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Val’s just reminded me I’ve got muffin mix sitting in my pantry somewhere waiting to be baked. Tsk tsk, busy days, maybe this weekend
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1. I passed Costco and saw gas at $2.84 and have had Costco on the brain since. Share a cupcake, muffin or cookie recipe.
This is a recipe I dug out of my recipe collection. I’m not sure where it came from, and I’ve not tried it myself. But this should be fun to do for Halloween
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Cocoa Cobweb Cupcakes
- ½ stick unsalted butter, softened
- 1½ cups sugar
- 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
- 1 egg
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
For the icing:
- 2½ to 3 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 2 egg whites
- 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- black food coloring
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line muffin pan with paper muffin cups.
2. Whisk together flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; put aside.
3. Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla, beat well. Then add flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with buttermilk.
4. Spoon into muffin pan, filling each cup to two-thirds full. Bake 16-20 minutes. Remove from oven and cool in pan for 5 minutes. Then transfer to a rack to cool to room temperature.
5. To make the icing, place egg whites in a bowl. Beat until soft peaks form.
6. Add confectioners’ sugar, vanilla and orange juice and continue to beat until thick and shiny. The icing should spread easily. If too thick, add more orange juice. If too thin, add more confectioners’ sugar.
7. Transfer one-third of the icing to a small bowl and add black food coloring. Spoon icing into a pastry bag fitted with a tip, or pour it into a plastic squeeze bottle.
8. To ice the cupcakes and make the cobwebs, spread the white icing on the cupcake with a butter knife. Pipe a spiral of dark icing from the center to the outer edge.
Then, drag a sharp knife point from the center of the spiral to the edge of the cupcake. Wipe the knife clean, move about ½ inch and drag the knife in the opposite direction from the outer edge to the middle. Continue working around the cupcake until you’re happy with your cobweb.
#2. Cupcakes, muffins and cookies require something to drink. What do you drink with them?
I’d have to say coffee.
#3. Which do you prefer, mini muffins and cupcakes or full sized ones?
It’s been ages since I had a muffin or cupcake. I suppose I could eat a full-sized one but the mini ones are so cute, I loved making them for my kids when they were little.
#4. What type of muffin or cupcake pan do you use? Silicone, disposable, etc.
I use the metal ones and line them with paper cups.
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Those cupcakes sound yummy and cute!
By Anele on 10.17.08 10:32 am | Permalink
Those cupcakes do sound good for Halloween. My daughter actually wants to make some cupcakes and decorate them for Halloween. Great idea with the black food coloring. Thanks for stopping by mine
By Sue on 10.17.08 8:20 pm | Permalink
Another recipe to put in the arsenal for our Halloween party!
By corrin on 10.18.08 3:26 am | Permalink
Those cupcakes sound fun! I’ll have to make those when our grandson is a little older.
By Charla on 10.18.08 7:15 am | Permalink
Now that does sound like a good fun recipe for Halloween! Thanks for sharing.
By Lynne on 10.18.08 8:07 am | Permalink
@anele, sue, corrin, charla, lynne
It sure looks like there’s going to be a whole lot of cobweb cupcakes out there this Oct 31.
By chili queen on 10.18.08 9:12 am | Permalink
Black icing can be so hard to achieve, even with black food coloring. I’ve read (haven’t tried yet) that starting with a chocolate frosting will yield better results. When I’ve needed black frosting, I’ve cheated and bought the tubes of pre-made Wilton! Not for a whole cake, though, just for piping lines or details.
By Sheri/Cookingmom on 10.18.08 12:22 pm | Permalink
@sheri
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You’re probably right there, I’ve never tried this myself. But I guess if you can’t get black, brown should do. Ultimately I think it’s the cobweb design that makes it interesting
By chili queen on 10.19.08 10:28 am | Permalink
I was thinking the same thing, seems like there should be a blueberry muffin mix in my cupboard, somewhere!
By Lynne on 10.19.08 8:49 pm | Permalink
Heck, those aren’t just for halloween, I could make a batch and eat them all myself lol
I had me some wheat blueberry pancakes over the weekend
By blueyes on 10.20.08 7:30 pm | Permalink