Black Forest Cupcakes

It's not really Christmas until I've made cupcakes to give away. At least that's what I said after I delivered these to my friends C&T. Yes, I know Christmas has already passed. But I just had to show off these cute little things. I mean, seriously, it doesn't get any better than a rich, moist chocolate cupcake encasing a sweet cherry filling, topped off with lightly sweetened whipped cream and chocolate shavings. *drool* 


This is one of my go-to chocolate cupcake recipes. It's perfectly chocolate and so terribly moist! I have to thank good ol' Martha for this one...does she know her stuff or what? I guess all that jail time really made her think out of the box...heh-heh. Ahem. Anyway, you MUST try these because they're fantabulous!

Black Forest Cupcakes

Ingredients

Cupcakes:

• 2 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon cocoa powder (not Dutch-processed)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup boiling water

Filling:

• 3/4 cup frozen cherries
  
• 3-4 tablespoons sugar
  
• 2-3 tablespoons corn starch

Frosting:

• whipping cream
  
• powdered sugar, to taste
  
  
  

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 standard muffin tins with cupcake liners; set aside.
2. Sift 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together into the bowl of an electric mixer. Using the paddle attachment, mix ingredients together on low speed.
3. In a large bowl, mix together eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla. Add to flour mixture and beat on medium speed for 30 seconds. Scrape down sides of bowl and continue mixing on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add boiling water and stir to combine; set cake batter aside.
4. Fill each muffin cup three-quarters full with cake batter. Bake, rotating pans halfway through baking, until tops are firm and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer muffin tins to a wire rack and let cupcakes cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove cupcakes from pan and let cool completely. 
5. For the filling, combine cherries, sugar and cornstarch in a small saucepan. Heat on medium heat until mixture starts to bubble. Stir until mixture reaches desired thickness.Remove from heat and allow to cool.
6. To fill the cupcakes, cut out a small cone-shaped piece from the center of the cupcake. Fill the hole with about 1-2 tablespoons of the cherry filling. (Don't worry about covering up the hole. That's the frosting's job.)
7. To make the frosting, whip cream and sugar (to taste) in a stand mixer until stiff peaks form. 
8. Transfer frosting to a large pastry bag fitted with a large plain round or French tip.(I think mine is Wilton #1...a big fat star tip.) Pipe frosting in a spiral motion on each cupcake. (Make sure to put a fair amount of pressure to get it nice and thick on the cupcake.) Shave chocolate on top to make it look purrrty. :)

"C" is for cookie, that's good enough for me!

Don't you just love sesame street? Every time I ravenously eat a cookie (which is probably 100% of the time), I can't help thinking of good ol' Cookie Monster. I just love that guy. I wish everyone could have the same simple pleasures as Mr. Monster and I, namely eating a cookie and being abundantly joyful afterward.

"Nom nom nom!"

So, for your eating pleasure, I give you my very own cookie creation. This recipe involves just about everything in that cabinet of yours, so use it when you want to get rid of several things at once.

Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients:

1 1/2 C Flour

1 3/4 C rolled old-fashioned oats

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp salt

1/2 (1 stick) butter

1/4 C peanut butter

1 C sugar

1 egg

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 C mashed ripe banana

1 C chocolate chips*

*you could also do 1/2 cup of chocolate chips and 1/2 cup craisins if you want to mix it up a bit!

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. Sift flour, oats, baking soda, cinnamon and salt together. In a mixer, cream together the butter, peanut butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and mix until combined. 

3. Add half the flour mixture, mix, add the banana, and mix some more. Add the rest of the flour mixture and mix, mix, mix. But not too much! Just until incorporated. Then add the chocolate chips.

4. Drop tablespoon-sized balls onto baking sheets. Bake in oven for 12-14 minutes, or until lightly browned. 

5. Sing the Cookie Monster song and enjoy!