Scrumptious as they are, I feel kind of ridiculous talking about cupcakes at the moment. It's been a week since tornadoes ravaged all over Alabama and the Southeast. I've seen trees down and heard countless stories of people who have lost friends and family and homes and communities. My life returned to normal while everywhere I look people are people are donating supplies and money and going to help out. So in the scheme of life and loss, what are cupcakes? Silly as they are, sweets do always bring smiles. So why haven't I done my part? I lose.
Anyway, the original cupcake story: My
little brother all of a sudden grew up and is graduating from college. And he finally decided to host his friends for a lake weekend. Responsible as he is, the extent of Patrick's cooking skills are turkey sandwiches and microwaved nachos. Read: college boys stuck in the woods far from any restaurant armed with only a kitchen and a grill. My mother and I couldn't let these poor boys not experience the full culinary wonder of the lake house. We made a menu.We shopped for them. We wrote down how to grill steaks and bake potatoes. And I made cookies and cupcakes—caramel because caramel cake is his favorite.
Did I mention they are
triple caramel cupcakes? Dense brown sugar-filled cake. Syrupy caramel surprise filling the middle. Sweeter-than-sweet caramel icing on top.
Luckily, I found a way not to waste the leftover caramel icing. The freshly baked Tollhouse chocolate chip cookies sitting on the other side of the kitchen begged to be filled with it. The double doozy combination might have tasted even better than the cupcakes, and the cupcakes were fabulous. Chocolate always wins.
