The Yummiest Chocolate Chip Cupcakes!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease & flour 2 - 10" round pans or makes 24 cupcakes so just use cupcake liners in a muffin tin.

1 box Duncan Hines Devils Food Cake Mix
1 pkg. instant chocolate pudding
4 eggs
1/4 C oil
3/4 C water
1 C sour cream
6 oz. chocolate chips

Mix all ingredients (except sour cream & choc. chips)
Then fold in sour cream & chips.
MIX WELL.

Bake 40 min

Spinach Dip!

1 (10 oz.) pkg. frozen chopped spinach, thawed (do not use fresh)
1 1/2 c. sour cream
1 c. mayonnaise
1 (4 oz.) pkg. Knorr vegetable soup mix
1 (8 oz.) can water chestnuts,

Squeeze spinach until dry. In medium bowl, stir together spinach, sour cream and soup mix. Add Water chestnuts. Cover and refrigerate 2 hours or overnight.

* You can serve this in a bread bowl, buy a pumpernickel or rye loaf (unsliced) usually found in the bakery area of your local grocery store. Hallow out the middle saving the bread to use for dipping. Put dip into bread & serve with the bread and other favorite dippers. I make a Tastefully Simple Beer bread to go along with mine & it was fantastic.*

My Strawberry ButterCream Icing!!

Ingredients:
•1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening
•1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine softened
•1 teaspoon vanilla extract
•4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar (approximately 1 lb.)
•2 tablespoons milk
6-8 Large Strawberries Diced (I used fresh)
Makes: About 3 cups of icing.

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instructions
(Medium Consistency)
In large bowl, cream shortening and butter with electric mixer. Add vanilla. Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl often. When all sugar has been mixed in, icing will appear dry. Add milk and beat at medium speed until light and fluffy. Using a spatula mix in carefully the diced strawberries, adding more or less it's totally up to you. Ice cupcakes or cake for a fresh and different treat.
Keep bowl covered with a damp cloth until ready to use.

For best results, keep icing bowl in refrigerator when not in use. Refrigerated in an airtight container, this icing can be stored 2 weeks. Re whip before using.

For thin (spreading) consistency icing, add 2 tablespoons light corn syrup, water or milk.

Strawberry Cupcakes *My Way*

Strawberry cupcakes *My Way*!
*Make with my Strawberry buttercream recipe*
Makes 1 dozen

* 2/3 cup whole fresh or frozen strawberries, thawed
* 2 cups Cake Flour ( I used softassilk cake flour)
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
* 1/4 cup whole milk, room temperature
* 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
* 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
* 1 cup sugar
* 1 large egg, room temperature
* 2 large egg whites, room temperature

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners; set aside.
2. Place strawberries in a small food processor; process until pureed. You should have about 1/3 cup of puree, add a few more strawberries if necessary or save any extra puree for frosting; set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a small bowl, mix together milk, vanilla, and strawberry puree; set aside.
4. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter on medium-high speed, until light and fluffy. Gradually add sugar and continue to beat until well combined and fluffy. Reduce the mixer speed to medium and slowly add egg and egg whites until just blended.
5. With the mixer on low, slowly add half the flour mixture; mix until just blended. Add the milk mixture; mix until just blended. Slowly add remaining flour mixture, scraping down sides of the bowl with a spatula, as necessary, until just blended.
6. Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups. Transfer muffin tin to oven and bake until tops are just dry to the touch, 22 to 25 minutes. Transfer muffin tin to a wire rack and let cupcakes cool completely in tin before icing

( in the original recipe I used All purpose flour & although very tasty I found the cake to be more dense. If you like a more dense cake that by all means use the all purpose. I thought that the cake flour make this cupcake 10x's better, light & fluffier. Amazing! Also make this with the Strawberry butter cream, talk about heaven.)