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Sunday, August 17, 2008

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes and GIVEAWAY!

This week's Cupcake of the Week did not go off without a hitch. Fortunately, though, things eventually panned out. The idea was to bake a ball of cookie dough right into the center of a cupcake. I elaborated on the chocolate chip theme and decided to add chocolate chips in to the cupcake batter, and also to sprinkle some on the frosting for decoration. The issues began there. I thought mini chocolate chips would look and taste better in cupcakes than the regular sized chocolate chips, which might overwhelming the taste of the cookie dough ball. First, I drove back and forth between 2 stores several times to get Mini Chocolate Chips. After finally finding them and bringing them home, I found out upon cutting open the bag that someone had mistakenly put a bag of regular chocolate chips in the mini chocolate chips section. ::sigh:: Oh well, I decided to go with it anyway. First, while the butter was softening, I took some frozen prepared Chocolate Chip Cookie dough that I made a few weeks ago out of the freezer to thaw a bit, until it was soft enough to roll into little ballies, then popped 'em back in the freezer.

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Then I set off to make the cupcake batter. Usually for the Cupcakes of the Week, I make 1/4 of a batch, so I only get about 8 cupcakes. This week, Daniel requested I make a slightly larger batch of the beauties so he could bring some to work. So, I prepared a half batch of my favorite vanilla cupcakes. The only difference was that I added 1/2 C of semisweet chocolate chips to the batter. After spooning the batter into 15 non-stick sprayed cupcake wells until they were about 2/3 full, I plopped a little frozen cookie dough ball right on top, and then stuck them in the oven.

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Results?

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Look cute! But upon removal from the pans.... well...

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Slightly less than perfect results I'd say.

Of course. Figures. The one time I make more cupcakes than usual, its a total disaster. The problem? It was the chocolate chips. I never really use cupcake liners for the cupcakes of the week, because I like people to be able to see the cake. But in this case, some of the chips sank to the bottom and, in effect, glued my cupcakes to the liner.

Oh well, you live you learn. ROUND TWO: After seeing the broken remains of the cupcakes in the bowl, I decided it looked like too much chocolate, and that it might taken away from the beautiful ooey gooey ball of cookie dough hidden inside. So, this time, I omitted the chocolate chips in the batter altogether. And though there were no chocolate chips in the mix this time, I still decided to use cupcake liners... just to not tempt the wrath of the cupcake baking gods. Luckily, I made extra balls of frozen cookie dough.

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The results this time?

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Cupcake perfection!! Successo! I used my favorite vanilla buttercream frosting recipe, and garnished with some Nestle Crunch Marble Mix-Ins, which kinda taste like crunchy chocolate cookie bits.

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You can even see the little ball of cookie dough!!

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Mm, bellissima.

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** NOTE: THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED.  Thank you for your entries! **

Oh right. Now for the GIVEAWAY!!!! I suppose its not so much as a giveaway as it is a contest, because I'm asking something from you. I'm asking you to solve my problem. You see, I need a very cost effective way to package single cupcakes for sale. I need it to be extremely affordable, as I only sell my cupcakes for a very small price... if I have to spend 40 cents per package, I'll barely break even. These are for sale in a small store, so the packaging method needs to be done at a moment's notice, and needs to be presentable. I also need it to effectively hold the cupcake to protect its perfectly piped frosting from squishing. In addition, it needs to be easy to use - easy to get the cupcake in, and easy to get the cupcake out without destroying it. I have tried using chinese food take out containers like these, but found that its nearly impossible to fit your hand/fingers in there to get it out without ruining the frosting. Even putting the cupcake in seemed to be a problem as it kind of needed to just be dropped in - sometimes resulting in a tipped, and as a result, destroyed cupcake. Also, it is important that the solution does not involve me buying 5,000,000 pieces. Many places offer packaging, but they have a minimum order of a million pieces. And lastly, it needs to be close-able, and have some sort of lid or way to cover it. And
So there it is! You need to come up with an idea and solve my Cupcake Packaging Problem.
Requirements:
1.) Be very very cheap (I'm talking no more than 20 cents a piece, but ideally, they'd be even less)
2.) Effectively protects the frosting from utter destruction
3.) Easy to get the cupcake in and out
4.) No large quantities required for purchase
5.) Be close-able
6.) Be an effective way to package cupcakes for sale, and make them take-home-able
7.) EDIT - To clarify, this packaging method is for store bought cupcakes. I sell them at a small store, and need a way to package them quickly, effectively and presentably.


Thats it! You can post your idea here in the comments, or you can email it to me at Stephanie.Jordan@gmail.com. I'll announce the winner when someone puts an amazing idea up here!!

What do you win?

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Cupcake Gift Package
Contents Include:
(1) 6.4 oz Betty Crocker Easy Flow Decorating Icing in Red
(2) Signature Brands Marble Mix-Ins: 1 in Nestle Rainbow Chips and 1 in Nestle Butterfinger Crunch
(1) 7.8 oz Betty Crocker Praline Crunch Topping
(3) 2.3 oz Betty Crocker Decorating Decors Flavored Sugars: 1 blue raspberry, 1 watermelon, 1 green apple
(1) small black and white decoratively shaped sprinkles
(1) 12 pack of Cake Mate Cupcake Picks, 6 balloon and 6 Let's Party
(1) 8 pack Cake Make Squiggle Candles
(1) Disney Picture Perfect Cake Topper
(1) Pack of 4 Betty Crocker Easy Writer Food Decorator Pens
(1) 6 oz Betty Crocker Hollyberry Decor Sprinkles
And maybe a few surprises

Good luck!!!

23 comments:

Holly said...

Wow, this was harder than I thought. When I've had to transport a cucpake somewhere (and I'm too cheap to buy one of the holders) I've used a styrofoam cup w/a lid. If you put the cupcake on the lid and then place the cup over it, it's easy to get in and out without disturbing the frosting. Plastic cups/lids would look a little nicer though.. http://www.wesellcoffee.com/page27.html

They seem pretty affordable... hopw this helps

Mad Scientist Society said...

I would say, for extreme cheapness, stick a toothpick (or cutup pieces of wooden kabob sticks) in the center of the cupcake, then wrap with cellophane. The protruding sticks will keep the plastic from sticking to the frosting.

Pam said...

Sam's Club - Hefty® Hinged Lid Containers 6 x 6 x 3 in.- 250 @ $13.08 or $.05232 each
cthttp://www.samsclub.com/shopping/navigate.do?dest=5&item=189806&pCatg=1724

http://www.wesellcoffee.com/page70.html - the 5.5"x5.5"x4" CAKE BOX @ $40.00 per case of 250 comes out to 16 cents per box.

Even better - the 6-CAVITY (HIGH DOME) CUP CAKE CONTAINER @ $0.29 each if you wanted to sell by the half dozen.

Next best prices I have found is at http://www.brpboxshop.com/index_all_bakery_boxes_with_images.html
with several 4 X 4 X 4 inch boxes. The 1411 - 4" x 4" x 4" White/Brown Without Window One Piece Lock & Tab Box With Lid is $25.12 per 100 boxes.

Rachel said...

I'd use these:
http://usbox.com/creative-food/takeout/single_cupcake_box___insert.html

The white ones are about 29 cents each.

Shannon Burns said...

OK my ideas were stolen! LOL What about a Chinese take-out box?

A said...

um, right now I haven't thought of a shipping method, but on my 5 hour drive to gainesville, i'll take a gander.

P.S. the pistacho cake is here:
http://www.dessertexperiments.blogspot.com that's my blog and how it turned out! it was do good with the chocolate~!

My Sweet & Saucy said...

Wow, was a fun idea! Love looking at the photos!

Anonymous said...

Nice way to explain using pics... thanks

lauren said...

my boyfriend works at a cupcakerie (lucky me!), and whenever he bikes home with treats, he'll usually just plop a cupcake into a paper cup. perfect size, doesn't jostle (even in his backpack, even on a bike). then you just have to cut (or peel back) the seam of the cup, and voila. perfect single use cupcake holder.

occasionally he'll saran wrap the top, but i've found it not necessary. it works even better with frozen cupcakes, but just as good for fresh.

good luck!

pietra said...

Yum! These little beauties look great! Love the cookie dough idea.

I say bake the cupcake in a ediable cup of some sort, like a chocolate cup or a up-scale ice cream cone.

bookworm said...

I think if you put individual cupcakes in larger strofoam cups and stabilize on the sides with tootpicks, that should work well. You can cover with plastic wrap and even secure that with the same toothpicks. I know it's not a very 'green' choice, but to be cost effective, I can't think of anything else.

Good luck with this project!

bookworm said...

I think if you put individual cupcakes in larger strofoam cups and stabilize on the sides with tootpicks, that should work well. You can cover with plastic wrap and even secure that with the same toothpicks. I know it's not a very 'green' choice, but to be cost effective, I can't think of anything else.

Good luck with this project!

Sioux said...

I would try something like these

http://www.gelatomarket.com/p-71-white-paper-cup-lid-6-oz.aspx

the tough part is getting cupcakes into it, but I think I'd get a large gauge paper punch and put finger holes in the sides so you could guide it into the cup from the sides, pop on the lid and go. With some searching, I am sure you could find smaller quantity requirements out there someplace.
I don't have the time to look...

Good Luck!

Deborah said...

I don't have any great ideas, although it sounds like you've got some already! But these cupcakes are too cute! What a great idea!

Cathy - wheresmydamnanswer said...

Chinese to go boxes or a variation of them - They are great and have been used for so many things why not cupcakes!!

The recipe is amazing and you are marrying 2 great friends!! I will have to make this one for sure. Mine will not look near as good as yours ;)
Good luck.

Christine said...

These sound delicious!

Julia from Dozen Flours said...

Great post!! I love all your photos and the cupcakes look delishy!

How about using an egg carton? You could fill it with a dozen small cupcakes and just make sure not to frost it too high. Alternatively you could just package the frosting separately in a zip lock bag with instructions on how to cut off the corner and pipe it out.

Great post!

Anonymous said...

Last year my daughter wanted to make cupcakes for her class for Christmas and since there are only 12 kids in her class, we went all out. We made our own cupcake boxes from cardstock. We found a template online (but you could figure out on your own, very easy) and after we cut them out, she personalized them and put stickers on them. Then we cut pieces of cardstock and attached to the inside of the bottom of the box to "hug" the cupcake so it wouldn't topple over. They were time consuming, but very cute and very cheap! And if you go to a craft or scrapbook store for paper, the possibilities are endless! Good luck!

Jo Anne said...

We made cupcakes for a bake sale and put them in clear plastic treat bags and tied them with curling ribbon. Very cute and stood up ell.

learningmyself said...

I saw a cute idea on Pinterest...use the 9 oz hard plastic cups w/cellophane and a ribbon...theylook adorable!!!! That has to be pretty inexpensive. I am making cupcakes for my son's wedding/rehearsal dinner and I plan to do this as a pretty display.. love your cookie dough recipe!!!
Amy

Justice Montgomery said...

Chinese takeout box was my first thought too. The first place that I found that popped up in google search was for 1 1/2 pint boxes, 50 boxes for 7.95. That is 16c each, which is fairly reasonable and the more you order the less you pay.

brenda j said...

I use the clear plastic solo cups that are rounder I think its the ones used for punch and I get them at the dollar tree and I found 2 things for a cover, one most large lids fit on it and 2nd a piece of cellophane or tissue paper and then tie with a rubber band, or twistier or pretty ribbon and that is so super super cheap and extremely cute. Everyone loves them and if you wanted to eventually you could put tags on them saying chocolate or vanilla etc. Brendajarmusz69@yahoo.com if you need or want to talk to me for a pic or more info. I'm a Baker and decorator with my out of the home buisness and I like to have pretty stuff but I'm on a major major budget so I know what you mean and I'm just starting out for bigger orders and like I said everyone loves my one cup of cupcake happiness. Lol my name is Brenda. I love your pics and recipes. Thank you

brenda j said...

This would be so awesome to win, I'm 43years old and been married 25 years and have 3 grown kids all are married and grandkids that love to bake with me but I have never won anything in my life lol God Bless!!

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