The Muffin Tin Hack For Delicious Cookie Cups

Cookies in their usual form are absolutely delicious, but baking cookies into a cup shape is downright genius. Cookie cups open up a whole new world of dessert possibilities, and all you need to make them is a muffin tin.

The cool thing with this hack is that you are not going to have to mess with craftily molding a bowl shape out of thin air. You do not even need to roll out the dough. Just flip the muffin tin upside down. Then, grab your favorite store-bought dough, or make your own with bitter rye flour for chocolate chip cookies with complex flavor. Roll the dough into a ball that is roughly the same diameter as the bottom round of each muffin cup. Give the bottom of the pan a light spritz of non-stick spray. Then, use your fingers to evenly press the dough down and around the underside of the muffin shape. Be sure to only put cookie dough on every other spot so that they don't all fuse together once baked. 

Bake them until they reach your desired doneness. However, those on Team Ooey-Gooey should push it a little further because you don't want the cookies to be too soft to hold their shape. Keep an eye on them since the cooking time will probably vary from the package or recipe. Allow the cookie cups to cool, and then pull them right off the bottom of the muffin pan.

A scoop of ice cream in a cookie bowl is a match made in heaven. You can spoon the ice cream out and finish with a cookie chaser, or just take a bite right out of it. Try a double chocolate cookie with mint chip ice cream, a Snickerdoodle cookie with butter pecan ice cream, or these chewy pumpkin chocolate chip cookies with maple ice cream. Top with some hot fudge, caramel sauce, or any number of unconventional ice-cream sundae toppings to level it up. Of course, a healthy dollop of whipped cream and a maraschino cherry should not be overlooked.

Ice cream isn't the only creamy confection that can fill up a cookie cup — custards, pudding, yogurt, or frosting can also go inside. Try vanilla yogurt and fruit for a special breakfast or cream cheese frosting and colorful sprinkles. Layer sliced bananas and vanilla pudding in a sugar cookie cup for a super cute riff on banana pudding.

While the thought of having a cookie cup ice cream sundae once or twice a day all by yourself until you finish the batch is definitely tempting, you could also spread the love. Cookie cups can be a great addition to any party or event. Bake the cookies on a miniature muffin tin if you want to offer bite-sized sweet treats for your guests. Any filling that won't quickly melt would be wonderful on a dessert table. Try mini ginger cookie cups with a lemon custard filling or coconut cookie cups with a spoonful of chocolate mousse.

Go a different route and smear the inside of your cookie of choice with some chocolate hazelnut spread or peanut butter — then load them up with apple slices or fresh berries. Or, go sweet and salty with a mix of pretzels, potato chips, honey-roasted peanuts, and candy-coated chocolates. Adults and kids alike would love to grab a cookie cup filled with snacks at your next shindig.