All you need is a few pantry staples to make this super chocolaty and delicious Small-batch Chocolate Frosting.
Hey, folks. Happy Monday, and if you are in the US, Happy Labor Day. I hope you’re enjoying your three-day weekend.
As promised , I have another small-batch frosting for you today. This time, Small-batch Chocolate Frosting. Or as some might say (me, I say it), the best frosting.
This chocolate frosting is an American buttercream, which means it’s one of the easiest frostings you can possibly make, and you almost certainly have the ingredients to make it any time the urge strikes because you just need butter, powdered sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla, and a little milk or cream.
I like to throw a little espresso powder in there to give it an even deeper chocolate flavor (the hint of coffee flavor really brings it out) but that’s a totally optional ingredient and the frosting is still impossibly good without it.
With or without espresso, it’s fantastically rich and fudgy, the type of frosting you kind of want to just eat out of the bowl before it even makes its way to your cupcakes. 😉
Since this is a small-batch frosting recipe, it makes about 3/4 cup, which will frost four big swirls on cupcakes, six smaller swirls, or up to eight cookies or cupcakes when frosted with a knife.
I’ve used it on my Small-batch Chocolate Cupcakes on the site, and it’s A++ over Small-batch Vanilla Cupcakes as well.
Looking for more Small-batch Frosting Recipes ? Try my Vanilla Frosting , Cookie Dough Frosting , Strawberry Frosting , and Oreo Frosting (all small-batch!)
Ingredients
Special Equipment
- ▢ Handheld electric mixer optional but helpful
Chocolate Frosting
- ▢ 4 tablespoons ( 2oz ) unsalted butter softened*
- ▢ 1 cup ( 120g ) powdered sugar sifted
- ▢ 1/4 cup ( 20g ) cocoa powder sifted
- ▢ 1 1/2 teaspoons milk plus more as needed
- ▢ 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ▢ Pinch of espresso powder optional
- ▢ Pinch of salt
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, beat softened butter until light and fluffy. Add remaining ingredients and beat until well-combined and fluffy. Add more milk by the 1/4 teaspoon if necessary until frosting reaches your desired consistency.
Notes
Freezer Meatballs are easy to make, SO good, and extra convenient for busy weeknights!
Looking for more freezer-friendly meals? Try these Easy Beef Pasties and Slow Cooker Tri-tip Sandwiches !
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, I love every recipe I post here (well, except these Samoa Cupcakes –shredded coconut is gross, y’all 😉 ), but sometimes I work on a recipe, and I get a little extra obsessed with it. These Freezer Meatballs are one of those.
They are sooooooo good!!!
Meatballs are kind of the perfect food for freezing because making them is just time-consuming enough that it makes sense to make a big batch of them at once rather than lots of little batches, and because since they are nice and moist, they freeze and reheat beautifully. Plus they are incredibly versatile so you can use them in tons of different meals and not get sick of them.
I don’t eat a ton of red meat, especially ground beef, but the last couple weeks, while I’ve been testing this recipe, it has been meatball central around here, and I couldn’t have been happier.
This recipe will make about 32 meatballs. You fully cook them, freeze them, and then any time you feel like spaghetti and meatballs, instead of having to make an entire meatball batch, you just pull a handful of these out of the freezer, reheat, and enjoy.
Aside from being super convenient, my favorite thing about these freezer meatballs is that they taste AMAZING. My recipe uses half ground beef and half sausage, so they are extra flavorful. They’re fabulous with spaghetti and red sauce, in meatball sandwiches (recipe coming soon!), or just as a snack when you need a little protein.
What’s your favorite way to eat meatballs?
Ingredients
- ▢ 1/2 large onion grated
- ▢ 1/3 cup skim milk
- ▢ 1 egg
- ▢ 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- ▢ 3/4 cup bread crumbs
- ▢ 1/2 cup ( 2oz ) shredded Parmesan cheese
- ▢ 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning *
- ▢ 1 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- ▢ 1/2 teaspoon salt
- ▢ 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- ▢ 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes omit for less heat
- ▢ 1 pound lean ground beef
- ▢ 1 pound Italian sausage * hot or mild, casings removed
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400°F. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with foil and lightly grease.
- In a large bowl, combine first 11 ingredients (everything except the meats) and stir until well combined. Allow to sit for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Add ground beef and sausage and use your hands to mix well. Form 1 1/2-inch/ 1.5-ounce meatballs and place on baking sheets, 16 to a sheet for 32 total. Bake meatballs for 10 minutes, swap top and bottom trays (if baking both at the same time) and bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until meatballs are no longer pink inside/have an internal temperature of 165°. Serve and enjoy or freeze.
Notes
- In Sauce Simmer in sauce for 15 to 25 minutes until heated through.
- Microwave (best for just a few meatballs) Place meatballs in a single layer in a microwave-safe dish and cover with a couple layers of damp paper towels. Microwave for 2 to 3 minutes, flipping the meatballs every minute or so.
- In the Oven Preheat oven to 350°F. Place meatballs in a single layer, 1/2-inch apart on a lightly greased baking sheet and cover with foil. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until heated through.
Small-batch Oreo Cupcakes, moist chocolate cupcakes with an Oreo baked right into them and the best Oreo frosting on top!
Looking for more Small-batch Cupcakes? Try these Small-batch Vanilla Cupcakes , Small-batch Hostess Cupcakes , and Small-batch Pumpkin Cupcakes !
Hey, friends. How was your week? Did you ever recover from having Monday off? Like I said in Wednesday’s post ( Cinnamon Sugar Baked Pumpkin Donuts go make them now!!), I worked through the long weekend trying to get ahead on the blog. I shot an entire month’s worth of recipes last week and then burned out hard by the middle of this one. I ended up taking Wednesday afternoon for a little me time and to go to the movies by myself ( Wind River –if you like quiet thrillers, would recommend). And I have to say after the break, I feel much more enthusiastic about food again and ready to tackle another month of recipes. 😉
Plus it doesn’t hurt that today I get to talk about one of my favorite ingredients, Oreos!
I’m not much of a snacker, so I almost never eat Oreos on their own, but I always have a container of them in my cupboard because they are one of my absolute favorite baking ingredients. They’re perfect. You can use them in a crust , in ice cream , put them in cookies . There’s not much you can’t do with them, and that includes baking them into cupcakes!
Who feels like an Oreo cupcake?
These Small-batch Oreo Cupcakes start with an Oreo pressed into the bottom of the cupcake pan, which gets topped with my favorite Small-batch Chocolate Cupcake batter. And it is so good When you bake Oreos, their texture changes so they almost melt in your mouth when you bite into them, and it’s absolutely one of the major selling points of these cupcakes.
Well that, and the Oreo Frosting on top. I posted a standalone recipe for this frosting a couple of weeks ago. It’s an American buttercream with just a little cream cheese mixed in and Oreo crumbs, and it’s to die for. It tastes like a more decadent version of the creamy center of an Oreo, and I dare you not to lick the bowl when you make it. Then, just to make these Oreo Cupcakes extra cute, I drizzled chocolate over the top and garnished them with another Oreo piece.
This small-batch cupcake recipe makes four cupcakes, and best of all, it uses exactly six Oreos (okay, technically five and a half), so if you don’t usually buy/eat Oreos, you don’t have to buy a big container of them. Just grab one of those little six packs from the checkout aisle.
Or, pro tip, if you’re like me and bake often with Oreos, buy a box of snack packs. That way you always have Oreos on hand, but you don’t have to worry about them getting stale in your cupboard!
Tell me, are you an Oreo fan? What’s your favorite way to eat them?
This recipe uses just one egg yolk. Check out these Egg White Recipes for ideas on what to do with the leftover egg white.
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- ▢ 6 Oreos divided
- ▢ 2 tablespoons ( 1oz ) unsalted butter
- ▢ 2 tablespoons ( 21g ) chopped semi-sweet chocolate good quality chips are fine
- ▢ 1 1/2 teaspoons vegetable oil
- ▢ 1/4 cup ( 30g ) all-purpose flour
- ▢ 2 tablespoons ( 11g ) cocoa powder sifted if lumpy
- ▢ 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- ▢ 1/8 teaspoon salt
- ▢ 1/4 cup ( 50g ) granulated sugar
- ▢ 1 large egg yolk
- ▢ 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ▢ 2 tablespoons milk any percentage
- ▢ 2 tablespoons hot coffee or water
Oreo Frosting
- ▢ 2 tablespoons ( 1oz ) unsalted butter softened
- ▢ 1 ounce cream cheese softened
- ▢ 1 cup ( 120g ) powdered sugar sifted
- ▢ 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon milk or cream
Topping
- ▢ 3 tablespoons chopped chocolate good quality chips are fine
Instructions
Cupcakes
- Preheat your oven to 350°F and line your cupcake pan with 4 liners. Place 1 full Oreo in each of the cupcake cups.
- In a small, microwave-safe bowl, combine butter, chocolate, and vegetable oil. Microwave for 15 seconds and stir. Repeat until mixture is completely melted and smooth. Set aside to cool slightly.
- In a small bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together sugar, egg yolk, and vanilla until well-combined. Whisk in cooled chocolate mixture until smooth. Whisk in flour mixture until just mixed. Add milk and coffee and whisk until smooth. (Batter will be quite thin.)
- Spoon or pour batter into your prepared cupcake cups, filling 2/3 of the way full. Discard any excess batter.
- Bake for 16 to 19 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcakes comes out clean or with just a few crumbs. Once the cupcakes are cool enough to handle, transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely before frosting, 15 to 20 minutes.
Frosting
- Separate 1 Oreo and scrape filling into small bowl. Place both sides of the cookie into a small plastic bag and crush into a fine crumb.
- To the bowl with the Oreo center, add softened butter and cream cheese. Beat until smooth. Add powdered sugar and cookie crumbs and 1 teaspoon of milk or cream. Beat until sugar is completely incorporated and frosting is fluffy. Add up to 2 teaspoons more of milk or cream if necessary until frosting reaches your desired consistency.
- Transfer frosting to a piping bag and pipe onto cupcakes.
Chocolate Topping
- Place chocolate in a small, microwave-safe bowl and microwave in 15-second increments, stirring in between, until smooth. Use a spoon to drizzle over cupcakes or transfer to a small plastic bag and snip off one corner to “pipe” chocolate on.
- Divide final remaining Oreo in two and quarter one half of the cookie. Garnish each cupcake with one of the quarters and eat the remaining Oreo half.
All you need is a few pantry staples to make this super chocolaty and delicious Small-batch Chocolate Frosting.
Hey, folks. Happy Monday, and if you are in the US, Happy Labor Day. I hope you’re enjoying your three-day weekend.
As promised , I have another small-batch frosting for you today. This time, Small-batch Chocolate Frosting. Or as some might say (me, I say it), the best frosting.
This chocolate frosting is an American buttercream, which means it’s one of the easiest frostings you can possibly make, and you almost certainly have the ingredients to make it any time the urge strikes because you just need butter, powdered sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla, and a little milk or cream.
I like to throw a little espresso powder in there to give it an even deeper chocolate flavor (the hint of coffee flavor really brings it out) but that’s a totally optional ingredient and the frosting is still impossibly good without it.
With or without espresso, it’s fantastically rich and fudgy, the type of frosting you kind of want to just eat out of the bowl before it even makes its way to your cupcakes. 😉
Since this is a small-batch frosting recipe, it makes about 3/4 cup, which will frost four big swirls on cupcakes, six smaller swirls, or up to eight cookies or cupcakes when frosted with a knife.
I’ve used it on my Small-batch Chocolate Cupcakes on the site, and it’s A++ over Small-batch Vanilla Cupcakes as well.
Looking for more Small-batch Frosting Recipes ? Try my Vanilla Frosting , Cookie Dough Frosting , Strawberry Frosting , and Oreo Frosting (all small-batch!)
Ingredients
Special Equipment
- ▢ Handheld electric mixer optional but helpful
Chocolate Frosting
- ▢ 4 tablespoons ( 2oz ) unsalted butter softened*
- ▢ 1 cup ( 120g ) powdered sugar sifted
- ▢ 1/4 cup ( 20g ) cocoa powder sifted
- ▢ 1 1/2 teaspoons milk plus more as needed
- ▢ 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ▢ Pinch of espresso powder optional
- ▢ Pinch of salt
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, beat softened butter until light and fluffy. Add remaining ingredients and beat until well-combined and fluffy. Add more milk by the 1/4 teaspoon if necessary until frosting reaches your desired consistency.
Notes
Small-batch Chocolate Frosting
Ingredients
Special Equipment
- Handheld electric mixer optional but helpful
Chocolate Frosting
- 4 tablespoons ( 2oz ) unsalted butter softened*
- 1 cup ( 120g ) powdered sugar sifted
- 1/4 cup ( 20g ) cocoa powder sifted
- 1 1/2 teaspoons milk plus more as needed
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch of espresso powder optional
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, beat softened butter until light and fluffy. Add remaining ingredients and beat until well-combined and fluffy. Add more milk by the 1/4 teaspoon if necessary until frosting reaches your desired consistency.
