The cookies are IN the cupcakes?!?!

Sometimes, one's baking plans are foiled. The other day, I had planned to make whoopie pies - a task which had previously intimidated me. With the help of my beloved stand mixer, the cookie-pies were no longer daunting. Unfortunately, a turn of events involving the Evil Cold Virus transpired, barring me from the parental home and lodgings of Kitchie. I considered proceeding with the whoopie pies sans electronics, but assessed that they would be less than superior. I remembered that I had a box of yellow cake mix, and figured I might as well put it to good use. A google search of "yellow box cake mix" yielded a number of grotesque-sounding trashy-centric dishes. I decided to go with the trashiest:

Chocolate Cookie Dough + Cupcakes

from allrecipes.com (the app)

Cookie dough balls

- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup softened butter
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 2 tsp vanilla extract (yes, this is what the recipe called for - magic!)
- chocolate chips - 1 cup ish

Cake surroundings
- 1 box yellow cake mix
- 1 1/3 cup water
- 1/3 cup canola oil
- 3 eggs

Frosting
Purchase your choice of canned, pre-made frosting (or, in my case, the only frosting within a mile radius of your home).

First, make the cookie balls. Cream butter and sugar. Add the egg and vanilla. Beat until well combined. Add the flour, b.s. and salt. Mix in the choc chips. Shape the dough into balls and place on a cookie sheet. Freeze for about 1-2 hours - this helps the dough balls maintain their dough ball shape. Make 24 balls total.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Fill a cupcake tin with cupcake liners.

Mix all the cake ingredients until just combined. Scoop the batter into the cupcake liners until about 2/3 full. Place a frozen cookie dough ball on top of each cupcake. Note: the recipe said you would have 24 cupcakes - I only ended up with 21, but that just meant bigger cakes and extra cookie dough.
 
Bake the cupcakes for about 20 minutes - the dough will still be raw.  Let the cupcakes cool. Note: I first tried them unfrosted and, unsurprisingly, found them tasty but sub-par. When I finally tracked down some Betty Crocker dark chocolate frosting, the cupcakes were elevated to a level of uber-sweet toxicity. The good kind.