Fabulous Food Friday with Food Floozie

Welcome to Fabulous Food Friday! While exploring the blogosphere, I realized that there were many great recipes to share. So every Friday, I am going to try to feature an awesome blogger with their great recipe! Today’s feature blogger is Yenta Mary from Food Floozie. When you get a chance, swing by Mary's delicious blog. You’ll definitely find something you love!

So here's Yenta Mary and her winning recipe:

Hi, Everyone!!! I am so honored and thrilled to have been invited to write a guest post here at Between the Lines! It's a fabulous site full of warmth and fun, so I'm really excited to have been welcomed ... :) Kelly, you are such a sweetheart!

My site, Food Floozie, is all about ... you got it -- FOOD!!! Recipes, ingredients, cookbooks, restaurants, cooking contests, lunchboxes, and any other tidbits will all find their way into the mix eventually. I describe myself this way in my site's header: "floo·zie \ˈflü-zē\: a usually young woman of loose morals." Thus a Food Floozie is not a woman who can be seduced by virtually any man, but rather a woman who can be seduced by virtually any food (other than sushi). So if it's in any way food-related, I am absolutely there!!!

But on to my mission: sharing a recipe. This one is incredibly easy, and perfect for picnics or barbecues or any other summer adventure that may require a sweet treat. It's a minor variation on one of my favorites, both in terms of taste and in terms of sentimental value -- my Special Mocha Cupcakes were a Grand Prize winner at Taste of Home Magazine in 2007, earning me both a cash prize as well as a trip to New York City (my hometown!) to appear on CBS' "The Early Show." Who knew cupcakes could provide that much fun???

To make them a bit more festive, I've varied them by adding cherries to the batter and adding a decorative cherry on top. Chocolate Cherry Cupcakes ... you can't go wrong with that combination!

Batter:
1-1/2 cups unbleached flour
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 large eggs
1/2 cup juice from a jar of maraschino cherries
1/2 cup oil
3 teaspoons cider vinegar
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cup maraschino cherries, drained well and chopped

Topping:
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup half-and-half
16 whole maraschino cherries

Preheat oven to 350 F. Place 16 paper liners into muffin tins.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Combine the eggs, cherry juice, oil, vinegar and vanilla; pour over the dry ingredients and combine well. Stir in the chopped cherries.

Divide the batter among the paper liners, filling each about 2/3 full. Bake for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the cupcakes comes out clean. Let cool completely on a rack.

In a small microwave-safe bowl, combine the chocolate chips and the half-and-half. Heat in 60-second intervals until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth when stirred. Place a dollop of the icing onto the center of each cupcake, then nestle a whole cherry in the topping. Let set, then serve to hungry people in need of a chocolate fix!

Makes 16 cupcakes.