2012
Chocolate Covered Cherry Cupcakes
This all started before I knew what I was making. My local grocery store was having a 10/$10 sale on cake mixes and I was feeling kind of froggy so I bought a few to experiment with. The first creation was my Funfetti Doughnuts. For Valentine’s Day I wanted something simple. My husband’s birthday is the week before so we were a little overwhelmed with all the chocolate cake we’d had leftover. Valentine’s called for something lighter on our stomachs and something that looked like it took far more work than it did.
Enter chocolate covered cherry cupcakes.
I started with a cherry chip cake mix and all the ingredients it usually called for. Then I threw in some cherry pie filling to really bring home that cherry feeling. After baking you might notice that your tops will fall slightly as they cool. This is actually good because it forms a little holder for the icing of choice: chocolate ganache. You want to plop just enough ganache on each cupcake to fit in the depressed space. Once you ice all the cupcakes, take some cherries (or cheat like me and use some leftover from amaretto sours), dip them in chocolate and plop them on the cupcakes.
Now comes the hard part: you have to wait 2 hours to let the ganache harden enough to eat them. Still, it’s worth it. The cupcake itself is sweet so the chocolate ganache on top is just bittersweet enough to remind you of an actual chocolate-covered cherry without being too rich. They’re super simple so you can make one tonight and it will be ready for dessert tomorrow.
2011
Screw Resolutions
This is the time of year so many people post their resolutions for 2012 and reflect on how they did for 2011. This is the time of year I say “Screw Resolutions” and post the most fattening cupcakes I’ve ever had. They’re completely delicious, amazing, and rich so really I’m doing you a favor. If you insist on dieting for 2012, make these for your New Year’s Eve party as one last hurrah.
These Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes feature a chocolate chip cupcake base with an egg-free chunk of chocolate chip cookie dough inside each one. Then you top it off with a cookie dough flavored frosting and sprinkle on some mini chocolate chips for decoration. The 6+ sticks of butter might be intimidating but before you give up on cupcakes forever you’ll know you’ve had the best one there is.
Recipe is from the brilliant Annie from Annie's Eats. It's just like eating real cookie dough but in cupcake form so give in to temptation and try one.
Ingredients
- 3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 2 2/3 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup milk
- 2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 6 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour
- 7 oz. sweetened condensed milk
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/4 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips
- 3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 cup flour
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons milk
- 2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
- Additional mini semisweet chocolate chips (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line 2 cupcake pans with 24 cupcake liners.
- Cream together the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy.
- Mix in the eggs one at a time until blended smooth.
- Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.
- Alternate adding the dry ingredients and milk to the sugar mix until just mixed. Stir in the vanilla.
- Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Divide the batter evenly and bake for 18-20 minutes until a soft gold color. Let cool.
- Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Blend in the flour, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla until mixture is smooth.
- Gently stir in the mini chocolate chips.
- Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until the mixture has firmed up a bit, about an hour.
- Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Mix in the powdered sugar until smooth. Add in the flour and salt.
- Mix in the milk and vanilla extract until smooth and well blended. Let firm up for 5 minutes.
- Once cool, cut a cone-shaped portion out of the center of each cupcake.
- Take your chilled filling and roll 1/2 tablespoon into a tiny ball. Place each ball into a cupcake. Use any leftover filling to make sure cupcakes are nice and smooth on top, where the hole once was.
- Spread or pipe the frosting onto each cupcake. I used a Wilton 1M tip.
- Decorate the cupcakes however you like, I added more mini chocolate chips to mine.
