Vanilla Bean Cookie Butter Cup Cupcakes

Vanilla bean cupcakes swirled with speculoos cookie butter, stuffed with a salted chocolate cookie butter cup, and then topped with vanilla bean cookie butter cream cheese icing--and would you believe they're even whole grain, and on the healthier side?! Well, as healthy as a cookie butter cup stuffed cupcake can be that is ;)

Vanilla Bean Cookie Butter Cup Cupcakes
yield 15
1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
1/2 tbs baking powder
dash salt
1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup turbinado sugar
1/3 cup Splenda
1/2 cup + 2 tbs egg substitute
1/2 cup + 2 tbs reduced fat buttermilk
1/2 tbs vanilla extract
2-3 tbs TJ’s Cookie Butter (or Biscoff spread), melted
15 Salted Chocolate Cookie Butter Cups, frozen
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Line cupcake pans with paper liners. Spray lightly with nonstick spray, then set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer (or you can use a hand mixer if you don’t have a stand one), add applesauce, sugar and Splenda. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean and beat on medium speed.
Beat in egg substitute.
In a glass measuring cup (or separate bowl) combine buttermilk and vanilla extract.
With mixer on low speed, alternately add flour and buttermilk mixtures, starting and ending with dry ingredients.
Beat until just incorporated, scraping down sides of the bowl when necessary.
Fill 15 cupcake liners 2/3 of the way full. I used a medium sized cookie scoop and it took 1 1/2 scoops per cupcake.
Drizzle in a small amount of cookie butter into each cupcake, and swirl lightly with a toothpick.
Press one Salted Chocolate Cookie Butter Cup into each cupcake.
Bake for 17-19 minutes. (I always turn mine around halfway through to keep even cooking)
Let stand for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Top with Vanilla Bean Cookie Butter Cream Cheese Frosting.
Vanilla Bean Cookie Butter Cream Cheese Frosting
yield enough for 20 cupcakes
16 oz reduced fat cream cheese, softened
1 cup TJ’s Cookie Butter
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
3 cups powdered sugar
Directions:
Place cream cheese and cookie butter in a large bowl. Scrape in vanilla bean seeds and beat together for 1 minute.
Slowly beat in powdered sugar, scraping down sides of bowl when necessary.
Frost immediately, or chill in refrigerator.