heavy cream: Adjusts the frosting’s consistency.
    • Chocolate chip cookie crumbs: Add texture and flavor for garnish.

Preparation of the chocolate chip cupcake recipe, from mixing wet ingredients to stirring in buttermilk, adding chocolate chips, spooning batter, baking, cooling, and frosting with cream cheese.

How To Make Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

  1. Prep: Preheat oven to 350°F, line two cupcake pans with 24 liners.
  2. Batter:Whisk eggs, then add sour cream, oil, vanilla, and almond extract, stirring well; mix in cake and pudding mixes, add buttermilk and stir until smooth, and finally, fold in chocolate chips.
  3. Bake: Fill liners 3/4, bake 18-23 mins. Cool.
  4. Frosting:Beat together butter and cream cheese, add powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt, then mix in heavy cream for the desired consistency and stir in cookie crumbs.
  5. Decorate: Frost cupcakes, add cookie crumbs.

QUICK TIP

Add the powdered sugar gradually to avoid a mess. Adjust the amount to taste; more sugar makes the frosting sweeter and firmer, while less keeps it tangier and softer. 

Butter and cream cheese being prepped for frosting with powdered sugar and chopped cookies being mixed in.

Cupcake Baking Tips

  • Make sure all the ingredients are at room temperature before starting. This helps ensure your cupcakes rise evenly (and don’t sink or fall).
  • Don’t overmix the batter. Overmixing results in denser, less-fluffy muffins.
  • Bake Chocolate Chip Cupcakes in the center of your oven. That provides the best air and heat circulation.
  • Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before frosting, to avoid melted puddles of frosting.
  • Be sure to check out this article for more tips.

Finished dessert topped with rich cream cheese frosting and cookie crumbles.

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Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

5 from 2 votes
 Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with cream cheese buttercream frosting and chocolate chip cookie crumbs reign supreme in the dessert world. Soft, fluffy, moist, and bursting with flavor, these cupcakes are the absolute BEST!
Chocolate chip cupcakes topped with rich icing and sprinkled with chocolate shavings.
Print Recipe

Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

Chocolate chip cupcakes topped with rich icing and sprinkled with chocolate shavings.
5 from 2 votes
 Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with cream cheese buttercream frosting and chocolate chip cookie crumbs reign supreme in the dessert world. Soft, fluffy, moist, and bursting with flavor, these cupcakes are the absolute BEST!
Course Dessert, Snack
Cuisine American
Keyword chocolate chip cupcakes
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings 24 cupcakes
Chelsea Lords
Calories 328kcal

Ingredients

Cupcakes

  • 3 large eggs
  • 3/4 cup full-fat sour cream
  • 3/4 cup canola oil
  • 1 and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon almond extract, optional
  • 1 box (15.25 ounces) yellow cake mix, recommended: Betty Crocker Super Moist Yellow Cake Mix (or your preferred brand)
  • 1 package (3.4 ounces) vanilla pudding mix, dry (do not prepare)
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk
  • 1 cup miniature chocolate chips

Frosting (See Note 1)

  • 1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
  • 4 ounces full-fat cream cheese. softened to room temperature
  • 2 and 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/16 teaspoon (tiny pinch) fine sea salt
  • 1-2 tablespoons heavy cream
  • 1/2 cup chocolate chip cookie crumbs, plus more for garnish if desired

Instructions

  • PREP: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line two cupcake pans with liners (24 liners total). Set aside.
  • CUPCAKE BATTER: In a large bowl, whisk the eggs with a fork. Add the sour cream, canola oil, vanilla extract, and almond extract (if using). Stir until completely combined. Add the cake mix and pudding mix to the bowl. Stir until mostly combined (streaks of cake mix will still be there). Pour in the buttermilk and mix until the batter is fully combined and smooth. Don't overmix. With a spatula, fold in the chocolate chips.
  • BAKE: Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full (batter should yield 24 cupcakes). Bake for 18-23 minutes or until a tooth pick comes out clean or with moist crumbs when inserted in the middle of a cupcake. Remove from the oven and allow to completely cool before frosting.
  • FROSTING: In a large bowl (or stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment), beat together the butter and cream cheese. Add the powdered sugar, a cup at a time, until smooth and creamy. Beat in the vanilla extract and salt. Slowly add the heavy cream to reach desired consistency. With a spatula, fold in about 1/2 cup of chocolate chip cookie crumbs.
  • DECORATE: Frost cupcakes with a table knife and top with additional cookie crumbs if desired.

Recipe Notes

Note 1: Frosting yield: We've found the amount of frosting in the recipe is perfect for 24 cupcakes, but if you like a lot of frosting, you may want to double the frosting amounts.

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 24cupcakes | Calories: 328kcal | Carbohydrates: 38.7g | Protein: 2.9g | Fat: 18.8g | Cholesterol: 43.3mg | Sodium: 219.8mg | Fiber: 0.7g | Sugar: 30.2g

We do our best to provide accurate nutritional analysis for our recipes. Our nutritional data is calculated using a third-party algorithm and may vary, based on individual cooking styles, measurements, and ingredient sizes. Please use this information for comparison purposes and consult a health professional for nutrition guidance as needed.

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14 Comments

  1. These cupcakes are too cute, Emily and Chelsea! Chocolate chip cookies are a favorite but in cupcake form they sound simply irresistible! Love the cookie crumble topping too!

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