First, prepare the cookie dough. Mix the flour, salt, and baking soda together in a bowl and set aside. Add the softened butter, brown sugar, and white sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer and cream together until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, allowing each to incorporate fully before continuing. Add vanilla and mix well. Slowly add the flour mixture to the butter/sugar mixture and continue to mix until fully blended. Add the chocolate chips and mix for just a minute until they are evenly distributed in the cookie dough.

Then, prepare the cake mix according to package directions.

Now, combine the two!

You should now have about 4.5 cups of cookie dough and 4 cups of cake batter. Time to start mixing! We’ve tested different ratios and found that 2 parts dough to 1 part batter works the best (but you can use more dough for a denser cupcake or more batter for a lighter cupcake).

So with the 2:1 dough/batter ratio, that means you’ll dump all of your cookie dough into a big bowl and add 2 cups of cake batter to it, and mix it all up!

(You’re going to have 2 cups of cake batter left over that you won’t need for this recipe. You can use that to make a dozen boring, yellow cupcakes when you’re done.)

Now put cupcake liners into your muffin pan and fill them 3/4 of the way with your dough/batter mix, then bake at 350 F for 20 minutes. This recipe should make about two dozen cupcakes.

While they cool, make the frosting. Mix the softened butter, vanilla, salt, molasses, flour, and powdered sugar with a stand mixer until light and creamy. Use this to frost your cupcakes.