Snickers Filled Halloween Cupcakes

My friend Jen had a Halloween this past Saturday night and I wanted to bring a spooky Halloween themed treat to go along with her creepy, disgusting theme.  (Think blueberry eyeball punch, mummy pizza, "blood" shots, etc.) I baked chocolate cupcakes with mini Snickers bars inside, which are Jen's favorite Halloween candy, and topped them with caramel buttercream. She gave me some red food coloring and bloody axes she found at the party store and they looked really cool! I wish I got a better picture of the Snickers filling, but the punch was quite potent and I forgot... :)

Oh, not so funny story: I got locked in my bathroom for an hour and a half on Saturday night before the party. Thank goodness I brought my cell phone in there with me and was able to call the landlord who got a locksmith to come rescue me, or else I have no idea what I would have done! I can't tell you how happy I was to get out of there!

PS: I have two more Halloween events to attend this week and I'll be sure to post photos of my Alice in Wonderland costume next week! :)

Snickers Filled Cupcakes

makes about 24 cupcakes

For the cupcakes...

• 2 cups sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 cup boiling water
• 24 mini Snickers bars

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line pans with cupcake liners.
2. Combine sugar & salt in a large bowl.
3. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla and beat on low until just incorporated.  Increase speed to medium and beat two minutes.
4. Add dry ingredients and beat until just incorporated.
5. Stir in boiling water - the batter will be thin but keep stirring until it thickens a bit.
6. Transfer batter to prepared pans, filling each liner about 2/3 of the way full. 
7. Put a mini Snickers bar in the center of the batter of each cupcake. Don't press down too hard as it will fall in while baking.
8. Bake approximately 22 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool in pans about five minutes and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. 

For the frosting...

• 4 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup caramel sauce
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 6-8 cups confectioner's sugar
• red food coloring & small bloody axes for garnish

1. Beat butter on medium speed until smooth and creamy, about two minutes.
2. Add caramel sauce and vanilla and mix to incorporate.
3. Add powdered sugar, one cup at a time, beating on low speed until incorporated to reach the right consistency.  Increase speed to medium-high and whip about one minute until light and fluffy. 
4. Fill a piping bag and pipe onto cupcakes or frost as desired.
5. For the topping, squeeze a bit of red food coloring onto the center of each cupcake. Use a toothpick to swirl it around a bit and make it look like blood. Then stick a bloody axe in to make it look like the frosting is bleeding!