Update: The winner is commenter #184 – Carrie H! Her favorite cookbook is from the national chicken cooking competition in 1967, in which her grandmother represented the state of Indiana. How cool is that?!

Congrats Carrie! You should have an email from me, please reply with your mailing address so I can get your prize off to you.

Can we talk about cookbooks today? They make me so happy; there’s almost nothing I love more than sitting on the couch with a brand new cookbook, flipping through its pages, and exploring all of the recipes. As much as I’ve come to love reading books on my Nook, I can’t imagine ever giving up actual print copies of cookbooks – it just wouldn’t give me the same satisfaction to read them electronically!

What makes you buy a new cookbook? For me, there are two main criteria. First, pictures! I don’t need a picture of every single recipe, but at least more than half. It’s so much harder for me to get excited about the recipes without pictures, I’m definitely a visual person. But even more importantly, I need to feel a majority of the recipes are things we would actually make and eat. If only a handful of recipes in a cookbook interest me, it’s usually not coming home with me. That’s when I turn to the library instead 🙂

I have a lot of cookbooks, too many in fact – I ran out of places to store them years ago! Some sit on the shelves gathering dust, but many are in regular rotation here. The biggest thing that makes a cookbook a favorite for me is recipes that are reliable. I know that probably sounds dumb, but I’ve discovered that not all cookbooks are created equal. The cookbooks that consistently deliver good results are the ones I find myself reaching for over and over again!

Two that I am really enjoying these days are The Cookie Dough Lover’s Cookbook and Breakfast for Dinner. They’re both written by blogger Lindsay Landis of Love & Olive Oil (the second one in collaboration with her husband, Taylor!). The focus of each book is so unique and fun – I mean, what’s not to love about a whole book devoted to cookie dough creations, and I don’t know about you guys, but I’d eat breakfast for dinner three nights a week if I could! There are tons of photos in both books and of course, I’ve had great results with each and every recipe I’ve tried. They’re wonderful additions to my collection, and because I love them so much I thought it’d be fun to give away a copy of each of them to one of you! (And even if you don’t win, I highly recommend checking your library for these books. I can almost guarantee you’ll want to buy them after spending a few days with them!)

But first, let me tell you about these cupcakes from The Cookie Dough Lover’s Cookbook that I’ve been teasing you with throughout the post 🙂 I actually made these for the first time back on New Year’s Eve, and have baked them at least twice since – I figured it was time to finally tell you about them! So, here’s what we have: moist, tender chocolate cupcakes filled with an eggless cookie dough and topped with a sweet cookie dough buttercream. They’re ridiculously good, and easy too! They usually disappear so quickly here that I don’t think I’ve ever had a chance to share with our friends or family – oops 🙂

Ok, now on to the giveaway!

Details

The giveaway winner will receive the following:

– one copy of The Cookie Dough Lover’s Cookbook by Lindsay Landis
– one copy of Breakfast for Dinner by Lindsay Landis and Taylor Hackbarth

How To Enter

Leave a comment on this post answering the question: What’s your favorite cookbook, the one you find yourself reaching for over and over again?

You can receive one optional bonus entry by following me on Pinterest. You must leave a separate comment indicating you’ve done so. If you already follow, that counts too, just leave a comment letting me know.

Comments on this giveaway will close on Thursday, April 11, 2013 at 11:59 pm EST. A winner will be chosen using random.org and announced on this post. Please be sure to leave a valid email address so I can contact you. Prize must be claimed by the winner within 48 hours or an alternate winner will be selected. This giveaway is open to U.S. residents only. Good luck!

Disclaimer: I was not asked to review either of these cookbooks, and no one has compensated me to do so. I simply love them and want to share with you guys! This giveaway is sponsored by Tracey’s Culinary Adventures.

Cookie Dough-Stuffed Dark Chocolate Cupcakes
barely adapted from The Cookie Dough Lover’s Cookbook by Lindsay Landis

Cupcakes
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup whole milk, at room temperature
1/2 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs, at room temperature

Cookie Dough
1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup half-and-half
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup mini chocolate chips

Frosting
3/4 cup (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 cup of the cookie dough mixture

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a muffin pan with paper liners.

Sift the flour and cocoa powder together into a large bowl (I almost never sift, but find it’s the best way to deal with lumps in cocoa powder). Add the granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and whisk to combine. Add the milk, oil, vanilla and both eggs to the dry ingredients and whisk just until all of the ingredients are evenly incorporated. Divide the batter evenly among the wells of the prepared pan, filling each about 2/3-full.

Bake the cupcakes for about 20 minutes, or until they spring back when lightly pressed with your finger and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let the cupcakes cool for a few minutes, then remove them to the rack to cool completely.

Meanwhile, make the cookie dough: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat cream the butter and both sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in the half-and-half and the vanilla. With the mixer on low, add the flour and the salt and beat just until incorporated. Remove 1 cup of the cookie dough mixture and set aside to use in the frosting. Add the mini chocolate chips to the cookie dough left in the mixer bowl and stir to evenly distribute. (At this point, I remove the prepared cookie dough from the mixer bowl so I can use it to make the frosting – I don’t bother washing it out.)

To make the frosting: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Gradually add the confectioners’ sugar to the bowl, about 1/2 cup at a time, and continue beating until the mixture is smooth. Add the cookie dough mixture (the 1 cup you reserved before adding the chocolate chips) to the frosting and beat until the mixture is smooth and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

To assemble the cupcakes: Use a small paring knife to cut a cone-shaped piece from the center of each cupcake. Fill the hole with some of the cookie dough mixture, then replace the top portion of the cone (you’ll need to slice off the tip). Transfer the cookie dough frosting to a pastry bag fitted with a tip. Pipe frosting into a swirl on each cupcake. Garnish with additional mini chocolate chips, if desired.

Makes 12 cupcakes