Lovin' From the Oven

Cookie Cupcakes

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Starting earlier this month on July 1, 2009, major food chains have to put their nutrition facts on their menus. Ever since then, I’ve been thinking twice before ordering… is it just me? Some of the calories and fat in my favorite dishes are well over 1000 calories. How ridiculous is that? They did this in order to help prevent obesity and improve America’s diet. Do you think it’ll actually work? It’s working on me and I’m not even overweight. Of course, I’ll always order my half oreo/half chocolate chip pizookie at BJ’s, regardless of how many calories it has because it’s just that good.

Sometimes you stumble across a recipe where you just HAVE to make it, right then and there. This was definitely one of them. I saw this on Bakin’ Bits, a brand new blogger to the food world! Her pictures and recipes all look amazing and I am looking forward to new posts from her.

These cupcakes are quite addicting. They’re a mix between cupcake/cookie and reminded me of a pizookie. The batter itself is definitely more of a cookie batter than a cake batter. It wasn’t too sweet and the walnuts were a perfect addition. Try it for yourself!

Cupcakes:
1/2 cup butter, softened
6 tablespoons sugar
6 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup & 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Filling:
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1/8 tsp salt
1 cup (6 oz) semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla.
2. Combine the flour, baking soda, & salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well.
3. Fill paper-lined muffin cups half full. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes or until top of cupcakes appears set.
4. Meanwhile, make the filling. In small bowl, beat the brown sugar, egg, & salt until combined. Stir in chocolate chips & walnuts.
5. Drop filling by rounded tablespoonfulls into the center of each cupcake. Bake 10 minutes longer or until a toothpick inserted in the cake portion comes out clean.
6. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely.

Black Bottom Cupcakes

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I’m finally back from my cruise/family vacation! I went on a 5 day cruise to Ensenada, and honestly, if I had the choice, I wouldn’t do it again. Cruises are just not for me. That was my first cruise that I’ve ever been on and I just wasn’t very impressed. I’m not a fan of being stuck on a boat for a week. Don’t get me wrong, the idea of an all-you-can-eat buffet for every meal and 24 hour room service are definitely some perks, but I’d much rather spend my vacation roaming on land than going 20 miles max in the water.

I got this recipe from allrecipes.com and was very pleased with it! I halved the recipe and it made 10 cupcakes. The only difference is that I upped the cocoa powder for more of a chocolate flavor and added more vanilla extract that usual. Also, I would keep my eye on this when baking and lower the baking time. I don’t think they needed to bake for that long, since the top came out kind of dry. The inside was pleasantly moist, though.

  • 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
  • 1 egg
  • 1/3 cup white sugar
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup water
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line muffin tins with paper cups or lightly spray with non-stick cooking spray.
  2. In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese, egg, 1/3 cup sugar and 1/8 teaspoon salt until light and fluffy. Stir in the chocolate chips and set aside.
  3. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, 1 cup sugar, cocoa, baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Make a well in the center and add the water, oil, vinegar and vanilla. Stir together until well blended. Fill muffin tins 1/3 full with the batter and top with a dollop of the cream cheese mixture.
  4. Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes.

A win for the Lakers!

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My last day of undergrad classes are officially over! Hooray! I celebrated with the bf by going to Crumb’s Bake Shop after school, and what did I see? A Lakers cupcake! How fitting for tonight’s game. Luckily we also got the W… Maybe I should buy a Lakers cupcake for every game as a good luck charm since it seemed to work tonight. 🙂

Excuse the poor lighting, I didn’t have time til after the game to take a picture because I didn’t have my camera with me. I even made the bf wait the entire day to eat it, since I wouldn’t let him take a bite out of it without a decent picture first. Ohhh wellll. This one was a plain vanilla cake with buttercream frosting and it was PERFECT! So moist and flavorful, just another reminder of why I love Crumbs so much. And just for kicks, me and the bf driving the cupcake back from Crumbs…

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