Recipe of the Week..."Miracle Whip Cupcakes"

Yes, you read the title of this post correctly...Miracle Whip is one of the main ingredients of this cupcake! When I was a little girl, my mom used to make these for me and they were my FAVORITE! The Miracle Whip takes the place of eggs and oil, and to cut a few calories I used the lite version for these cupcakes. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Miracle Whip Salad Dressing
• 1 cup sugar
• 4 Tbsp. baking cocoa
• 2 cups flour
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 cup cold water

Method:
Mix first three ingredients together using an electric mixer. Gradually add remaining ingredients and beat until combined. (The batter will be the consistency of chocolate pudding.) Place baking liners into muffin tins, and fill each approximately half full. Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into cupcakes comes out clean. Place cupcakes on cooling rack to completely cool before frosting. Yield: Approximately 2 dozen cupcakes.

Chocolate Butter Frosting Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 1/2 cup baking cocoa
• 1/3 cup milk
• 2 tsp. vanilla

Method:
In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and cocoa with an electric mixer until fluffy. Gradually add powdered sugar and milk to butter/cocoa mixture, beating until fluffy. Add vanilla to mixture. If needed, more milk can be added for consistency. Spread or pipe frosting onto cupcakes.

Since I made these treats to share with the student aides that I work with, (and some of the teachers that visit our library throughout the day, too!), I added some cute Easter toppers to the cupcakes. You can find lots of free printable cupcake toppers online...I printed these from do-it-yourself-invitations.com.

Wishing you a terrific day!