Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Truly Different Cupcakes & a Giveaway

This is my 200th post!  I can't believe I've actually been able to write 200 of these since last October.  I'm not sure if this means that I am very dedicated, or overly chatty, but whatever the case, to celebrate I have a giveaway, the details of which are at the bottom of this post.

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I've been going through all sorts of old cookbooks and recipes lately.  It's quite a moving experience as I have recipes going back to when I was a little girl, handwritten by relatives long gone.  This is the way of life, of course, but it makes me sad that my grandmother can't be here to see just how much I enjoy making her recipes.  

One recipe I found was one my mother made quite a bit when I was in high school, and it was always a hit.  It's a simple, but tasty chocolate cupcake that is easy to make (read: no electric mixer and only one pan) and popular with everyone who tries them despite their rather humble appearance.  No frosting is involved as these have a rather crunchy exterior and dense, moist interior, and so are rich enough to hold their own without the addition of icing.  

The only downside to these is that they tend to stick to the pan, so I cannot emphasize enough the importance of greasing AND flouring the pan.  Don't even consider using those paper liners.  They'll come out of the pan all right, but you'll spend half a day picking off the bits of paper.  One time I made these for a party at work.  Everyone loved them, but were enormously frustrated with their attempts to remove the paper (and I was mortified).  One adventurous soul just popped the whole thing into his mouth and said that he'd eat the cupcake right off the paper and then spit out the paper.  I don't recommend this, just tell you this story to emphasize the need for the greasing and flouring.

They are quick and easy to mix together and are best when eaten within two days.  They freeze well, however, if the two-day thing is more than you can manage.

TRULY DIFFERENT CUPCAKES

1 cup margarine (I used 1/2 cup butter and 1/2 cup Crisco)
4 squares semi-sweet chocolate
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon butter extract
1 cup unsifted flour
1-3/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1-1/2 cups chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease and flour 2 cupcake pans (I used two jumbo pans, each with 6 wells). Melt margarine (or shortening combination), chocolate and butter extract in heavy saucepan, stirring occasionally.  Remove from heat and stir in remaining ingredients, mixing thoroughly by hand.  Fill cupcake pans 2/3 full and bake for 20-25 minutes (for regular-size pans) or 25-30 minutes (for jumbo pans) until done.  Because these are moist and chewy on the inside, using a cake tester to test for doneness doesn't work.  If the tester comes out clean, they're overdone.

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GIVEAWAY - I have a boxed set of four RSVP fluted-edge biscuit cutters to give away to one lucky follower of this blog.  All you have to do is be a public follower and leave a comment on this post telling me about your favorite recipe from your past and you'll be eligible to win. The winner will be drawn at random and announced on Sunday.  Good luck, and thanks for reading my blog!

RSVP Biscuit Cutters Square - Fluted Edge (set of 4)

Product Features 

Stainless steel - Comfortable arched handles and thin blades to cut through thick or thin dough - Nest for easy storage - Set of four ranges from 1-1/2" to 2-3/4" diameter



13 comments:

Tracy's Living Cookbook said...

I love that your mom made these cupcakes for you when you were young. There is something so wonderful about food and families and memories and tradition and reality (if you know what I mean) The best recipe from my grandma is her Springerle cookie recipe. They are anise flavored, traditional German Christmas cookies. I make them every year with her Springerle press..... the best day of the year for me because I get to 'be' with her again....:)

caryn said...

My mom's coconut cake. It was 3 layers of pure joy!

Aisling said...

mmm gotta try these. I'm baking each week for a local Alpha course and haven't done chocolate yet. Maybe next week.

Sherry @ Lamp Unto My Feet said...

YUM! Sounds delish!

Vanessa Coppa said...

The cupcakes look good. Do they have the consistency of a brownie or is it more like cake? My favorite recipe from my past is fried sage. My mom would make a batter with grappa, dip the sage into the batter and fry them up. Yum, oh yum. Also delicious were the fried zucchini flowers using the same grappa batter. My mouth is salivating just thinking about them!

Brian + Cheryl B. said...

Hi :-) I followed your link here from Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays.

I think that eating the cupcake and spitting out the paper is a definite 'guy' thing. I have four now grown sons and a husband ... and paper would not deter them from something they really wanted to eat. ;-p

handed down recipes are always doubly good due to the warm fuzzies connected with them!

Catherine@AGardenerinProgress said...

Thanks for visiting my blog. I've enjoyed reading through yours! I love the look of your garden bench in the previous post, great colors.
This recipe sounds really yummy! I have an old brownie recipe that must have been my mom's. I used to make it so often I had the whole thing memorized. I may have to pull that recipe out again soon, it's been awhile and I don't trust my memory :)

Anonymous said...

Hello there, I would like to take part in your give away..I am a follower since a while.
Thank you for the opportunity!

I think one of my "nostalgia recipes" is the one for Tiramisu' by my granmother...with a lot of fresh fresh mascarpone :)

~~louise~~ said...

Happy 200th post Pattie! May you have many, many more!!!

We won't even talk about the memories preserving handed down recipes. I would be writing forever and you would never get to post 201!

The cupcakes sound delicious! It's always a good sign when you read, no frosting needed!

Thanks for sharing and stirring up good thoughts.

Unknown said...

Those sound delicious! Definitely going to have to try them out! Thanks for linking up to Made From Scratch Tuesday!
Jen @ MessHall to Bistro
http://messhalltobistro.blogspot.com

AllThingsYummy said...

Congrats on 200th post. I just found your blog and am now following.
My favorite recipe from the past is rice pilaf. It always reminds me of my dad when I make it.

Rusthawk said...

My favorite recipe that my granda used to make is date nut load. I am a new GFC follower; thank you for the entry!

Lisa said...

Congrats on your 200th post!!! What an amazing milestone. Here's to your next 200.