Cupcakes

Finally, a recipe!

black-bottom cupcakes

6 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 1/3 cups sugar
1 egg
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup water
1/3 cup oil
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup chopped almonds
2 tablespoons sugar

-Heat oven to 350 Line 18 muffin cups with paper baking cups. In small bowl, combine cream cheese, 1/3 cup sugar and egg; mix well. Stir in chocolate chips; set aside.

-In large bowl, combine flour, 1 cup sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt; mix well. Add water, oil, vinegar and vanilla; beat 2 minutes at medium speed. Fill paper-lined muffin cups half full.

-Top each with 1 tablespoon cream cheese mixture. Combine almonds and 2 tablespoons sugar; sprinkle evenly over cream cheese mixture.

-Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes or until cream cheese mixture is light golden brown. Cool 15 minutes. Remove from pans; cool 30 minutes or until completely cooled. Store in refrigerator.

I made these wonderful cream cheese-topped chocolate cupcakes the other evening, and they were quite the confection!I got the recipe from a Pillsbury cookbook--it's called "The Best of Pillsbury Cookbooks" or something like that. What's important is that this recipe isn't my own; I just tried it out. I generally don't try new desserts on a regular basis--chocolate chip cookies are my standard (but delicious) dessert-item--so this is a big deal for me as a dessert-maker

Be sure to skip the almond topping if you're allergic to nuts...although I made two cupcakes without the sugar/almond topping, and they didn't look half as tasty. The end result is a moist chocolate-cake base with little chocolate chip surprises inside. At first I thought I hadn't cooked them long enough when I bit into one and felt a warm moist sensation--but that was just a melted chocolate chip--yum! The cream cheese topping is subtle. If nothing else, it makes such a delicious flavor-enhancement that you don't have to worry about icing them--which means less time between making and eating!

p.s. the afore-mentioned cookbook generously includes calories per serving (and other nutrition facts) for every recipe...but I figure if you're eating something like these cupcakes, you're not the sort to count calories.