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I’ve not shared cupcake recipes with you for the past 33 years that I’ve been writing this column. Today’s the day!  Cupcakes are a nice dessert option. If you have a recipe or a mix that calls for a 9x13-inch cake pan you also have a recipe or a mix that makes 24 cupcakes. If you have just one 12-cup pan, refrigerate the rest of the batter while the first batch bakes, let the pan cool, then refill with the cool batter, adding a minute or two to the baking time.

Before recipes I have some tips for you: When using foil baking cup liners, remove the paper separators before filling the foil cups with batter. They help prevent the foil cups from fusing together during manufacturing. The paper separators are used the same as paper liners. When you use foil baking cups, no muffin pans are needed. Just remove the paper liners, put the foil cups on cookies sheets, filling 2/3 full with batter and bake as directed. This is a good way to bake more than 12 cup cakes at one time using foil cups. If you’re making low-fat recipes, and are  using foil cups, spray them with nonstick cooking spray before adding batter and the muffins won’t stick. Reynolds brand foil baking cup liners are recommended to use for these tips. To “dress-up” plain frosted cupcakes, sprinkle chopped nuts, flaked coconut, chocolate or colored sprinkles or white or colored sugar crystals over frosting, pressing lightly into the frosting. The young-uns will love the colored cupcake toppings.

You will find these recipes to not be your plain every day frosted cup cakes.

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CHOCOLATE CHIP CHEESECAKES
16 foil baking cups
25  chocolate sandwich cookies, crushed (Oreo’s, etc.)
1/3 c. butter or margarine, melted
2 – 8 oz. pkgs. cream cheese, softened
1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs
1/2 t. vanilla
3/4 c. mini chocolate chips, divided
1 t. shortening (do not use butter or margarine)

Place 16 foil baking cups in muffin pans or on cookie sheets; set aside.  In a medium bowl, combine cookie crumbs and butter.  Press one rounded tablespoon crumb mixture into bottom of each foil liner. In a mixing bowl beat cream cheese, sugar, eggs and vanilla with electric mixer until smooth. Stir in 1/2 c. chips. Spoon evenly into foil liners, filling each cup 3/4 full.

Bake at 350 degrees 20 to 25 minutes. Cool. For icing, place remaining 1/4 c. chips and shortening in a micro-safe bowl. Micro on MEDIUM (50% power) until mixture can be stirred smooth, 1 to 2 minutes, stirring after 1 minute. Drizzle over cooled cheesecakes. Refrigerate at least 2 hours before servings. Makes 16 cheesecakes.  Note: Our daughter made these and before drizzling the chocolate over the cheesecakes she put a dollop of cherry pie filling over each cake, then drizzled chocolate over the top.

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BROWNIE PEANUT BUTTER CUPCAKES
18 foil baking cups
1/3 c. creamy peanut butter
1/4 c. light cream cheese
2 T. sugar
1 egg
1 - pkg. (about 19 oz.) fudge brownie mix
1/2 c. candy coated peanut butter candies (M & M’s)

Place foil cups in muffin pans or on a cookie sheet; set aside. In a mixing bowl, beat peanut butter and next 3 ingredients with electric mixer; set aside.

Prepare brownie mix following pkg. directions; set aside. Place 1 t. peanut butter mixture in center of each baking cup. With a teaspoon or small ice cream scoop, fill baking cups 1/2 full with brownie batter.  Sprinkle each cupcake with peanut butter candies.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Do not over bake. Cool.  Makes 18 brownie cupcakes.

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QUICK CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES
1-1/2 c. flour
3/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. cocoa (not chocolate cocoa mix)
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1 c. water
1/4 c. canola or vegetable oil
1 T. white vinegar
1 t. vanilla

Line 18 muffin cups with (2-1/2-inch) paper liners. In medium  bowl stir together, flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, stir together water oil, vinegar and vanilla; add to dry ingredients. Beat with whisk just until batter is smooth and ingredients are well blended.  Fill muffin cups 2/3 full with batter.  Bake at 375 degrees 16-18 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from pans to wire racks.  Cool completely. Frost with your favorite frosting, or a “fluffy” canned frosting of your choice.  Makes 1-1/2 dozen cupcakes.

Note: If a recipe makes more than 12 cupcakes I use one 12-cup and one 6-cup muffin pans. However, when making, say, 16 cupcakes I will use a 12-cup and a 6-cup pan. In the two empty cups put about 1/4-inch hot water. When the cupcakes or muffins are baked, remove the water with a dish cloth or paper towel. This tip came from a cooking class I attended umpteen years ago!

Thought for the Day: Money can’t buy sunsets, songs of wild birds or the music of the wind in the trees….these are free as the air we breath.

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