Valentine Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

Here is one of our new family favorite recipes.  Aidan requested them this morning, so I got baking after he went off to school. They are pretty easy to make and taste SUPER-DEE-DUPER!!

Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

8 oz. cream cheese

1 egg

1/3 cup sugar

1/8 tsp. salt

1 cup chocolate chips

1 1/2 cup flour

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup cocoa

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup water

1 Tbsp. vinegar

1/3 cup oil

Combine first 4 ingredients; beat well.  Stir in chocolate chips.  In second bowl, mix next five ingredients together.  Add water, vinegar and oil.  Beat until well blended.  Fill muffin tins 1/2 full of chocolate batter.  Top each with heaping teaspoon of cream cheese/chocolate chip mixture.  Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes.

(I usually make "mini" cupcakes as we have lots of little mouths to feed here, and quite honestly I feel better about eating a few mini muffins in comparison to a few regular muffins :)  So when I make the minis I bake them for 10 minutes.  Today I used red paper liners to tie into my Valentines day celebration and I liked that much better because I hate scrubbing mini muffin pans...big pain in my buttocks....or my husbands if I "forget" them in the sink for later....  Today I added a few drops of red food coloring to the cream cheese mixture to make it pink.  I also doubled the "cake" part of the recipe today and used up the whole single batch of the cream cheese/chocolate chip mixture as I found last time I made them I had quite a bit of the cream cheese mixture left over.  I like to bake in bulk...and give it away otherwise I end up eating most of it in the night when my family is sleeping...weird I know!  So today with being Valentines day we are going to go and give cupcakes to our neighbours....

LUKE 10:27 NKJ 

27 So he answered and said, " `You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,' and `love your neighbor as yourself.' " (emphasis mine)

So as God's representatives here on earth, I challenge you to show unselfish love not only to those who are in your household, but to put your love into action for those around wherever you are.