Brownie Cupcakes

I feel like I have been making a lot of cupcakes lately. Maybe it's because they are fun and generally easy to make, or maybe it's because they are like little individual cakes and people feel less guilty having a cupcake than they do about eating a slice of cake...I don't know, but I am loving it.

I was excited to make these cupcakes because they combine the awesomeness of a personal mini cake (aka a cupcake) and the deliciousness of my favorite chocolatey treat: a brownie! 

Who wouldn't love a brownie cupcake, right?

Since they are BROWNIE cupcakes, they are quite a bit denser than a regular cupcake. I also found it a bit difficult to get the cupcake out of the muffin cup, perhaps because of their density, and in the future I would probably not use muffin cups, but instead just grease the muffin tin. 

All in all, while the brownie cupcakes were still really delicious, they left a little something to be desired for me. I think because they didn't look as pretty as the cupcakes I made for Easter. Regardless, I think they'd be a quick and lovely dessert for everyone to enjoy. If you decide to tackle these, let me know how it goes! Let me know things that worked for you, things that didn't work, or how you chose to spice them up and make them more exciting and visually pleasing!

Last Month: Loaded Baked Potato Soup

Brownie Cupcakes

Bake Time: 20-25mins         Yields: 12 cupcakes

Ingredients:

THE CUPCAKE

2 oz semi-sweet chocolate

1/2 cup butter

1 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

1 cup flour

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional) *I omitted these*

1/4 tsp salt

THE ICING

3 Tbsps butter, softened

1 1/2 cups icing sugar

1/3 cup cocoa

2 1/2 Tbsps coffee (or milk, or water)

Directions:

1) Preheat the oven to 350 F.

2) In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the chocolate and the 1/2 cup butter together, stirring frequently till smooth. Remove saucepan from heat and set aside.

3) Combine the brown sugar, flour, eggs, vanilla, pecans, and salt in a large bowl. Add in the chocolate mixture and beat until just combined. 

4) Grease the muffin pan. Separate the batter equally into the 12 muffin tins, about 1/2 full. 

5) Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out nearly clean. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.

6) For the icing, combine the remaining butter, icing sugar, and cocoa in a small bowl. Add the coffee gradually, until the icing reaches the desired consistency. Ice the cupcakes when they are completely cooled.

(Recipe adapted from Company's Coming: Bag Lunches and After-School Snacks)