Chocolate Lava Chocolate Chip Cookie Cups

Chocolate Chip Cookie Cups — These cookie cups are made in one bowl, you don’t need a mixer, you don’t have to chill the dough, and because they’re baked in a muffin pan you don’t have to worry about spreading!

The Best Cookie Cups

These chocolate chip cookie cups have it all.

The dough is made with browned butter, studded with mini chocolate chips, and the centers are stuffed with melted chocolate lava. Yes please.

The cookie cups are made in one bowl, you don’t need a mixer, you don’t have to chill the dough, and because they’re baked in a muffin pan you don’t have to worry about spreading like you do with cookies baked on a baking sheet.

They’re soft, slightly chewy, buttery, and just melt in your mouth. The nutty, rich flavor of the browned butter elevates them to another realm. I don’t know why I ever make cookies without it.

What’s in the Chocolate Chip Cookie Cups?

To make the lava cookie cups, you’ll need:

• Unsalted butter
• Egg
• Light brown sugar
• Granulated sugar
• Vanilla extract
• All-purpose flour
• Cornstarch
• Baking soda
• Salt
• Chocolate chips

How to Make Cookie Cups

First, you’ll need to brown the butter. It’s incredibly simple to do, but you’ll need to watch it like a hawk as butter can go from being perfectly browned to burnt in about 2 seconds.

Once the butter has been browned, the cookie dough comes together like your typical cookie recipe.

Use a 1/4-cup scoop to portion the dough into 10 balls, then gently press into a greased muffin pan. Bake the chocolate chip cookie cups until the edges have set and the tops are just set, even if slightly undercooked, pale, and glossy in the center.

Using the bottom of a shot glass, lightly press down in the center of each cookie cup going about 1/2-inch to 3/4-inch deep to create a well where the chocolate lava will be added later.

The chocolate lava is a mixture of butter and melted chocolate. Distribute it among the cookie cups and dig in!

Tips for Making Lava Cookie Cups

Because the butter is browned and melted rather than creamed, the dough may seem oily yet crumbly. Sounds paradoxical but it’s possible. The chocolate chips may want to slip out of the dough but smoosh them in as best as you can.

Just get a load of that chocolate lava! Rich, indulgent, and so good. It sets up at room temp. If you prefer lava that stays in the soft and melty consistency, try this chocolate ganache which is made with cream rather than butter.

If you love salty-sweet desserts, sprinkle a pinch of sea salt over the cookie cups after you’ve added the chocolate lava.

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4 from 1 vote

Chocolate Lava Chocolate Chip Cookie Cups

By Averie Sunshine

The dough is made with browned butter, studded with mini chocolate chips, and the centers are stuffed with melted chocolate lava. The cookie cups are made in one bowl, you don’t need a mixer, you don’t have to chill the dough, and because they’re baked in a muffin pan you don’t have to worry about spreading. They’re soft, slightly chewy, buttery, and just melt in your mouth. The nutty, rich flavor of the browned butter elevates them to another realm. The dough may seem oily yet crumbly and the chocolate chips may want to slip out of the dough but smoosh them in as best you can. The lava sets up at room temp.

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 13 minutes minutes

Additional Time: 22 minutes minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes minutes

Servings: 10 cookie cups

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Ingredients  

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Cookie Cups

• ▢ ½ cup unsalted butter, browned
• ▢ 1 large egg
• ▢ ¾ cup light brown sugar, packed
• ▢ ¼ cup granulated sugar
• ▢ 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ▢ 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• ▢ 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• ▢ 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
• ▢ ½ cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Chocolate Lava

• ▢ 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• ▢ 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

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Instructions 

• Preheat oven to 350F and liberally spray a 12-count standard-sized muffin pan generously with cooking spray; set aside.
• Cookie Cups – Brown the butter (click for a detailed tutorial) by cooking butter over medium heat in a medium saucepan until it’s amber to brown in color, about 5 minutes depending on pan size. I swirl the pan in the last minute or so to make sure I can really see the color changes. Butter will go through stages of hissing, sputtering, and making noise until the water cooks off at which point the browning occurs. Butter will smell nutty and aromatic.
• Pour butter into a large mixing bowl, making sure to scrape the bottom of the saucepan with a spatula and transfer any browned bits (they have wonderful flavor) from the bottom of pan into the mixing bowl. Wait momentarily before adding the egg so you don’t scramble it.
• Add the egg, sugars, vanilla, and whisk to combine.
• Add flour, cornstarch (keeps cookies soft) baking soda, salt, and stir to combine. Dough may seem crumbly yet oily, this is okay.
• Add the mini chocolate chips and stir to combine.
• Using a large cookie scoop, 1/4-cup measure, or your hands, form approximately 10 equal-sized mounds of dough, roll into balls, and place one mound of dough in each cavity in muffin pan; it’s okay if it doesn’t touch the sides because it will spread in the oven.
• Bake for about 11 to 13 minutes, or until edges have set and tops are just set, even if slightly undercooked, pale, and glossy in the center; don’t overbake. Cookie cups firm up as they cool.
• Using the bottom of a shot glass, lightly press down in the center of each cookie cup going about 1/2-inch to 3/4-inch deep to create a well where the chocolate lava will be added later. Tip – If your shot glass is sticking to the cookie cups, spray it with cooking spray as necessary. Set pan aside while you make the chocolate lava.
• Chocolate Lava – To a medium microwave-safe bowl, add the chocolate chips, butter, and heat on high power to melt, about 45 seconds. Heat in additional 15-second bursts as necessary until chocolate can be stirred smooth. (Note – The lava made this way sets up at room temp. If you prefer it to stay soft and melty make this chocolate ganache which is made with cream rather than butter.)
• Using a small spoon, add about 1 rounded teaspoon of chocolate to each cookie cup. Depending on how deep you went with the shot glass, you may need to melt additional chocolate chips in order to fill each cup up completely.
• Allow cookie cups to remain in pan for about 15 minutes before removing and serving. Cookie cups will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 5 days.
• Cookie cup dough adapted from Turtles Candies Chocolate Chip Cookies

Nutrition

Serving: 1, Calories: 379kcal, Carbohydrates: 50g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 20g, Saturated Fat: 12g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g, Cholesterol: 49mg, Sodium: 248mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 33g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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