This recipe primarily came about because I was craving cookie dough ice cream, and I happened to still have a jar of Speculoos cookie butter lying around. So I figured, why not make a cupcake that was chocolate chip cookie-flavored? I would make a cake with brown sugar, brown butter, and chocolate chips, just to already taste like a cookie, and I could also make a buttercream using the Speculoos. And for extra measure, top it off with a brown sugar shortbread, studded with chocolate chips, just to echo the chocolate chip-inspiration in a fun new way. The choice to use the shortbread came from a recipe I wrote in college, which was just normal shortbread cookies with chocolate chips in them. The end result was a buttery cookie with a fun crunch from the chocolate. Using the brown sugar allows the shortbreads to have a more classic chocolate chip flavor and crispiness to them, while still having the butteriness that makes them a shortbread! Truthfully, I have not made an actual cupcake in quite some time. I used to bake them all the time in high school, but because of how painfully cringe I was during that period of my life, I usually try to blur it all out, cupcake-baking obsession included. That being said, these cupcakes are pretty tasty.

This recipe uses up a lot of egg whites. Which is good, because a lot of my recipes use a lot of egg yolks, so it balances out that way. You need 2 for the Swiss meringue buttercream, and another 2 for the cake. I went with a Swiss meringue buttercream just because it lightens up the cake, which could get weighed down by the usage of the cookie butter. The usage of whipped egg whites in the cake batter was something I did with the cupcakes I baked back in high school – by whipping egg whites with baking soda, sugar, and vinegar, they become super light and fluffy, which in turn, makes the cake super light and fluffy. Since the inspiration is something buttery and decadent, I wanted to use as many techniques as possible that would help in lightening up the end product, just so you don’t feel like you ate something as rich. With these cakes, it is like biting into a chocolate chip cookie cloud, with the crunchiest chocolate chip cookie you’ll ever bite into on top, and a feathery-light Speculoos buttercream that just melts in your mouth.

Makes 12 cupcakes:
For the shortbread:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
4 tbsp unsalted butter, diced
1 egg yolk
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup chocolate chips

Mix together your ingredients to form a dough. Roll the dough into a 1-inch log and refrigerate for at least 10 minutes. Slice your log into 12 even disks. Place each disk 3 inches apart from one another on a lined baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes. Cool down before sticking on top of the cupcakes.

For the cupcakes:
2 egg whites
1/4 cup granulated sugar
a pinch of salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cider vinegar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, in two parts
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
3/4 cups dark brown sugar
4 tbsp unsalted butter, browned
4 tbsp canola oil
1 cup milk

In a bowl, whip together the egg whites with granulated sugar, salt, baking soda, vinegar, and vanilla until frothy and doubled in volume. In another bowl, combine one part of the flour with the chocolate chips. In another bowl, combine the remaining flour with the dark brown sugar. Mix all of your ingredients together to form your batter. Scoop and fill a 12-muffin tin with the batter, filling each cavity 2/3 the way full. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes. Cool down before unmolding.

For the buttercream:
2 egg whites
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
2 sticks unsalted butter
1/2 cup Speculoos or Biscoff
a pinch of salt

Over a double boiler, whip egg whites with sugar until frothy. Transfer to a stand mixer with a whisk attachment and whip until soft peaks form. Slowly add in your butter, then the cookie butter, and salt. Whisk until everything combines together into a smooth buttercream.

To assemble:
Pipe or spread the buttercream on top of the cupcakes. Top with the cooled down cookies to finish.