My friend Elisabeth got married a few months back and for her wedding shower I gave her a cookbook called Cupcakes! and a muffin pan. Because the cookbook looked so good (yes I judge a cookbook by it’s cover and the pictures in it) I bought myself one as well. We had talked about getting together to bake cupcakes and finally did so this past weekend. After flipping through a number of pages of delicious looking (and sounding) cupcakes we narrowed it down to the Mississippi Mud cupcakes.

While I was at Fresh World buying the Oreos for the crusty bit, I picked up a few Asian snacks for Elisabeth and Ben (her husband). If you have a Fresh World near you and haven’t been yet, I suggest you check it out, it is a cultural experience. Fresh World is half regular grocery store, half Chinese/Korean/Indian/Hispanic grocery store (I won’t say world market because there is a lot missing from that list). I have seen a few stranger things there than I saw when I lived in China. Some of my favorites are “American Coffee” (Japanese version, in a can), pig uterus (among other strange animal parts), and the aisle full of Asian candies and snacks. I picked up some tasty chocolate/cookie goods for Elisabeth and “Fried Chicken Snack” for Ben . . . mmm. The greatest part about “Fried Chicken Snack” is that when you look at the ingredients there is nothing chicken about it.

That was a bit of a tangent, but I thought I would share. I am currently without a tripod and the lighting was not fantastic so I didn’t get quite as many good shots.

Crushed Oreo cookie crumbs makeup the bottom of the cupcake

3 oz. of semi-sweet chocolate in Elisabeth’s great measuring cups ready to be melted

Chocolate sour cream batter on top of crushed Oreo cookies and a few chocolate chips

Mississippi Mud Cupcakes! They are not the most photogenic but they sure pack a sugary chocolaty punch!

Bonus: Elisabeth with the Fried Chicken Snack pack