a 4th of July treat

Happy 4th of July to everyone! I know it's only the 3rd, but we're celebrating early this year! We're heading out to a friend's house later this afternoon for fireworks, food and fun. My hubby loves the 4th of July weekend because he can play with fire and blow up stuff... including watermelons! This morning I made chocolate cupcakes with buttercream icing. Pretty basic, but incredibly delicious! They're festively decorated in honor of the 4th.

Last Saturday, June 26, was my birthday. My family spoiled me with an awesome weekend and some fabulous gifts, including lots of cupcake and baking gear (I'll post pics in my next post)! My grandma and cousin Laura got me some cute cupcake liners - one for almost every holiday, including the 4th of July! I used the cupcake liners they got me, along with the fun star/stripes sprinkles. Here are a few pics:

The chocolate cupcake recipe came from one of my favorite cookbooks, Hello, Cupcake! Here it is:

Chocolate Cupcakes

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 sticks (12 Tbsp) unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed

2 large eggs

2 oz. unsweetened chocolate, melted

1 cup buttermilk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat over to 350. Line muffin tins with paper liners.

2. Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. In another medium bowl, with an electric mixer on high, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

3. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the melted chocolate. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk in batches, begining and ending with the flour mixture and beating just until blended. Stir in the vanilla.

4. Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in te center comes out clean, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the cupcakes from the baking pan, place on wire rack, and allow to cool completely.

For the icing I used Wilton's buttercream icing recipe.

I hope everyone has a fun and safe 4th of July!