White Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Frosting

You are going to start noticing a few themes here. Besides chocolate and brown sugar. These themes will be showing up consistently over the next few weeks, months or years, I'm betting. So I hope you like:

1. Ice cream. With the appearance of a brand new ice cream maker in our house, plans to buy the new Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams cookbook, a humid Ohio summer and a girl who's in LOVE with ice cream, what else would you expect?

2. Cookie dough. Because it is amazing. And I've recently discovered an eggless version that tastes just like the real thing, so no risk! Bonus.

3. Cupcakes. I recently took a trip to Chicago with my best friends and there were so many cupcake shops! They inspired me with their cute little icings and surprising flavors.
We went to Molly's Cupcakes (they have swings!) and got these:

We chose chocolate chip cookie dough, red velvet and lemon meringue.

Almost too pretty to eat!

I fell in love with cupcakes, a dessert I previously gave far too little attention. So, today I began my cupcake-making quest, starting out as a beginner with a lot to learn. Eventually I'll master the red velvet and chocolate chip cookie dough, but today I decided to keep it simple and unpolished.

White Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Icing
For the Cupcakes
Ingredients:
4 egg whites
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup milk
1/2 cup crisco
2 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
3-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. vanilla

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a cupcake tin with cupcake liners.

Mix all ingredients except the egg whites. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites for 2 minutes. Beat into the other ingredients.

Pour into cupcake tin, 2/3 full. Don't overfill or you'll end up with a mess!


Bake for 15-20 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.



For the frosting
Ingredients:
2-1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 lb. box powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. sea salt
2-1/2 tsp. vanilla
Bittersweet chocolate chips, chopped







Directions:
Cream butter and brown sugar, then beat in the powdered sugar. Add in other ingredients. Fold in chopped up chocolate chips. Apply liberally to cooled cupcakes. I went for the rustic look and just used a spatula to frost the cupcakes.

I couldn't resist adding chocolate, what a surprise

These cupcakes are sweet and almost caramelly with all the brown sugar. The bittersweet chocolate in the icing evens out the sweetness. I don't know Molly's, I may beat you yet.