Chocolate Cupcakes (Daddy's fav)

Okay ya'll, I am sitting here making myself write this post so I do not eat another one of these cupcakes...I made these for my wonderful Dad's birthday.  I want to go by my Dad's rule: Cupcakes are smaller than a piece of cake, therefore you should have two...or three...okay stop.  My Dad loooves chocolate cake with white icing, but it can't be just any white icing.  I did some searching for a great white icing recipe, and found one on tasty kitchen (of course).  I decided after eating this icing that it definitely deserves its own post.  I should have that up by tomorrow or Friday.  This a chocolate cupcake recipe I also found on tasty kitchen.  I followed her recipe pretty closely, except I may have added more chocolate chips.... 

The Goods:

• 2 Tablespoons Butter, Softened
• ¾ cup Sugar 
• 1 whole Egg 
• 1 whole Egg White 
• ½ cup Plus 2 Tablespoons Buttermilk 
• ⅓ cups Water 
• 1 Tablespoon White Vinegar 
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract 
• 1-½ cups All-purpose Flour 
• ¼ cup Baking Cocoa 
• 1 teaspoon Baking Soda 
• ½ teaspoons Salt 
•  ½ cup Mini Chocolate Chips (I changed this from ⅓)

Preheat your oven to 375.  In a mixing bowl, cream the butter, and sugar until light and fluffy.  Is it bad that I love the smell that comes from butter and sugar when it is creamed together?   

Add your eggs one at a time, and beat until well combined.  Now add you buttermilk, water, vinegar, and vanilla.  Mix until well combined.  This mixture will be liquidy, and that is okay.  I think. :)

In a separate bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt.  I wasn't really sure what "baking cocoa" was.  I had both sweetened and unsweetened cocoa powder.  Google told me it was most likely the unsweetened one.  

Slowly add you dry ingredients into your liquid mixture.  Fold in your mini chocolate chips (they are so cute!!). 

Evenly distribute the batter into a lined muffin tin.  This only made a dozen cupcakes for me (recipe said it would make 15).  

Bake for 15-18 minutes.  Make sure you check to see if they are done with a tooth pick. :)

Allow these to cool COMPLETELY before you ice them.  The icing recipe will be up soon!  This might sound extreme, but it might be the best butter cream icing I have ever had.  Ever.  

If you want to add more chocolate, roll the icing in the leftover chocolate chips.  

Hope you are having a fabulous week!

Grace, peace, and be sure to enjoy some sweets!

{Leslie}