I’m generally really bad about posting timely recipes. I make my Christmas cookies at Christmas, not before, so I don’t have anything to post about them until afterward. Apply that same thing to pretty much every holiday themed treat and there you have it.

Well, luckily for you, I was determined to get something up in time for Valentine’s Day. I hope to make this a tradition for all the holidays this year, but realistically speaking I’m guessing one, maybe two, will make it. But that won’t stop me from trying!

So, inspired by a super cute picture from Pinterest, I was determined to make these cupcakes BEFORE Valentine’s Day. The flavors are chocolate + strawberry, so I was all “aw, chocolate-covered strawberries!” I think that, technically, the chocolate would have to be on top for it to be “chocolate-covered”, but whatever.

I played with the idea of making a chocolate ganache for the top, or even placing a little chocolate-covered strawberry on top of them… all great ideas, but since I’m not getting around to posting this until the DAY BEFORE Valentine’s Day, I decided to opt for the fastest, most stress-free way possible.

So, something relatively unheard of around here – BOX mix (GASP!) – to make all of your lives easier. You can definitely whip these up in time for your Valentine sweety or to take to work (or, as I like to do, send them to work with your other half so that you’re not tempted to eat any), or if you’ve got a Little whose got no Valentine, send them off to school with a bunch of these bad boys and they’ll be sure to win over their classmates.

Some reviews I read complained about the brownie portion of these not baking all the way through. Mine baked just fine (maybe they weren’t realizing that the brownie portion would be fudgy and brownie-like?), I’m sure it could be remedied by following the “cake-like brownie” directions, or just using a chocolate cake mix instead of a brownie. I used milk chocolate brownies, because Boyfriend loves the milk chocolate, but dark chocolate or whatever your favorite is will do just fine.

I did not follow the recipe that was posted online, but instead followed the recipes on the back of my box mixes. So if you decide to use a different type of cake or brownie mix than I did, just follow the instructions on the back of the box. If you’re not a particularly big fan of strawberry cake, just use white and dye it red or pink 🙂 If you’re super anti box mix, just use your favorite cake and brownie recipes.

Happy Valentine’s Day <3

Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Cupcakes

[ Printable Recipe ]

•           1 (19.5 ounce) “family size” package brownie mix
•           2 eggs
•           1/2 cup canola oil
•           1/4 cup water
•           1 (18.25 ounce) package strawberry cake mix
•           1 1/3 Cups Water
•           1/3 Cup Vegetable Oil
•           3 Large Eggs
•           1 container fluffy white frosting (or frosting of your choice)

1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line 36 muffin cups with paper liners.

2. Prepare brownie mix according to package directions, set aside.

3. Prepare cake mix according to package directions, set aside.

4. Spoon the brownie batter into prepared muffin cups, filling each cup 1/3 full. Spoon the cake batter over the brownie batter, until muffin cups are each 2/3 full.

(I did this one pan at a time, so that one pan was baking as I was filling the 2^nd pan)

5. Bake in the preheated oven until golden and the tops spring back when lightly pressed, and a toothpick comes out clean – about 20 minutes.

6. Cool completely, then frost and decorate as desired. Let your other half try one for “quality control” because he (or she) just can’t wait for them to cool.

* If you decide to use a different type of cake or brownie mix than I did, just follow the instructions on the back of the box. If you’re super anti box mix, just use your favorite cake and brownie recipes.