I dream of Dream Cupcakes

My parents get into town today!!
To welcome them, I always do several things: I clean (even though they tell me not to), I buy pop (the diet Cokes and diet Mountain Dews are chilling in my fridge), and I bake. I inherited my sweet tooth from my parents, so they always gobble up whatever I make.
I asked my mom if she had any requests. After she named pretty much everything I've ever baked for her, I decided I was bored with all the old staples. I wanted to try something new, I told her.
"Well, I like cake," my mom said, helpfully.
"I know this about you. You must also like cupcakes..."
"Ohhh, yes, I do. They're little cakes."
That was my starting point for a scavenger hunt of my cookbooks. I would know the recipe when I saw it. Something was going to jump out at me.
On my fourth book, I saw it: Dream Cupcakes. Simple, yet really promising: chocolate cupcakes with a cream-cheese-chocolate-chip-coconut center. Oh haaaaeell yeah.

The filling (yum):

Pre-oven:

Post-oven:


Ingredients
*1 package chocolate cake mix
*6 oz. cream cheese, softened
*1/3 cup sugar
*1 egg
*1/8 teaspoon salt
*1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
*1/4 cup flaked coconut, optional
*Plus any ingredients needed to make the cake mix

Directions
Prepare cake mix according to package directions. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups half full.
In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add egg and salt; beat until creamy. Stir in chocolate chips and coconut if desired.
Drop about 2 teaspoonfuls of cream cheese mixture into the center of each cupcake. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.
Store in the refrigerator.
Yield: about 2-1/2 dozen.
Source: Taste of Home: Cake Mix Creations

My notes:
*I used mini-chocolate chips. They were on sale, and I thought they would look cuter in the cream cheese filling than the regular ones. I was right. So if you're concerned about cuteness, too, try these.
*Check on these puppies early. My were done at 19 minutes.
*I had enough cupcake batter for about 2-1/2 dozen, but my filling was only enough for about 2 dozen cupcakes. I didn't want to skimp on the filling, since it's the main event.
*I used the optional coconut. I would maybe use a little more next time, maybe 1/2 cup. I liked the texture it gave the filling, and I'm a big fan of coconut.