Hi-Hat Cupcakes

Yield: 12 cupcakes Cupcakes: 3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped 1 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 cup water 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened 1 1/4 cups sugar 2 large eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/2 cup sour cream Frosting: 1/4 cup water 1 and 3/4 cups sugar 3 large egg whites 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/2 teaspoon almond extract Dipping Chocolate: 2 cups chopped (about 12 ounces) semisweet chocolate *I would increase this by 50% for easier dipping, but you will have leftover chocolate 3 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil

Prepare the cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350 degrees with rack in center. Place chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl, and set it over a medium saucepan of barely simmering water; stir chocolate until melted and smooth. Remove bowl from heat, and set aside to cool slightly. (I melted my chocolate in the microwave for about 45 seconds instead.)

Meanwhile, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar on medium speed, scraping sides of bowl as needed, until light and fluffy. On low speed, mix in melted

chocolate. Increase speed to medium, and add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add vanilla, and beat until mixture is creamy and color has lightened slightly, about 1 minute. Mix in sour cream. On low speed, add half of reserved flour mixture, beating until just incorporated. Mix in 1/2 cup water. Add remaining flour mixture, and mix until just incorporated.

Line a cupcake pan with paper liners. Fill each liner with enough batter to come 1/8 inch from top, about 1/3 cup. (I filled mine slightly less than that, about 2/3 full.) Bake, rotating pans halfway through, until tops are firm and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer cupcakes to a wire rack to cool in pan for 10 minutes.

Use a small knife to loosen any tops stuck to the pan. Carefully invert cupcakes onto the wire rack. Turn cupcakes right side up, and let cool completely.

Prepare the frosting: In a large heatproof bowl, combine 1/4 cup water and egg whites and beat until foamy. Add sugar and cream of tartar. Using a handheld electric mixer, beat on high speed until foamy again, about 1 minute. Set bowl over a pan of barely simmering water. Beat on high speed until frosting forms stiff peaks, about 12 minutes; frosting should register 160 degrees on a candy thermometer. (Mine never reached 160 degrees. Just beat until the sugar is no longer gritty and the mixture feels warm to the touch.) Remove from heat; stir in vanilla and almond extracts, and beat for 2 minutes more or until frosting thickens. (A tip from another site recommended putting frosting into a stand mixer at this point and whisking until the proper consistency is reached. I found this to be helpful and a great rest for my arm. It took about 7 minutes to reach the stiff peaks consistency I was going for.)

Transfer frosting to a large pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain pastry tip. Leaving a 1/8-inch border on each cupcake, pipe a spiral of frosting into a 2-inchhigh cone shape, using about 1/2 cup of frosting per cupcake. Transfer cupcakes to a baking sheet, and freeze for approximately 2 hours before preparing the chocolate coating.

Prepare the chocolate coating: Combine chocolate and oil in a medium heatproof bowl set over a medium saucepan of barely simmering water (or microwave in increments of 30 seconds); stir/whisk until melted and smooth. Transfer to a deep container (as tall as your cupcakes/frosting at least), and let cool about 15 minutes.

Holding each cupcake by its bottom, dip cupcake in the chocolate to coat frosting, allowing excess to drip off. Transfer to a baking sheet fitted with a wire rack. Spoon more coating around edge of cupcake and any exposed frosting; none of the frosting should show.

Refrigerate for 30 minutes to let coating set. Cover, and refrigerate for 2 hours more. Serve cold. Cupcakes can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.

Milk & Cookies Cupcakes Yield: 24 cupcakes Prep Time: 30 minutes Bake Time: 18 minutes for cupcakes Vanilla Cupcake Ingredients:
2 cups sugar 4 eggs 2 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1 cup milk 3/4 cup vegetable oil 2 and 1/4 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon vanilla 6 oz mini chocolate chips, plus more for garnish 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour (to coat chips)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Beat together eggs and sugar until slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Add flour, milk, oil, baking powder and vanilla and beat for another minute. Pour mini chocolate chips into a small bowl. Sprinkle 2 Tablespoons of flour over chips, and mix to coat. Fold coated chips into batter.Pour

batter into lined cupcake tins, filling each tin 2/3 full. Bake for 1820 minutes (or use a cake-tester). Remove from cupcake tin right away, and allow to cool on a wire rack. Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies Yield: 36-48 mini cookies Prep Time: 15 minutes Bake Time: 4-5 minutes per batch Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened 1/4 cup granulated (white) sugar 1/2 cup packed brown sugar 1 and 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 large egg, room temperature 6 oz mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with a silpat mat or parchment paper, and set aside. Beat together butter and both sugars until creamy and fluffy. Meanwhile, combine flour, salt and baking soda in a small bowl. Add egg and vanilla to butter mixture, and beat until just combined. Slowly add the flour mixture and beat until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips. Spoon a very small spoonful (about the size of a large marble) on to the cookie sheet. Bake for 4-5 minutes or until the edges are just beginning to turn brown. Remove from oven and allow to sit on the cookie sheet for another 1-2 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack, and repeat. If your kitchen is warm, it would be a good idea to keep the batter in the fridge between batches. Otherwise, they will spread too much. Allow cookies to cool completely before garnishing. Milk Frosting Ingredients:
3 sticks (1 and 1/2 cups) unsalted butter, cool room temperature 3 and 1/2 cups confectioners/powdered sugar 7 oz sweetened condensed milk 2 Tablespoons heavy cream 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment, beat the butter until smooth and creamy. Add the powdered sugar, and beat to combine. Add condensed milk, cream and vanilla extract, then beat until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.