Yellow Cupcakes Two Ways

There are few things that bring me greater happiness than spending an afternoon baking. This weekend I made two half-batches of cupcakes (one for dinner at our friends' place Fri night, and the other for dinner Sat night at our house with friends).  And I must say - these cupcakes were two of the best I have ever had and made. 
The first one was yellow cupcakes with Milky Way Frosting.  Yum.  There are actual melted milky way bars in the frosting.  Need I say more??

I just used a box of yellow cake mix and made 3 minor changes: milk instead of water, 2 eggs instead of 3, and 1/2 cup melted butter instead of the oil.  Oh, and I added a handful of chocolate chips on the top. 

  Yes there is one missing because I had to try it while it was hot. :)

Don't you love "licking the bowl"? 
 

 
Serve with extra frosting on the side.
 

 
Avery tends to go to bed pretty early, so when we go to friends' houses for dinner, we bring our pack and play and put her to bed there and (obviously) wake her up before we come home.  This time, however, Avery decided she'd take a 20 min snooze in the car on the way there (I usu sit back there to distract her and keep her awake, but not this time - learned my lesson!) and NOT fall asleep at her "bedtime," so she just hung out with us at dinner.  Wanted to join the party.  I'm learning to relax about these things. :) 
 

 
Okay, back to the cupcakes.  Second one:
 
Remember my chocolate chip cookie recipe?  Well, first step: make those.  Freeze for at least 2 hours.  Messy freezer!!
 

 
Fill muffin cups half full with yellow cake mix. (I put the cake mix in a big ziplock bag then squirt it in... come to think, I could do a whole post on how often I use ziplock bags!!!!  I use them for EVERYthing.)
 

 
PUT FROZEN COOKIE DOUGH BALL ON TOP OF CAKE MIX.  Yes, you read that correctly.

 
 

Bake JUST until done.  Do not overbake!
 
Frost with chocolate buttercream frosting (approx measurements: 1/2 stick butter, 2 cups powdered sugar, 1/2 cup cocoa, 1 tsp vanilla, 2-3 T cream).  Please do me a favor and do not use store bought chocolate frosting.  I love the vanilla, but chocolate is gross.  :) 
 
 

 
Anyway - I'm tempted to call these "Better Than Anything Cupcakes," but for now we will call them "Cookie Dough Cupcakes." 
 

 
See original recipe here. 
 
Mmm.... what a good weekend. :)