Halloweenie Cupcakes

I grew up in a very Catholic and Haitian household, so Halloween was never celebrated much.

We didn't go trick or treating, never bobbed for apples, didn't carve pumpkins, and only got costumes because Halloween coincided with our Christian schools Harvest Festival where you had to dress up as a character from a storybook.

Other than that? Nothing.

The batter is incredibly moist and rich.

I didn't really start celebrating Halloween and dressing up until I got to college.

It took me a while to get  into the swing of things, but I'm fully engaged now.

I've been wanting to try out a chocolate cupcake recipe that I've seen going around. It's heralded as "The BEST Chocolate Cake" and I got the recipe off of Kevin and Amanda's Blog .

I made the cakes for my friend's Halloween party, and while I thought the cakes were good but "regular", everyone else thought they were delicious. People kept commenting, so perhaps I was too hard on them?

I made them X-Large... =D

I dunno.

I suppose I expected some crazy deliciousness that made made feel as if a miracle just happened, but I didn't.

That's a lot to ask for out of a cupcake, right?

I really liked the frosting!

I'm crazy.

Anyways, the icing I used was this one. I actually liked it a lot. It was like a whipped cream consistency, but thicker.

It was uber good.

I did a sucky job decorating them. I know. I was too tired to think, so I smeared frosting on them and then threw on random sprinkles.

It was actually kind of fun.

Yea.

So, Happy Halloween!

Chocolate Cupcake Recipe--CLICK HERE!
Frosting Recipe--CLICK HERE!

Fudgy Brownies with Whipped Peanut Butter Frosting

So decadent!

My little brother loves brownies. 

Brownies with Twix bars baked in, brownies with Heath bars, brownies with plain chocolate.

He loves them all, and I always get suckered into making a batch for him whenever I’m visiting Miami.

I was missing his cute little face this week, so I decided that I’d make brownies in his honor.

Oh, by the way---my “little” brother is 22 years old.

I just thought I should mention it. People tend to get mad at me when they either meet or see a picture of him.

They expect to see an adorable 6 year old with untied shoelaces dangling his feet from a chair while playing a Game Boy.

But, no. He’s a grown man.

I just don’t see it yet. He will forever be my little brother. But, I digress.

Ahh. That shiny crunchy top is the BEST part of a brownie.

Anyways, he loves brownies. So, I made them this week using the recipe from the back of the King Arthur flour bag.

Wanna know a secret?

Although these brownies were all kinds of yummy, chocolaty, and fudgy, I ALWAYS prefer a brownie box mix to those prepared from scratch.

Yea.

I just think they taste as good and are less fuss than measuring flour and butter. Perhaps I’m a sellout? 

Whatever.

So, these are the brownies I made in honor of my little brother. I added my FAVORITE peanut butter frosting to them, and that only made it taste that much better.  =)

Glass of milk and an episode of "Mad Men" goes perfect with these.

**Brownie recipe HERE 

**Peanut Butter Frosting recipe from Food Network HERE