Chocolate Cupcakes with Maple Frosting & Candied Bacon

Please don't tell me you ate too much Halloween candy and need a break from sweets.

Look at these guys.  You don't want to hurt their feelings...

These chocolate cupcakes are yum on their own.  The perfect amount of richness...but if you want to put it over the top, you must throw together this cheater icing and candied bacon garnish.  You will be loved by all.  Except vegetarians...they might hate you.  But that means more cupcakes for you!

Chocolate Cupcakes with Maple Frosting & Candied Bacon

makes 18 cupcakes

3/4 cup cocoa powder

1 1/2 cup flour

1 1/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp espresso powder

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

2 eggs

3/4 cup warm water

3/4 cup buttermilk

3 tbsp canola oil

2 tsp vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Mix all this stuff together, fill cupcake liners about 2/3 full & bake for 20-25 minutes.

Cheater Maple Bacon Frosting

tub of whipped buttercream frosting

1 tbsp maple syrup

1 tbsp bacon grease

Mix all of this together and chill for half an hour.  Pipe onto cupcakes.

Candied Bacon Garnish

bacon

brown sugar

Sprinkle brown sugar on bacon.  Bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees.

My advice for these cupcakes is to pack them up and take them somewhere other than your kitchen.  I'm only trying to help you....but save at least one for yourself.  They are worth it.

Happy Friday!

Potato Pizza

I was in the mood for a veggie pizza, but we had no veggies suitable for a pizza. I scoured the pantry and came up with potatoes and thought, "Why not?"

I wouldn't normally post something so haphazardly thrown together, but this turned out so good, I had to share it.

The crust is thin and crispy, but not too thin and crispy and the flavors were spot on.

Anyways, make it you must.

I think I was channeling Yoda just then. Crazy delicious pizza will scramble your mind like that.

Perfect Potato Pizza

For the dough:
1 cup flour
1/2 packet of yeast
1/2 cup warm water
pinch salt
pinch sugar

For the pizza toppings:
1 cooked medium yellow potato (I cooked mine in plastic for 4 min. in the microwave)
3 pieces of precooked bacon
grated parmesan
shredded parmesan
feta cheese
herb mix
garlic salt

Stir together your flour and salt. In a separate container (I used a measuring cup) mix warm water, sugar and yeast. Mix all the dough ingredients together and let it sit in a bowl sprayed with non-stick spray for about 30 minutes. It won't rise much.

After your cooked potato is cool enough to handle, slice it into thin discs. Cut or tear your bacon into pieces.

Roll out your dough or just kind of stretch it and pat it with your hands onto your sprayed baking sheet.

Top with grated parmesan, sliced potatoes, salt, herb mix, bacon, shredded parm and feta.

Cook at 500 degrees for 12 minutes.

This recipe makes one medium sized pizza that would feed 2 hungry people. Double it if you want to make 2 pizzas.



Seriously good.



I had to pair my pizza slices with a salad to justify the carb on carb action going on with this pizza.