In Honor of Chocolate Day: Quadruple Chocolate Cupcakes

Woo!  So,  I found out that it was Chocolate Day just a few hours ago...  How I didn't know there was a whole day dedicated to one of my favorite things, I still don't know.  Anyway, I decided to whip up a new cupcake recipe in honor of this day, and I've decided to dub them the "Quadruple Chocolate Cupcakes" henceforth.  There really are four ways of chocolate in these things...  Plus a little bit of vanilla in the icing, just because.  But I'll get to that in a moment.



DISCLAIMER!
So there are two parts to this cupcake recipe:  the batter, and the icing.  And, good news for everybody, there is booze in both parts!  Now, the alcohol bakes out of the batter... but it is still fully present in the icing, so beware!  If you wanted these to be sober cupcakes, you would just need to substitute the alchohol there for regular vanilla!

Continuing on...

INGREDIENTS
Batter:

• 1 3/4 c. flour
• 2 c. granulated sugar
• 3/4 cocoa (the darker the better)
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 c. milk
• 1/2 c. vegetable oil
• 1 c. milk
• 1 c. chocolate vodka (we use 360)
• 1/2 c. dark chocolate chips (optional)

ICING

• 2 1/2 c. powdered sugar (confectioner's sugar)
• 1 stick of butter
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/4 c. milk
• white chocolate syrup (can usually be found near the coffee creamers)
• vanilla moonshine to taste (we LOVE Ozark Distillery!!)
• chocolate syrup (for decoration)

PROCEDURE

The batter portion of this recipe is adapted from the Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" recipe found here.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together.  Add the egg, milk, oil, and milk to the mixture and mix on a medium setting for about a minute or so.  Next, add the vodka!  It will seem kind of runny compared to most batters, but it's okay!  If you'd like, you may add some extra chocolate chips at the end.

Distribute the batter into cupcake liners (about 2/3 full or so) and bake for about 16 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of a cupcake comes out clean.

While the cupcakes are baking, it's time to start the icing!  Yay!  Now...  Ever since I worked at a bakery, my recipes for making buttercream types of icings has gone out the window, since I mostly learned to make icing by consistency and taste.  The measurements listed are approximate, and may need to be adjusted...  But here goes!

Mix the powdered sugar, butter, salt, white chocolate syrup, and milk together at a medium-high speed.  You want the icing to be thick enough to keep its shape after the mixer has stopped.  If it's too runny, add more powdered sugar.  If it seems too stiff, add more milk.  If you want the white chocolate flavor to be stronger, add some more syrup!  Once you've got an icing you're satisfied with, add the booze!  I think I ended up with about a teaspoon and a half or so.  Since we added more liquid, you might need to add more powdered sugar, depending on just how much liquid you added!

I used a vanilla flavor in the icing with the white chocolate, just to lighten up the flavor a bit (and I really love that vanilla moonshine, AND I really like the whole chocolate-vanilla-swirl thing... There might be a whole recipe for that another day), but if you really wanted to be gung-ho about the chocolate, you could absolutely substitute it for more of the chocolate vodka, and even add some cocoa instead of some of the powdered sugar.  That felt like a wee bit too much to me, and Aaron doesn't love chocolate, but if that's what floats your boat, go for it, my friend!

So, to count up the chocolates:  cocoa, chocolate chips, chocolate vodka, and white chocolate icing!  Too much...?  Maaaaayyybe.  But we can all indulge every now and then, right?

Blue Moon Chicken Kebabs

Hello again!  As promised, we've got a stellar recipe for Blue Moon chicken kebabs.  Check out the recipe!

This yields approximately 4 good sized kebabs, and takes about 20 minutes from start to finish.

INGREDIENTS

• About a pound of chicken (3 breast fillets), cubed
• 2 oranges, sliced (plus a small amount of zest from one)
• 1/2 bottle of Blue Moon Belgian White
• 1/2 cup of orange juice
• a healthy pinch of each of the following:  salt, pepper, coriander, thyme, and garlic)

PROCEDURE

We first cubed and pre-cooked our chicken, so as not to burn the oranges on the grill.  Then, we mixed the Blue Moon, orange juice, zest, and spices to make our "marinade" (is it a marinade if we're not applying it until after it's started cooking??) in a large bowl.  We sat the mostly-cooked chicken in the beer mixture for about 10 minutes, while I cut oranges to an appropriate size.  Aaron taught me how to cut oranges to the "blue moon" standard...  Next, we assembled the kebabs, alternating between orange slices and chicken pieces.  Aaron laid them on the grill, and applied another quick dusting of the spices.  We rotated and checked the kebabs periodically, and took them off after the oranges had a nice grill mark.  I'd say it was about 2-3 minutes for each one, since we had already cooked the chicken most of the way through.

Aaron's favorite part is having an excuse to drink Blue Moon!  ... and his "grilling hat"

Are you planning to try our recipe?  Do you have a similar one?  Let us know in the comments.  We'd love to hear all about it!

Hello!

Well, hello there!  You've stumbled upon a happy little blog where my husband and I will be sharing our recipes.  What kind of recipes, you ask?  The best ones!  Of course, I mean the kind that include booze!  If there's anything that makes cooking better, it's drinking.  We've found ourselves to be pretty good at creating meals that not only pair well with our favorite drinks, but make the drinks a part of the recipe!

Our first meal to share with you all will be a Blue Moon chicken kebab.  We'll have the post coming your way soon, and I can't wait to share it!  We just finished eating, and Aaron's definitely sold!  Super easy, quick prep time, and delicious to boot.

Check back soon!

<3 Julie