Chocolate Butterscotch Cupcakes

There's this little ice cream join in the town in which I grew up in New Jersey.

It's called Jersey Freeze. Maybe you've heard of it from being a local or from the travel channel feature (or food network, or something. It was on tv, okay). Maybe not.

Either way, I used to go there all the time when I was younger, and I would never order anything different from my usual.

Chocolate ice cream with butterscotch sauce. Oh my gosh, so delicious. These cupcakes remind me of that, so they make me happy. These days, my ice cream habits branch off from that usual, mostly because I haven't found an ice cream place up here in Rochester that makes such rich chocolate soft-serve and gooey butterscotch.

Oh stop, I'm drooling.

One time, I went to Jersey Freeze, after I had moved away. I went with a friend from high school who was meeting some friends from her youth group. While there, I ran into my old best friend from middle school - the one who ditched me in seventh grade because I didn't have a boyfriend. Yeah.

The ice cream made that situation far more bearable, and thus begun my lifelong ice cream therapy. Whenever I'm in a bad mood, I still crave ice cream. It's just so smooth and soft, and coats your throat with it's creaminess. It's probably an obsession. Also, her pretending that we lost touch and left on good terms helped too.

But ice cream is terrible for you physical, even if emotionally it's probably the greatest invention known to mankind. I've often been quoted saying ice cream is my favorite food group. This is true. My current favorite is mint ice cream with peanut butter and peanut butter cups mixed in from Coldstone. That sounds awful to you, doesn't it? I probably won't make cupcakes based on that one.

Cupcakes and Pies

Makes 24

Before you start, preheat the oven to 450 F, after baking pies lower it to 350 F. Line cupcake pans with wrappers of your choice.

Your favorite pie crust recipe (I use pre-made, lazy)

Instant butterscotch pudding

1. Divide the pie crust dough into twelve about even pieces. Roll each out and place in mini cupcake tin.
2. bake at 450 F for half as long as you normally would bake a full pie, or until golden brown.
3. Make pudding according to the directions on the box.
4. Scoop pudding into baked pie crusts.

1 cup Buttermilk (I add 1 tbsp vinegar to milk and let it sit)

1/2 cup Cocoa powder

1/2 cup Dark chocolate chips (semi-sweet works too)

1. In a small bowl, combine chocolate chips and cocoa powder. 
2. Microwave 30 sec and then stir.
3. Add buttermilk, then microwave for 30 sec at a time until all the chips are melted.

1 3/4 cups Flour

dash of Salt

1 tsp Baking powder

1. Combine these dry ingredients together in a medium bowl.
2. Set aside for now.

1 1/2 sticks Unsalted butter (room temperature)

1 1/2 cups Granulated sugar

2 Eggs (room temperature)

1 tsp Vanilla extract

1. In a large bowl cream the butter and sugar
2. Add eggs and vanilla

Okay, now that you have all the basic parts made, you can combine them all together.

1. Add chocolate mix to butter mix, and whisk until fully mixed
2. Add dry ingredients mix, and whisk until just moist. Don't overstir or they won't be as fluffy!
3. Spoon a little bit of batter into each cupcake wrapper, add a pie, cover the pie with more batter until the tins are about 2/3 to 3/4 full
4. Bake for 20 minutes, or until spongy on top
5. Remove from cupcake tin and let them cool before frosting.

Frosting

1 stick Salted butter
1/2 cup Shortening
3 cups Confectioners' sugar
Splash of brewed coffee
Leftover butterscotch pudding from pies
Chocolate covered coffee beans for decoration

1. Use an electric mixer to mix butter and shortening until creamy.
2. Add coffee and pudding and continue mixing.
3. Add sugar 1 cup at a time until fully mixed (You may want more or less to taste)
4. Ice cooled cupcakes and topped with coffee beans!