Bake-Along #38: Milk & Cookie Cups for Santa

A new treat for Santa and the perfect recipe to get your kids baking with you! For tips and to bake-along live, just follow along with the video.

Prep: 20 minutes

Chill: 15 minutes

Bake: 12-15 minutes

Assembly: 10 minutes

Milk & Cookie Cup Ingredients

(Yield: 18-24 mini cookie cups)

Chocolate Chip Cookie Cups:

1/2 cup unsalted butter

2 T granulated sugar

1/2 cup + 2 T brown sugar*

1 cup + 2 T all-purpose flour

1/2 t salt

1/2 t baking soda

1 egg

1 T heavy whipping cream

3/4 t vanilla extract

3/4 cup mini chocolate chips

Russian Buttercream:

1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk

1 cup unsalted butter (room temp)**

2 t vanilla extract

Salt to taste

Toppings:

Mini chocolate chips

Red sprinkles

Tools:

Mini cupcake pan (can do these as large cups)

Piping bag or sandwich bag

Cookie scoop or spoons

Stand mixer with whisk attachment or hand mixer

1. Brown butter in saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the butter has melted. You'll see it bubble and then foam -- if you look closely you'll see the little white milk solids on the bottom of the pan. Keep stirring and eventually those milk solids will brown and the aroma will be sweet and nutty.

2. While the butter browns you can combine your dry ingredients in a bowl and whisk together. You can also combine your egg, cream, and vanilla extract in a separate container.

3. Pour your butter into a bowl and allow to cool for ten minutes (check out my brown butter at the 4:23 mark).

4. Add your sugars to the butter and beat with whisk until lighter in color and well combined.

5. Add in your egg, cream, and vanilla extract and beat for 30 seconds until combined.

6. All the mixture to rest for 3 minutes.

7. Whisk again for 30 seconds and allow to rest one more set of 3 minutes. You'll notice the batter is thicker. You can see this process at the 5:54 mark.

8. Next stir in your dry ingredients (if you flour is lumpy feel free to sift it in).

9. Gently mix in your mini chocolate chips. Cover the cookie dough and put in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.

10. Pre-heat your oven to 350°F and lightly grease your mini muffin tin.

11. After resting your dough, evenly scoop the dough into the mini muffin tin. Using a cookie scoop can help with this part and keep things even.

12. Press down just a little bit on the top of each cookie dough ball and then bake for 12-15 minutes, turning the pan once in the middle. Your cookie cups will be brown around the edges and just barely set in the center (it shouldn't be shiny and will be just lightly browned). Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes.

13. Take the end of a wooden spoon and gently create a hole in the middle of each cookie cup. You can watch this process at the 14:24 mark. All the cookie cups to cool for another 10 minutes.

14. Meanwhile make the buttercream: whip the butter for 6-8 minutes until it is light and pale.

15. Add the sweetened condensed milk in 3 or 4 inclusions, just until combined after the last inclusion. You can see the entire buttercream process beginning at the 11:36 mark.

16. Stir in the vanilla extract and salt by hand.

17. Load the buttercream into a piping bag or sandwich bag.

18. Gently run an off-set spatula or knife around the edge of each cookie cup and ease them out of their tins. To see this, head to the 16:02 mark.

19. Make sure the cookie cups are fully cooled before adding the buttercream

20. Pipe (or scoop!) the buttercream into each cookie cup and top with sprinkles.

21. Eat immediately because who could possibly wait... but they also keep wonderfully wrapped in the fridge! You can allow them to come up to room temperature before indulging, but their brilliant cold as well.

22. Merry Christmas!

Notes:

• *Can use light or dark brown sugar!

• **Pull your butter out hours in advance (I recommend overnight!)

• If you're curious about the size of the hole in each cookie cup, I got a little up close and personal at the 16:28 mark.