Chocolate-Covered Pretzel Cupcakes

Do you have a happy place? Tonight I got home after spending all day working on a very long and detailed project and all I wanted to do was relax.. so I brought my iPad and all my cooking stuff down to the kitchen to bake, my happy place.

Well, not this particular kitchen. I kind of resent cooking in a school kitchen since nothing seems to work the way it should and it’s always boiling hot since the oven that works best also turns on one burner of the stove.

So while I listened to the beautiful melodies of Ingrid Michaelson, I came up with these cupcakes and I think they turned out pretty dang delicious. If you have a kitchen helper like I did (thanks, Lizzy!), some things will go quicker like the crushing of the pretzels.

But really, these are fun to make. Plus, they taste awesome. I’m such a sucker for the sweet/salty dessert combination.

Fluffy chocolate cake? Yes. Dense, fudgy frosting? You betcha. Crunchy pretzel pieces? Absolutely. And, of course, a caramel-filled valley in the middle. Perfection.

Chocolate Cupcakes

makes 36 cupcakes

3 c. flour
2 c. granulated sugar
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. salt
2/3 c. cocoa powder
1 c. melted butter
2 c. water
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tbsp.vinegar
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Sift together dry ingredients and, in a separate bowl, beat wet ingredients. Slowly incorporate flour mixture into wet ingredients. Put in cupcake cups and bake for 20-25 minutes.

Chocolate Fudge Frosting

adapted from Hershey’s

1 c. butter or margarine
1 1/3 c. cocoa
6 c. powdered sugar
2/3 c. milk
Melt butter. Stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency.Add small amount additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla. About 4 cups frosting.

Cupcake assembly:

16 oz. pretzels, crushed

1 bag microwavable caramels

Frost cupcakes leaving a divot in the center, as pictured above. Let rest for five minutes. In a shallow dish, roll frosted area in crushed pretzel pieces and refrigerate until firm. Melt caramels in microwave according to package instructions and spoon a small amount into the center of the cupcake. Refrigerate until serving time.