Bon Bon Cupcakes

Vanilla Cupcake Stuffed with Chocolate, Frosted with Almond Buttercream with a Chocolate Swirl on Top.

It's getting closer to Christmas-time, so I've got cookies on my mind... Can't wait for tomorrow when I start to bake them! My mom needed cupcake for a work party tonight, so I decided to make on of my favorite Christmas cookies into a cupcake.. the Bon Bon. 

A bon bon cookie is a ball of dough around 6 chocolate chips which is baked, then glazed with a pink almond glaze and swirled with chocolate. They look like this:

The Amazingly Delicious Bon Bon!

I think my cupcakes are pretty close! And they taste surprisingly similar to the cookie version.

Vanilla Cupcakes (from Martha Stewart)

(makes 12) I halved Martha's recipe

1.5 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 plus 1/8 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons unsalted butter softened

3/4 cups sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 plus 1/8 cups milk 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a standard 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners; set aside.
2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.
3. Put butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer. Mix on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
4. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing well.
5. Add vanilla. Reduce speed to medium.
6. Mix in 3 batches of flour mixture, alternating with 2 batches of milk.
7. Raise speed to medium-high; mix until thoroughly blended, 10 to 20 seconds.
8. Spoon 1/4 cup batter into each muffin cup. Place a piece of chocolate into the batter and bake for about 17 minutes. Let cool in tin on wire racks 10 minutes.

the inside

Almond Frosting (from Little Lady Cakes)

(makes enough for 24 cupcakes)

1/2 C. Shortening
1/2 C. Room Temperature Butter

1 T. Almond Extract

2 TBS. Heavy Whipping Cream 

4 Cups of powdered sugar

1 TBS. Meringue Powder 

1. cream together shortening, butter, and almond extract. 
2. Sift together the sugar and meringue powder. 
3. Mix in the dry ingredients. 
4. Add cream and beat at medium speed.

Chocolate Swirl:

6 T Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

Combine and melt in a double-boiler or microwave. Let stand 5 minutes.

Spread frosting onto cupcakes and pipe a swirl with chocolate.

The Finished Product