Chocolate Cupcakes

1⅓ cups all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

½ cup cocoa powder

2 large Eggland’s Best eggs

¾ teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon salt

½ cup Longmont Dairy whole milk

½ cup butter, softened

½ cup hot water

Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Add vanilla extract and beat until combined.

Sift together the dry ingredients and add half just until combined. Beat in milk, followed by the other half of the dry ingredients. Add hot water until combined. Do not overmix.

Divide batter evenly between 16 muffin cups. Bake at 350° F for 15-20 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes, remove from pan and cool completely.

Buttercream Frosting

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

⅛ teaspoon salt

4 cups powdered sugar

2-4 tablespoons Longmont Dairy

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

heavy cream or milk

Beat butter until creamy and smooth. Stir in 1 cup of powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and salt, until combined. Add remaining powdered sugar until completely combined. Beat in heavy cream or milk, one tablespoon at a time until desired consistency is reached.

When cool, cut the cupcake horizontally. In a one-pint, wide-mouth Mason jar, layer the bottom half of a cupcake, a few spoonfuls of buttercream frosting, the top of the cupcake, then more buttercream frosting. To dress up your dessert, decorate with sprinkles, candy corn, gummy worms, or whatever you choose!