Cody turns 8!

Saturday was Cody's 8th Birthday.  In the morning he went to a hot rod breakfast with Keith, Grandpa and Uncle Tim.  Then we had a small party at Monster Mini Golf with a couple of his friends, followed by a family dinner later that evening.  He had a great day and has a lot of cool new loot to show for growing another year older!

Monsters were the theme for the year, so we made monster bookmarks for everyone.

Monster Juice bottles and oranges...

and monster cupcakes.  

The kids started out by playing some games...

 Then some snacks...

 We opened a few presents and ate some chocolate chip cookie dough cupcakes!

 The green was Really green!

 Then it was finally time for some black light, golfing fun!

 Cody and his buddies.

 A happy boy that finally has the RipStik he's been dreaming of!

 Ahhhh....

Big thank you to everyone who helped us celebrate!

I found the recipe for the cupcakes on Pinterest, from here: 

http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/2011/02/chocolate-chip-cookie-dough-cupcakes.html

Here's the recipe:

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes

Source: Annie's Eats

Ingredients:

For the cupcakes:
3 sticks unsalted butter (1 1/2 cups), at room temperature
1½ cups light brown sugar
4 large eggs
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

For the filling:
4 Tablespoons (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
6 Tablespoons light brown sugar
1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
7 ounces sweetened condensed milk
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup mini semisweet chocolate chips

For the frosting:
3 sticks unsalted butter (1 1/2 cups), at room temperature
¾ cup light brown sugar, packed
3½ cups confectioners’ sugar (powdered sugar)
1 cup all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon salt
3 Tablespoons milk
2½ teaspoons vanilla extract

For decoration:
Mini chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350° degrees. Line cupckae pan with 24 liners.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter and brown sugar. Beat together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Stir together to blend. Add the dry ingredients to the mixer bowl on low speed, alternating with the milk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients, mixing each addition just until incorporated. Blend in the vanilla. Fold in the chocolate chips with a spatula.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cupcake liners. Bake for 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the cookie dough filling, combine the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and cream on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the flour, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla until incorporated and smooth. Stir in the chocolate chips. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until the mixture has firmed up a bit, about a half hour.

To fill the cupcakes, cut a cone-shaped portion out of the center of each cupcake. I found this a little tricky to get the hole out but then you get to eat what you take out! Fill each hole with a chunk of the chilled cookie dough mixture.

To make the frosting, beat together the butter and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until creamy. Mix in the confectioners’ sugar until smooth. Beat in the flour and salt. Mix in the milk and vanilla extract until smooth and well blended.

Frost the filled cupcakes as desired and sprinkle with mini-chocolate chips. My husband thinks they are best served chilled. I think they are way better at room temperature where the frosting just melts in your mouth.