Spring Potato Cupcakes Part I: Prep

Big One's school is starting to make up class parties. The circus party took place on March 19, and now we are looking the spring party in the face. As usual, I have elected to try out something new: potato cupcakes.

I love potato bread and potato candy, so the idea of chocolate potato cupcakes didn't sound nearly as strange to me as they apparently did to Heather-at-Sprinkle-Bake's husband, but they did sound like good fun.

Tonight I opted for a little prep work to make the actual baking a bit easier, and tackled the mashed potatoes and the cupcake toppers.

First up were the mashed potatoes.

I love mashed potatoes in a really bad way, and when I realized that real mashed potatoes (for a small family) don't take that much longer than the boxed stuff I swore I wouldn't buy powdered potatoes again. I usually keep the skins on and add boil the potatoes in broth, but since I was making the batch specifically for cupcakes I knew I had to skin the potatoes first and stick to boiling water.

Basic Mashed Potatoes

• Potatoes (I usually go for 4-5 small potatoes to feed 2-3 people, but for this went with three large potatoes, peeled and cubed)
• Water to cover
• Bouillon (or broth, if desired)
• .25 c. butter
• 2 oz. cream cheese
• Seasonings and toppings to taste

Put the cubed potatoes in the pot and cover with water. Heat the water to boiling, and continue to boil the potatoes for 10-15 minutes, until they are fork-tender (I went with 15 minutes this time, and came away with super smooth potatoes).

Drain potatoes, reserving some liquid to thin potatoes if desired.

Plop in butter and cream cheese, and mash with a fork or potato masher.


Heather's recipe only calls for 1/3 cups of potatoes (although I'm doubling the batch), so why did I make so much? I have one chunker of an infant that will be sure to pack away the rest. I put some in the fridge for a meal or two, and froze the rest in ice cube trays. This is actually a great trick I learned when making for for Big One; most cube trays are 1oz, so it not only allows for convenient storage, but actually lets you tell the pediatrician "Oh, he eats seven ounces at a time."

I have made all of the baby's foods this time around, and it's been surprisingly convenient to dedicate an hour or two a week to making up a bunch of foods and freezing it all until he's ready for it.







Chocolate Covered Potato Chips: Cupcake Toppers
While the potatoes were boiling I started on the cupcake toppers: chocolate covered potato chips.

• 20-30 whole potato chips
• 1 cup chocolate pieces of choice (I went with traditional semi-sweet chips since I'm cooking for 4-year-olds, but I bet dark chocolate would be amazing)
• Garnish of choice, such as rainbow nonpareils. You really need something to take these treats from "bleh" to amazing.

The easiest way to melt the chocolate is by using the microwave. I start with 45 seconds to a minute, stir, and then go with 20-30 second intervals until the chocolate is smooth; it generally takes me two minutes or less to melt a cup of chocolate chips. If you have a stronger microwave you may need to go with a lower power (such as the defrost setting).

Dip and spoon chocolate over the chips one by one. I dipped each chip in, and then used a spoon to force the chocolate up as high as I wanted it to go.

Let excess drip off before laying each chip on a sheet of parchment paper (preferably on a cookie sheet or otherwise portable surface).

While the chocolate is still wet cover each chip in sprinkles.

Let the chips dry. I put my cookie sheet in the refrigerator for an hour to make sure the candy set before putting the chips in a bag to await the cupcakes.