Chocolate Brownie Cupcakes and Other Stuff. :-)

[amazon_syren]

Wow.
That was one late night of baking. :-)

I actually zonked out on Ami_B's couch for a while there. :-)

But:

1) Pie = Yummy. And Ami makes good pie-crust. :-)
2) Pomegranite-Apricot-White!Chocolate Cookies? Are delicate, sophisticated heaven in cookie form. Go Arndis! :-D <*pokes*> Link to the Anything Cookies post, please? :-)
I know it involves half a cup of shortening/margarine/butter and some undisclosed ammount of granulated sugar, and a drizzle of pomegranite *paste* (*not* grenadine! NOT syrup. Paste. Which pours like a syrup, but is *tarte* rather than cloyingly sweet. *This* is what makes all the difference), plus about half a cup of chopped dried apricots and about a 1/4 cup of white chocolate chips.
But beyond that I'm really not sure.
3) Nigella Brownies? Make really excellent cupcakes. And the batter is noticeably less runny when one uses solid fat (margarine, in this case) than (a smaller ammount of) oil. I like the results. :-)


Note: Today I go and do my interview w/ bastdanica about the Ottawa Pagan Schola. Whee! :-)
So I'll be off to Gina's cafe... shortly. :-)

To do this afternoon: Take CPU over to Future Shop. (They open at 10am down here and - I suspect - rather later than that on Sundays). So that'll be an afternoon job. :-)


Thought: I could write a cookbook... :-D That could be fun. :-D



Brownie Cupcakes Recipe:
2C flour
1/2C cocoa
1C granulated sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder

6 (yes, six) eggs
1C margarine (or butter)
1/4 tsp (or to taste) peppermint extract
1 tbsp vanilla

1.5 C chocolate chips, melted

1/3C white chocolate chips.


In a large-ish bowl:
Cream the wet ingredients together (this may look a little odd)
Stir in the dry ingredients until everything is well mixed
Mix in the melted chocolate.

Mix in the white chocolate chips.

Spoon into small, greased muffin-cups (or big ones, if you want)
Bake @ 350F for 35 minutes (or so).

Serve and enjoy. :-)


Note: In addition (or in lieu of) the white chocolate chips, you can throw in nuts or dried fruit or what-ever you want (see below -- note, they all involve getting rid of the peppermint extract first).


Suggested Substitutions:

Almond extract + dried cherries

1/4C peanut butter in lieu of some of the margarine. (Use the crunchy kind for added texture) - using peanut-butter chips instead of the white chocolate will only add to this. :-)

Add extra flour and throw in marachino cherries (*well drained*) along with the white chocolate

1 tsp cloves or cinamon, or a mixture of both. (Chocolate Chai Cupcakes. Mmm...)

Slivered almonds, pecan crumbles or smashed hazelnuts

Chocolate liqueur (sp) instead of the vanilla

Coffee (or coffee liqueur) instead of the vanilla OR throw in some instant coffee (or cappucino) powder along with the cocoa.

Stir in 1/4C - 1/3C very softened cream cheese (or light cream cheese) for something extra rich without being extra sweet (plus, in theory, you might get a nifty marbling effect). You may need to throw in a little extra flour for this one.

Before adding the melted chocolate split the batter in half. Into one half mix 3/4C melted dark chocolate chips. Into the other half mix 3/4C melted white chocolate chips (or coloured chocolate merkins - like, say, red ones) - then marble them together or do something with double-layers. You could use different flavour extracts with this idea to great effect.

Steal Arndis's cookie idea and use white chocolate instead of dark, then add chopped apricots and pomegranite paste (in lieu of or in addition to the vanilla). A hint of ginger might work nicely with these.

Use flavoured dried cranberries (strawberry or raspberry, say)

Use orange or lime extract instead of the mint, and add some cinamon, cloves and ginger.


*~*~*~*~*

So... That's about it from me today.

Time to get dressed and head out, I think. :-)

- TTFN,
- Amazon. :-)