Best-Ever Cupcakes by Gooseberry Patch

Here is another tasty recipe from the new, Meals in Minutes Gooseberry Patch cookbook!
My 13 year old made this and they were a huge hit. We have more pictures to add later because she also decorated these for Easter. So cute and tasty!


Best-Ever Cupcakes

Ingredients

1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
3 T. baking cocoa
1 c. sugar
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
6 T. oil
1 t. vanilla extract
1 c. cold water
16 oz container frosting

Directions

In a bowl, blend all the ingredients except frosting; fill 12 paper-lined muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes; cool before frosting; Makes one dozen.

Kitchen Notes:


EB, for being 13, is an excellent baker. I really wish she would let me take more pictures of her baking. She gets ALL into it and my kitchen looks like a hurricane rushed through when she is finished. I'm talking flour, cocoa powder, etc everywhere. Even if she is making a box mix, she can tear up my kitchen in 10 minutes flat.

Since she was 9 years old, I have been able to hand her a recipe and she can make it exactly as written. She is self-sufficient and doesn't need help nor does she want it. If she can't reach something, she pulls the chair to get what she needs.

Baking with your kids is such a wonderful bonding time and learning experience. EB is always learning new things, asking wonderful questions like "what all uses all-purpose flour and if it is all-purpose then why doesn't every recipe use all-purpose flour...." etc. She is getting better at changing things up, too. This recipe called for 1 container of frosting. We have an easy frosting recipe but decided to keep with the Meals in Minutes or the sweet chapter theme of "Treats in a Twinkle" and use the can frosting. The cake is chocolate but she had me purchase vanilla frosting. Once it was time to frost, EB wanted chocolate frosting because she knew that  would be her daddy's choice. So, EB dumped cocoa powder into the frosting tub and made a new, delish frosting. That is why some of the pics are vanilla and chocolate.

Don't pass up any opportunity to be with your daughters. I have two more that are 17 1/2 and won't be around much longer. They grow too fast so grab onto them and enjoy all the time that you have been blessed with.

Enter the Gooseberry Patch Giveaway here on my blog with Meals in Minutes.