Snickers Cupcakes

Hungry? Hungry for chocolate?  Maybe some peanuts and caramel?  Well grab a huge glass of milk and let's get to town.  Dave looked at these and said they looked intense.  I responded, "Eh, we've got milk," because these cupcakes are rich, delicious and might just be my favorite new cupcake.  The rich, chocolate cupcake is stuffed with chunks of Snickers candy bars and caramel, topped with a creamy caramel buttercream and more chunks of Snickers.  Heaven.  You need these.  They might just change your life.  Or just put you in a nice sugar coma for an afternoon.  Either would be good.

Snickers are one of Dave's favorite candy bars, and with my love of combining candy and desserts, I couldn't resist pinning these cupcakes from Annie's Eats when I saw them.  They were surprisingly easy to put together considering there are extra steps involved when filling a cupcake with yummy goodies.  Annie's recipe was easy to follow and I only made two small changes.  First I added a bit of cake enhancer for texture.  Then I changed the methods for how I stuffed the cupcakes.  For Christmas a few years ago, I received a cupcake plunger, so I used that to create a hole for the filling, but you can take a knife and cut a cone into the top to create a cup for the goodies.  I didn't make my own caramel sauce since I happened to have a jar of the stuff on hand, but you should certainly make your own if you're inclined--go visit Annie's blog for the details there.  If you love chocolate, caramel, Snickers, or all three, you need to make these cupcakes.  Go get your spatula and pay attention: these are that good.

Snickers Cupcakes

Ingredients (for cupcakes and filling)

1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup water
2 cups flour
2 Tablespoons cake enhancer, optional
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
1 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup sour cream, room temperature
1/2 cup caramel sauce
24 fun-sized Snickers bars

In a small bowl, whisk cocoa and water until smooth.

In a medium bowl, whisk flour, cake enhancer, baking soda, baking powder and salt until combined.

In a medium saucepan, heat butter and sugar over medium heat until melted, stirring occasionally to combine.  When butter is melted, remove from heat and transfer to the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with a padded attachment.  Beat on medium low speed for 5 minutes until cooled slightly.

One at a time, add eggs, beating after each addition.  Then add vanilla and cocoa mixture, beating to combine.

Reduce speed to low and add, alternating, flour and sour cream until both are completely added and mix until just combined.

Divide batter among 20 lined muffin cups, filling each about 3/4 full.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove from oven and let cool in pans for a few minutes before moving to wire racks to cool completely.

While the cupcakes cool, chop Snickers bars and place in a medium bowl.  (Note: You can also chop the extra Snickers you'll use as garnish and put those in a separate bowl.)  Add caramel sauce and stir to coat.

Once cupcakes are cool, take a small knife and cut a cone shape into the center of each cupcake, creating a well.  Or for a few bucks, pick up a cupcake plunger that you insert, twist and pull up to create the well.  Reserve cupcake pieces for the baker to indulge in.

Spoon candy-caramel mixture evenly into the wells of the cupcakes, piling on as much as will fit.  The filling does not need to be flush with the tops of the cupcakes.  

Ingredients (for frosting)

2 sticks butter, softened
1 pound powdered sugar
pinch of salt
1/2 cup caramel sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 Tablespoons milk
8 fun-sized Snickers bars, chopped

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitting with the beat attachment, beat butter on medium-high speed for 3-4 minutes until fluffy.  Reduce speed to low and gradually add powdered sugar, increasing speed slightly between additions.  Add salt, then mix in caramel sauce, vanilla and milk.  Increase speed to high and beat until light and fluffy.

Transfer frosting to a piping bag (Note: I didn't use a tip, just the coupling) and pipe onto filled cupcakes.  Top with chunks of Snickers for garnish.

Makes 20 cupcakes.

Happy Baking,
The Cookie Princess

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