Guess what’s back!!  You guessed it.  Another round of chocolate cream cheese cupcakes.  You cannot go too many months without baking these again if you can even survive that long.  It is a sun-filled day today so I thought I would share with you a baking recap from a few nights ago.  I made these last year at the zesty in laws in the summer and they are always a huge hit.

Can you really beat chocolate, cream cheese and to top it all off in bite size cupcake form?

So before we begin with the amazing recipe and picture overload

Ingredients

Cream Cheese Topping

• 8 Oz. Cream Cheese
• 1 Egg
• 1/3 Cup Sugar
• 1/2 Tsp. Salt
• 1 Cup Chocolate Chips

Dry Batter

• 1 1/2 Cup Flour
• 1 Cup White Sugar
• 1/4 Cup Cocoa
• 1 Tsp. Baking Soda
• 1/2 Tsp. Salt

Liquid Items

• 1 Cup Water
• 1/3 Cup Canola Oil
• 1 Tsp. White Vinegar
• 1 Tsp. Vanilla

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 Degrees and spray muffin tins with cooking spray.
2. Stir the cream  cheese to a creamy, smooth consistency.  Add egg, sugar and salt and stir  (blend) (cream) to uniform smooth consistency.













3. Stir in the chocolate chips.



4. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl,  form a “well ” and set aside.









5. Combine liquid ingredients  in another  bowl.





6. Stir liquid ingredients into dry ingredients.  Be sure not to over mix.





7. Spoon chocolate mixture into muffin tins until about 2/3 full.



8. Top each muffin with a tablespoon of the cream cheese mixture (Do note the spoon technique).





9. Bake small muffin tins for  9 -11 minutes and regular muffin tins for 20-25 minutes.





10. Remove from oven and let cool.



11. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: If you need to take these special treats with you to a party, you can make 1.5 times the batter portion. You will have lots of cream cheese topping.  Also note that these cupcakes freeze well and are good warm or cold.

So now after all this, I have to hear what you think about these cupcakes.  When you pop one in your mouth you automatically step away from reality and fall in love with the texture and flavor.  Lately I have been hooked on home juice with chocolate treats.  I know it sounds crazy – but I have been trying out different juicer recipes for the last couple of weeks and I think I am addicted.  Usually I am a milk and chocolate guy all the way.

Have a great Friday and be on the lookout for another great treat from our baking excursion the other night.

Take care

zesty

Happy Wednesday to you!!  Ever make or have a crazy sandwich?  I must say I have tried a few unique sandwiches over my time but I don’t think I have anything that is truly outlandish.  What I want to try and accomplish today and over the next couple of days is to gather a large list of unique sandwich ideas so I can try some at home.

Here are a few of the ones I have tried over the years.

Chicken and Jelly

Chicken and red pepper jelly make a great combination.  Over some homemade  toasted baguette bread, spread a little hummus and then layer spinach, chicken and top with red pepper jelly.  Oh so good!

Kicked Up Tuna Salad

Tuna salad, green grapes, apple, celery with white cheddar cheese.

Peanut butter avec Cream Cheese

I do a peanut butter and cream cheese sandwich. I take wheat bread, spread it with peanut butter and softened cream cheese. I eat it cold but it’s even better slightly warmed.

Peanut Butter, Nutella, Apple and Banana

This one is really good!  I use three pieces of bread.  I spread nutella on one side, peanut butter on the other and slice some green apples and top it with some sliced banana and ENJOY!

Here is the deal.  We need to get as many people as we can to submit their crazy sandwich and then we will have tons of ideas when we are in a pinch for lunch or dinner.  Tell all your friends, tweet it and talk about it on facebook. Have a great day and I will see you on Friday!

Take care

zesty