Cinnamon Brownie Cupcakes (and an apology!)

I have to apologize for how long it's been! Somehow life got in the way of... life!

Anyway, I made one of the many recipes on my list last night, and although the aesthetics were... shall we say, lacking, the results were delicious nonetheless!

This recipe is actually from www.mccormick.com and was super easy! However do not, as I did, mistake the 4 teaspoons of cinnamon for 4 teaspoons of baking powder, or the cupcakes will end up like mine!

Anyway, here's the process!



For some reason, the array of ingredients is always so impressive to me! It looks so neat and organized... not at all how I actually make things!



Real ingredients wind up looking like brownie mix... but they taste so much better!



I adore chocolate chips. The recipe called for minis, but I didn't have any. I also use milk chocolate chips because they get all gooey and melty and they're sweet and delicious, as chocolate should be!



I also love this KitchenAid mixer. I will miss you when I move out!



As you can see, the cups were very full! This recipe definitely makes more than the 15 promised!



They look pretty ugly, partly because of the baking powder mishap (I removed most of the excess, but obviously not all) and partly because I overfilled the cups!



Post-frosting, they didn't look so scary!

Here's the recipe:

Cinnamon Brownie Cupcakes

1 cup flour
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
4 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce (we were out, so I used canola oil)
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit. Mix flour, cocoa, cinnamon, baking powder and salt in medium bowl, set aside.
2. Mix sugar, applesauce, eggs and vanilla in large bowl. Gradually stir in flour mixture until well mixed. Stir in chocolate chips. Spoon 1/4 cup batter into each of 15 paper-lined muffin cups.
3. Bake 15 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out with fudgy crumbs. Cool in pans on wire rack 10 minutes. Remove from pans, cool completely on wire rack. Frost as desired.

Yum!