Best Ever Chocolate Cupcakes

Not from the box. No sawdust included. I hope that doesn't disappoint anyone.

Chocolate Cupcakes:    Shannon Brems, originally from Suzanne Disbrow

3 C. flour

2 C. sugar

½ C. cocoa

2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

Mix the above in Bosch. Then blend in:

2 eggs

1 C. buttermilk

1 C. oil

Then pour in:

1 C. boiling water

1 tsp. vanilla

Mix well. Use ¼ cup measuring cup to distribute the batter evenly amongst the 36 cupcake liners.

Bake at 330 for 20 minutes.

Fast Fudge Frosting:

1/3 C. butter

1/3 C. hot water

Put the above in a microwave-safe bowl, and microwave until butter melts and water is boiling hot. Add:

Dash of salt

1 tsp. vanilla

½ C. cocoa

4+ C. powdered sugar

Dip the tops of the cupcakes into the frosting and let them “dry.”

Cream Cheese Frosting:

8 oz. cream cheese

1 C. butter

5 C. powdered sugar

2 tsp. vanilla

Beat butter and cream cheese for 2 minutes. Add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time beating for 1 minute with each addition. Add vanilla in the middle. Pipe onto cupcakes.

Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day

I randomly came across this book a couple of weeks ago and thought, "Pfft, yeah, right." I have been making my own bread for years, and it always takes at least an hour and a half, if not two." However, the more I read the reviews and saw the delicious pictures, I was hooked. I bought both of the authors' bread books from Amazon last week, and I have more than doubled my butter intake in the last 24 hours. BUT! I'm in love. As in, I have devoured three loaves in the last 24 hours type of in love.

(Please, if you're interested in their method and recipes, be respectful of their time and energies and buy their book.)

Here's what I love so far:

* It truly is only five minutes of "work" on the day I want bread. (Take the tub out of the fridge, hack a chunk off, cloak it, and put it on the pizza peel to rest/rise) The rest/rise time is 40 minutes and the baking takes 30 minutes, just FYI. Heck, it's only five minutes of mixing on the day you make the dough.
* The hard, crispy outside and the soft, gluten-y inside is pure perfection.
* No kneading the loaves, so I don't even have to get my beloved Bosch all messy. One big plastic tub (with a lid) and a wooden spoon. Five minutes of mixing.Voila!
* You don't have to wash the tub between batches. In fact, they suggest just the opposite. Even better!

This is my second try. Look at the brown and crispy edges! Mmm . . . 

Here's what I haven't loved so far:
* The initial expense of buying a lidded tub, pizza peel, and cooling rack (because I didn't already have these items), but that was a minor purchase of < $30. If you don't have a pizza stone, that would be another larger expense.
* The (what I'm assuming is an) incorrect indentation of ingredients on the Master Recipe. Pardon the soap box. I'm a printer's daughter with an English degree. See below.

Why the indentation for the flour?  (Come on! It's the Master Recipe!) 

Clearly you can see that the love far outweighs the not-love. SO! Go buy their book and make some goodness for your family today. And tomorrow. And the next day. Like I am doing. Because it's that good. Trust me. GO.