This recipe for Tagalong Cupcakes is inspired by the classic Girl Scout cookie. Chocolate cake is topped with creamy peanut butter frosting with a Tagalong cookie as an edible topper.
It’s Girl Scout cookie time! Do you have a favorite? I’m a Tagalongs and Samoas girl, through-and-through.
Last week when I was leaving my local home improvement store, I was suddenly surrounded by some uniformed, and very official-looking cookie sellers.
“Do you want to buy some cookies?” Never one to pass up Girl Scout cookies, of course I did! When I said, “YES!” the girls did fist bumps and an end zone-style dance in the parking lot that kind of made my whole week. I smile just thinking about it.
So, I left with two boxes each of Tagalongs and Samoas, with the idea that one of them would inspire another sweet treat. The new giant jar of peanut butter in my cupboard sealed the deal for Tagalongs-inspired cupcakes.
Creaming the mixture
Begin the cake portion by creaming the butter with brown sugar. Then adding the eggs one at a time. The batter is easy enough to manage using a hand mixer. (Although I wish I had used a deeper bowl – I had a few splatters!)
Add dark unsweetened cocoa powder, and be sure to sift it first! It tends to clump. Pour in a splash of vanilla extract, also, then mix it all up.
Alternate mixing the flour and sour cream into the butter mixture. Begin and end with the flour. Mix each in until just combined.
Beat the batter until light and fluffy, then pour in the brewed coffee. Mix until well combined.
These cakes won’t crown much either, so don’t get worried if they look flat on top. This is normal. The cakes are ultra soft and tender, so it’s important to let them cool completely before unwrapping them. Otherwise they’ll stick to the liners. However, they peel away from the liners perfectly when cool.
You may recognize the cake part of this recipe. It’s from these Triple Chocolate Devil’s Food Cake Cupcakes I made back in 2017. They are equally delicious topped with peanut butter buttercream!
Creamy peanut butter buttercream.
Pipe the peanut butter frosting on top of each cake. Essentially you’ll need just three ingredients: creamy peanut butter, salted butter, and confectioners’ sugar. I recommend frosting these cake with just 2-3 tablespoons of frosting. This is rich stuff!
Unbox the Tagalongs while resisting the urge to eat 1 or 6, and top each frosted cupcake with a cookie.
Chocolate sprinkles are optional (or are they?). But I think they look even more delicious with them. Use real chocolate sprinkles such as DeRuijter brand and you won’t be sorry.
Tagalong cookies make a perfectly delicious little hat for these cupcakes. This is a must-make for chocolate-peanut butter lovers!
Talk about rich and decadent! These, without a doubt, will satisfy any chocolate-peanut butter craving. Be sure to check out the video I made if you have questions about the batter mixing technique. It’s easy and creates the most velvety textured chocolate cake.
Tagalong Cupcakes (Chocolate-Peanut Butter Cookie Cupcakes)
Equipment
- Cupcake pans (2)
- disposable pastry bag
- Large 1” round open piping tip, optional
Ingredients
Chocolate cupcakes
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 1/2 cups light brown sugar packed
- 2 eggs at room temperature
- 6 tablespoons unsweet dark cocoa powder sifted
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2/3 cup sour cream room temperature
- 3/4 cup hot coffee
Peanut butter buttercream
- 1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter at room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups salted butter (or unsalted, see notes) at room temperature
- 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 24 Tagalongs Girl Scouts cookies
- 1/3 cup chocolate sprinkles such as DeRuijeter real dark chocolate sprinkles
Instructions
Chocolate cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two cupcake tins with paper liners.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter in a large bowl until creamy. Add the sugar; mix well. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Mix until lightened in color. Add the cocoa, baking soda, vanilla extract and salt; beat well to combine.
- Beat in the flour in 3 additions alternately with the sour cream, begin and end with flour.
- Add the hot coffee at the end and mix until a smooth batter forms. Using a trigger ice cream scoop, portion the batter into the prepared pans.
- Bake the cupcakes for 17-22 minutes, or until a toothpick tester comes out clean, or with a few damp crumbs clinging to it. These cupcakes do not bake with a crown; they should be flat on top. These cakes are very tender when warm, so let them cool in the pans 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Peanut butter frosting
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the peanut butter and butter. Beat until creamy and well incorporated. Add the confectioners’ sugar and beat until thick and slightly lightened in color. If your frosting seems thick, you can add milk or cream 1 tablespoon at a time until it loosens. (I did not have to do this, but powdered sugar brands vary in cornstarch content, which can make a difference.)
- Transfer the frosting to a large disposable piping bag fitted with a 1” round piping tip (alternatively just snip 1” hole in the end of a pastry bag). Pipe about 2 tablespoons worth of frosting in a mound on top of each cupcake. Top each cake with a Tagalong cookie. Pour chocolate sprinkles into a shallow dish and gently roll the edges of the cupcake in the sprinkles. You could also just sprinkle them over the cakes, if you prefer.
- Enjoy one right away, then make people happy by sharing!
