And the winners are…
First for the throwdown – chocolate cupcake style. AND on National Chocolate Cupcake Day! How fitting. I made a half batch of the chocolate cake (I got 15 cupcakes) out of Confetti Cakes for Kids by Elisa Strauss. The recipe is definitely “fussier” than my go-to chocolate cupcake recipe. This one has sour cream and coffee in it. Neither of which are staples in my kitchen. I paired it with the Brown Sugar frosting because I was intrigued by that idea…
The batter came together quite nicely. It does take 3 bowls and like I mentioned, has some ingredients that I had to send hubby out to grab for me… It does have some great flavor combinations going on. It’s got almond extract as well as vanilla and includes coffee. Both almond and coffee go great with chocolate. The batter was quite thick and very tasty. Hubby really enjoyed licking the beater 🙂 And this frosting is AMAZING. We both agreed, it’s one of the best I’ve ever made. Think of a caramel Swiss-meringue buttercream. It paired perfectly with the chocolate cupcake.
Now to the Throw-down results. I’m basing this on 3 categories: Overall Taste, Ease of making, Moistness
So it’s a TIE!?! I’ll definitely keep my go-to chocolate cupcake for when I just want to whip something up. It’s quick and easy and the results are great. But when I want to go the extra mile, I’ll make the Confetti cupcakes. It does take more effort, but the results are worth it. I’m not going to post the recipe here, but definitely I definitely recommend checking out Confetti Cakes for Kids by Elisa Strauss.
Now on to the GIVEAWAY!! I almost forgot about it after these amazing cupcakes. Thanks to everyone who participated! Using Random.org, I chose 5 random numbers from 1-79 and the lucky winners are…
Megan – who’s email begins with mybakingadventures
Chrissy – who’s email begins with chrissyblogs
Grifam93 – who’s email begins with aseminara
Jared – who’s email begins with jared
MoonFreckle – who’s email begins with angelaj
Congratulations to the winners!
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
Oo those look amazing! I haven’t been to your website in awhile. I love the new look! I actually said Mmmmmm out loud as I clicked on the link. LOL
beantownbaker — January 8th, 2013 @ 12:14 pm
Welcome back! Glad you enjoy the new look. These cookies are definitely MMMmmm! In fact, I brought one in my lunch today 🙂
I just subscribed by email. I use your recipes all of the time!
beantownbaker — January 8th, 2013 @ 8:43 pm
What a great idea. I always forget about that feature 🙂
I can’t get enough peppermint, even after the holidays! I make a similar cookie, but love that you added white chocolate in for these 🙂
beantownbaker — January 8th, 2013 @ 8:44 pm
Peppermint is definitely one of my favorite flavors. I loved the candy pieces that were on the edges of these cookies and got all crispy!
I didn’t get to decorate the house or get a tree… I have a feeling I may go overboard next Christmas. Hope you guys are settling in!
beantownbaker — January 8th, 2013 @ 8:44 pm
I already got Hubby agree to two trees next year! hope the new house is going well for you guys.
Kind of sad that I have to wait another 9-10 months before it becomes socially acceptable to make these….
beantownbaker — January 8th, 2013 @ 8:45 pm
It’s still winter, so it’s definitely still acceptable in my book!
great tip on the candy canes! what a fabulous way to break in the new oven 🙂
These cookies look so yummy, what a great idea with candy canes