Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

pumpkinchocolatechipcupcakeOf all the flavor combinations that exist, pumpkin and chocolate –  especially semisweet or dark chocolate –  is the most mysterious to me. It’s not like the salty/sweet combination of peanut butter and chocolate, or the sweet/tart combination of chocolate and raspberry. And yet here it is, being absolutely delicious.

These pumpkin chocolate chip cupcakes are no exception. I was hesitant about the frosting, but it works really well – although I think these would be just as delicious without frosting of any kind too.

Ingredients

For the cupcakes

  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
  • Dash of cloves
  • 1 cup pumpkin puree
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 3/4 cup miniature chocolate chips

For the frosting

  • 12 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
  • 3 cups powdered sugar
  • 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 2 teaspoons heavy cream
  • Miniature chocolate chips for garnish

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake tins with paper liners; my recipe yielded 18 cupcakes.

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.

In a large glass measuring cup, combine pumpkin puree, vegetable oil, eggs, sugar, and vanilla extract. Mix well, then add all at once to the flour mixture. Stir until well-combined and smooth. Stir in chocolate chips.

Using a two-inch cookie scoop, fill cupcake wells about 2/3 full.

Bake for 17-20 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Remove from oven; immediately remove from tins and place on a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.

To make frosting, beat butter on medium speed for 1-2 minutes, then add powdered sugar and cocoa powder all at once and beat on low until fully incorporated. Add vanilla and heavy cream and beat until smooth.

Fit a piping bag with a large star tip and pipe swirls of frosting onto each cupcake. Sprinkle miniature chocolate chips on top. Store at a cool room temperature for 2-3 days; these cupcakes are very tender and will get a bit sticky if they’re left out much longer.

Kit Kat Cupcakes

kitkatcupcakesThese cupcakes came across my Pinterest feed recently, and as the Kit Kat is my second favorite Halloween candy – and there’s Halloween candy everywhere right now – I figured it was a sign from the universe. The cupcakes themselves are absolutely delicious – exactly what I wanted them to be. But the frosting? It’s only okay.

I’m honestly not even sure what it needs…other than maybe it would be better as a chocolate buttercream with Kit Kat dust mixed into it. Maybe I’ll try that next time – but it seems like there’s just something missing from this recipe. Granted, I’m a really tough judge of my own baking, and everyone else will probably love them. But I’m always afraid I’m one mediocre recipe away from losing all of my baking cred.

Ingredients

For the cupcakes

  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2  teaspoon salt
  • 1 large egg, at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  •  1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup hot coffee

For the frosting

  • 1 cup butter, at room temperature
  • 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1-2 tablespoons heavy cream
  • 16 snack-sized Kit Kats, divided

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two cupcake tines with paper liners; my recipe yielded 16 cupcakes.

Sift flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of your stand mixer. Mix on low speed for 1 minute.

In a large glass measuring cup, combine egg, buttermilk, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract. Add to flour mixture and beat on medium speed for 1-2 minutes. Reduce speed and mix in coffee, scraping the sides of the bowl a few times. Beat for another minute; batter will be very thin and watery.

Using a cooking scoop, fill cupcake wells about 2/3 full. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Remove from oven and remove cupcakes from tins; place on a wire rack to cool completely.

To make frosting, place 12 Kit Kats in a food processor and pulse them into dust. Cut the remaining 4 bars in half and set aside for garnish. Beat butter in a mixer with the paddle attachment for 1 minute, then add powdered sugar and beat on low speed until all of the sugar is incorporated into the butter. Add vanilla extract and beat, then add Kit Kat dust and 1 tablespoon heavy cream. You may need to add an additional tablespoon to thin the frosting enough to pipe it.

To frost, place frosting in a large piping bag fitted with a large open star tip (I used the Wilton 4B) and pipe swirls onto cupcakes, then top with a half Kit Kat piece. Store at room temperature for 2-3 days.

Orange Dark Chocolate Chip Biscotti

orangebiscottiSo I’ve been pinning tons of biscotti recipes lately, and an orange/dark chocolate chip one came across my feed. I have a reliable anise biscotti recipe that’s one of my favorites, and I adapted that for this recipe. Instead of anise, I added orange zest and orange extract, then chopped up some dark chocolate chips and mixed those in as well.

The end result tastes almost exactly like an orange Milano cookie, one of the best store-bought cookies ever. These treats will go into my Christmas baking rotation this year because they’re absolutely delicious (and will ship well). This week’s batch is destined for my friend Diana, a fellow baker, who I’m seeing for dinner this week. She’s the only person in my life who actually bakes for me!

Ingredients

  • 3 1/4 cups flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 cup sugar
  • Zest of 1 medium orange
  • 1 teaspoon orange extract
  • 3 eggs
  • 3/4 cup dark chocolate chips, roughly chopped

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, combine flour and baking powder; set aside. In a mixing bowl, combine vegetable oil, sugar, orange zest, orange extract, and eggs and beat on medium speed until combined. Add flour all at once; beat until combined, then beat in chopped chocolate chips. Dough will be very thick and sticky; I used my bowl scraper to get it out of the mixing bowl.

Wet your hands – this dough is easier to handle that way – and divide the dough into two portions. Shape each into a log, then flatten to about 1/2 inch thickness.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, then remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes. Line a second baking sheet with parchment.

Slice each log into 1-inch slices, then place slices on baking sheets and return to the oven and bake for another 6 minutes on each side. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack. Makes about 2 dozen.

Vanilla Cinnamon Chip Biscotti

cinnamonchipbiscottiWe’re about 24 hours into fall here in Pittsburgh, and the weather feels like it: 60-something degrees and rainy. For some reason fall makes me think of biscotti, so here we are with some vanilla cinnamon chip treats based on a recipe I found at A Family Feast.

I adapted mine to include vanilla bean paste and to skip the walnuts, as well as the melted cinnamon chip/white chocolate chip drizzle – I also cut my biscotti into more generous 1-inch slices than the original recipe recommended. These treats are bound for my dear friend Carrie, who lives a few hours away in State College, Pa.

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs, at room temperature
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract)
  • 1 cup Hershey’s Cinnamon Chips 

Preparation

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

In a mixer, beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Add vanilla bean paste and eggs and beat to combine. Gradually add the flour mixture, then stir in chocolate chips.

Divide dough into four portions and roll each into an 8-inch log; place two logs on each baking sheet and flatten to 1 1/2 inches wide.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, until a cake tester inserted into each log comes out clean and the outside feels firm. Remove from oven and cool for 30 minutes, then slice into 1-inch pieces. Place biscotti cut-side down on your baking sheets and bake for another 8 minutes; flip and bake on the other side for an additional 8 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack. Makes about 3 dozen.

Vanilla Bean Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream

vanillabeancupcakesA few weeks back I made marble cupcakes, and they were both easy to bake and really delicious. This weekend I wanted to do something basic, so I adapted the recipe to leave out the cocoa and include vanilla bean paste, a substitute for vanilla extract that has those little flecks of vanilla seeds in it. Think of that Breyer’s Ice Cream commercial from the 80s – you could actually see the vanilla seeds in it, and that was a big deal for some reason.

Add some chocolate buttercream to the cupcakes and you’ve got a basic but awesome combination. These would also be delicious with vanilla buttercream if you wanted an all-vanilla treat.

Ingredients

For the cupcakes

  • 1 2/3 cups flour (spooned and leveled)
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 egg, at room temperature
  • 1/4 cup vanilla yogurt
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract)

For the frosting

  • 12 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
  • 3 cups powdered sugar
  • 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1-2 tablespoons milk

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two cupcake tins with paper liners; my batch made 15 cupcakes.

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In a microwave-safe bowl, melt butter, then add sugar and stir to combine; mixture will be grainy. Refrigerate for 1 minute, then remove and add egg, yogurt, milk, and vanilla bean paste. Stir in flour mixture until no lumps remain.

Using a 2-inch cookie scoop, scoop batter into tins and fill about 3/4 full. Bake for 20-24 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Remove from oven and place cupcakes on wire racks to cool completely.

To make chocolate buttercream, place butter in a mixing bowl and beat for a few minutes using the paddle attachment. Add powdered sugar and cocoa powder and beat on low speed until the sugar and cocoa are fully incorporated into the butter. Add vanilla extract and beat; add milk 1 tablespoon at a time; you may not need both tablespoons.

Fit a large piping bag with a large open star tip (I use the Wilton 1M) pipe swirls of frosting onto cupcakes; you’ll have some frosting left over that you can use for other treats.

Butterfinger Cupcakes

butterfingercupcakesThe Butterfinger vs. the Clark bar: do you have an opinion? As a Pittsburgher, I’m more of a Clark bar person, though I’m not really that much of a candy bar girl despite being a baker and really fond of sweet things. Also, if you’re reading this blog and don’t know what a Clark bar is…it’s like a Butterfinger but more mellow in flavor, and used to be made here in the ‘Burgh.

This recipe came from Baker by Nature, and it’s pretty tasty. I’d like to do a Clark bar version, so stay tuned for that sometime. Also, a note about the frosting: I added more chopped up Butterfinger bars than originally called for, and once again, like my cookies & cream cupcakes, couldn’t pipe it through an open star tip like I’d planned. No worries, though – just slather this frosting onto your cupcakes and call it a day. It’s delicious no matter what it looks like.

Ingredients

For the cupcakes

  • 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour
  • 1/2 cup cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
  • 8 tablespoons butter
  • 6 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
  • 2 eggs plus 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/2 cup whole milk
  • 1/2 cup very hot water

For the frosting

  • 1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter
  • 1 cup butter, at room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3 1/4 cups powdered sugar
  • 3 tablespoons whole milk
  • 6 tablespoons chopped Butterfinger candy bars
  • Chopped Butterfinger pieces, for garnish

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two cupcake tins with paper liners; my recipe made 24 cupcakes.

In a medium bowl, stir together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In a small saucepan over very low heat (or in a microwave-safe bowl), melt peanut butter, butter, and chocolate chips, stirring until smooth. Set aside to cool just slightly. In a large bowl, whisk eggs, egg yolk, sugar, and vanilla extract. Add flour mixture and milk alternatively in two batches, whisking to just combine. Stir in hot water.

Fill cupcake wells with 3 tablespoons of batter, about 3/4 full. Bake for 16 – 18 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Remove from oven and remove cupcakes from tins; cool completely before frosting.

To make frosting, beat peanut butter and butter on medium speed for 1-2 minutes to fully blend. Add powdered sugar and beat to incorporate fully; add vanilla extract and milk, then stir in Butterfinger pieces. Frost cupcakes by hand (or pipe them if you can!) and top with Butterfinger pieces.

Peanut Butter Toffee Chocolate Chip Blondies

peanutbuttertoffeechocolatechipblondiesYou cannot imagine how many bags of chocolate chips I have in my house at any given moment. Milk chocolate, semisweet, dark chocolate…not to mention cinnamon chips, espresso chips, caramel bits, toffee pieces…the list goes on. There’s a basket in the pantry area of my basement filled with them, bags upon bags of delicious little nuggets just waiting to enhance a recipe.

Blondies, like brownies, are one of my favorite things to bake because you can create whatever you want with them – and this time I wanted a peanut butter toffee chocolate chip combination, like a hybrid of the chocolate chip toffee blondies I baked earlier this summer crossed with Reese’s Pieces blondies from a few years back. The end result, I’m happy to report, is delicious. My nephew Roman started his junior year of high school in North Carolina a few weeks back, and these are his back-to-school treats.

Ingredients

  • 12 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled for 3 minutes
  • 2 cups packed light brown sugar
  • 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 2 eggs plus 1 egg yolk
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/4 cup milk chocolate chips, divided
  • 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons toffee bits, divided

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13 pan with baking spray.

In a large bowl, whisk melted butter and brown sugar together until smooth. Whisk in peanut butter, then eggs, egg yolk, and vanilla until well-combined.

Add flour, baking powder, and salt and stir together using a rubber spatula; batter will be very thick. Stir in 1 cup chocolate chips and 1/4 cup toffee bits, then spread batter into the baking pan, flattening as best you can to create an even layer. Sprinkle remaining chocolate chips and toffee bits on top.

Bake for 30 minutes, then insert a cake tester in the center; blondies are done if the cake tester comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs. Be careful not to over-bake these; peanut butter treats tend to dry out if they’re baked too long.

Remove from oven and cool completely in the pan; lift out using parchment paper and cut into 24 squares. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for several days. If shipping, pack between layers of waxed paper.

Butterbeer Cupcakes

butterbeercupcakesLast week Mike and I visited Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley at Universal Studios in Orlando, and it was everything I, a massive Harry Potter fan, wanted it to be. We rode the Hogwarts Express, bought wands at Ollivander’s (seriously what I’m going to do with a wand now I have no idea), and had lunch at the Leaky Cauldron, complete with a butterbeer.

This batch of butterbeer cupcakes – which I found over at Mama Needs Cake – is both delicious and enormous. My recipe yielded 33 cupcakes, far more than the two dozen I expected. I also tweaked the frosting recipe to be closer to one I’ve used before, with my own homemade butterscotch sauce, but you can use butterscotch ice cream topping if that’s easier.

Ingredients

For the cupcakes

  • 2 1/4 cups flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2/3 cup butterscotch chips
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
  • 3 eggs, at room temperature
  • 2/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 cup milk

For the frosting

  • 1 1/4 cups (20 tablespoons) butter, at room temperature
  • 5 cups powdered sugar
  • 6-7 tablespoons butterscotch sauce, plus more for drizzling
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line cupcake tins with paper liners.

Stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.  In a small saucepan, melt butterscotch chips and water over low heat, stirring until smooth.

In a mixer, cream eggs and vegetable oil, then beat in sugars and melted butterscotch chips. Add flour mixture and milk alternatively, beating until just combined.

Fill cupcake wells half full and bake for 13-15 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Remove from oven and remove cupcakes from tins; cool on a wire rack completely before frosting.

To make the frosting, beat butter on medium speed for 1 minute, then add powdered sugar and beat on low until all of the sugar is incorporated into the butter. Add butterscotch sauce and salt and beat to combine.

Fit a piping bag with a large open star tip and pipe swirls onto each cupcake. Drizzle with more butterscotch sauce if serving immediately; if not, reserve additional butterscotch and drizzle just before serving. Makes about 33 cupcakes.

Turtle Cookies

turtlecookiesChocolate + caramel + pecans = one of my favorite things ever. Earlier this summer I baked pecan turtle cupcakes, and within a few weeks these turtle cookies from The First Year Blog came across my Pinterest feed. They looked amazing in the photo…but when I baked them, wow. The photo you see here is of one of the very few that didn’t turn out to look like a total mutant. See below for the mutants, they’re actually quite entertaining. Also, there’s no Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles pun intended here, but haha.

What happens is that the caramel pieces melt, then explode out of the cookies at whatever random point they see fit. One of my cookies looked like the Millennium Falcon from Star Wars, which was actually pretty cool. Anyway…these treats are insanely delicious, but really, really rich. If I make them again, I’ll use caramel bits instead of chopping up caramel squares (how much does caramel stick to a knife? Too much, thanks.) and will use a one-inch cookie scoop so they’re smaller, just a few bites each.

Ingredients

  • 1 1/4 cups flour
  • 1/4 cup cocoa powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 8 tablespoons butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup light brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup chopped caramel squares, or caramel bits
  • 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line several baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a small bowl, stir together chocolate chips, chopped caramel pieces, and chopped pecans; set aside. In a medium bowl, stir together flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking soda; set aside.

Cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla and beat to combine. Add in flour mixture and beat on low to combine; stir in chocolate chip/caramel/pecan mixture.

Scoop dough using a two-inch cookie scoop and roll into balls; place about two inches apart on baking sheets and bake for 10-14 minutes; tops will crack, but edges will be set. Remove from oven and cool on the baking sheets for about 4-5 minutes, then place on a wire rack to cool completely. Makes about 21.

mutantturtlesMutant cookies! Check out the Millennium Falcon on at the top. 

Chocolate Orange Cupcakes

chocolateorangecupcakes

I’ve baked this chocolate cupcake tons of times. I mean, tons of times, pairing it with lots of different frostings and flavors. It’s easy to make, with no butter or eggs and therefore no waiting-for-things-to-come-to-room-temperature time, and very easy to adapt for whatever you want it to be. 

This week’s treat is a chocolate orange cupcake, one of my favorite combinations. I’m not crazy about the sprinkles that I added, but without them it just looked like a basic chocolate-chocolate cupcake and that didn’t seem fancy enough. Next time I’ll try to find one of those actual chocolate oranges you see at Christmas and use the little segments as a topper, or maybe those fancy chocolate orange jelly-type candies that also seem to remind me of  Christmas. Stay tuned! 

Ingredients

For the cupcakes

  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 cup water
  • Zest of 1 small orange

For the frosting

  • 12 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
  • 3 cups powdered sugar
  • 1/4 cup cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon orange extract
  • Zest of 1 small orange
  • 2-3 teaspoons heavy cream 
  • Orange sprinkles, if desired 

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pans with paper liners; this recipe makes 13-15 cupcakes, depending on how much batter you place in each well. 

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Mix until well-blended, then make three wells for the wet ingredients.

Place vinegar, vanilla, and vegetable oil into the wells; add water and orange zest and mix until the batter is smooth. The mixture will bubble up slightly when you add the water, so just keep mixing until you get a smooth consistency in the batter, which will be fairly thin.

Using a 1/4 cup measure, fill cupcake wells about half full. Bake for 15-17 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in pan for a few minutes, then remove from pan and cool completely on wire racks. Cool completely before frosting.

To make frosting, beat butter, powdered sugar, and cocoa powder on low speed until the sugar is fully incorporated into the butter. Beat in vanilla extract, orange extract, and orange zest; add heavy cream 1 teaspoon at a time to get a smooth consistency. 

Fit a large piping bag with a large open star tip (as always, I use the Wilton 1M) and pipe swirls of frosting onto cupcakes. Add sprinkles if you like; you could also garnish these with other things like candied orange peel if you wanted to get really creative. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days.