Pickle Cupcakes - April Cupcake of the Month

Happy Thursday to you!

I know it has been over a month since my last post, but the Foster family has been hard at work doing a complete Reno on Victoria's playroom.  I will do a post showing our progress of before and after pictures soon.

Pickle Cupcakes - WHAT!?  I know, right, crazy.  Well if April Shower's bring Mayflowers, what do Pickle's bring?  They bring one happy friend and colleague of mine.  This recipe all came about as I came across one of her posts on Facebook.  What you don't know is she LOVES pickles and posted this recipe from Delish.  I had to make them for her, because I was just as curious to know what they would taste like.

So the challenge was set, and let me tell you, this recipe is super easy, and the cupcakes tasted amazing.  It is all about the little salty/sour and a little sweet, and the bourbon cream cheese icing I will use for other recipes down the road - HOME RUN!  Take a step out of your traditional comfort zone and give these a try.  What a perfect fit this would be as a dessert to a patio party by the grill.

For the full Delish recipe please visit: https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/recipes/a56102/pickle-cupcakes-recipe

Ingredients: Yields 12 cupcakes

For the Cupcakes:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup sour cream
2 eggs
1/4 cup pickle juice
1/4 cup chopped pickles (about one spear)

For the Icing:
1/2 cup butter, softened
8 ounce cream cheese, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
3 tbsp. bourbon - I used Elijah Craig Bourbon Whiskey
Pinch of Salt
Pickle Slices, for garnish  - I cut the slices in half to garnish the cupcakes

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners
2. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt - if you don't have a sifter, just whisk it together.
3. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar.
4. Add the eggs and beat until combined
5. Add sour cream and pickle juice and beat until evenly mixed.
6. Then stir in the flour mixture (slowly) until completely combined - scraping down the sides of the bowl as you go.
7. Add the chopped pickles and mix until just combined.
8. Scoop about a 1/4 cup of batter into each cupcake liner (I used a cookie dough scooper, which equals to two scoops per cupcake liner).
9. Bake each cupcake liner and bake until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cupcake comes out clean, about 20-25 minutes (mine were perfect at 23 minutes exactly).
10. Let cool completely.
11. For the frosting: In a large bowl, beat together butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy.
12. Add the powdered sugar, bourbon and salt and beat until smooth.
13. Pipe the frosting onto each cupcake (if you don't have piping bags, or a piping machine, simply use a knife to spread).
14. Garnish with a pickle slice and ENJOY!