A few weeks ago, we celebrated our fearless leader, Elie, as he ushered in his **redacted** birthday. Since he loves whiskey and pickles, I decided to create something wild in the kitchen: a Pickleback Cupcake, complete with chopped pickles in the cupcake and a boozy bourbon frosting. I expected them to be tasty, but I never anticipated the enthusiastic response they received.
You asked. I answered. Foodbeasts of the world, I give you:
- Servings: 12 cupcakes
- Prep time: 15 minutes
- Cook time: 25 minutes
Cupcake Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 3 eggs
- 1/3 cup pickle juice (or to taste, if you love pickles)
- 1/2 cup chopped pickles (again, add more you pickle lover)
Frosting Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup bourbon (or more, if you're feeling wild like we were)
- Pickle chips, for decoration
- Green sprinkles, for decoration
Directions:
- Preheat and Prepare: Preheat the oven to 350º F and line a cupcake tin with cupcake liners.
- Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Whisk well and set aside.
- Wet Ingredients: In a stand mixer (or using a hand mixer), cream together the butter and sugar until well combined. Add the sour cream and mix well. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Finally, add the pickle juice and chopped pickles. Mix on medium speed until well combined. The mixture should be relatively wet.
- Combine Mixtures: Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture on low speed until well combined.
- Fill Liners: Using a medium scoop, fill each cupcake liner about 2/3 full with batter.
- Bake: Bake for 20-25 minutes. For wetter batters, bake longer. Once a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean, they are done. Let them cool completely.
- Frosting: While the cupcakes are baking, cream together the butter and cream cheese using a stand mixer or hand mixer. Slowly add the powdered sugar to the mixture until it thickens. Gradually add bourbon to the frosting mixture until you reach your desired consistency (or booziness level).
- Frost Cupcakes: Using a piping bag (a large Ziploc bag also works), fill the bag with frosting and frost your cooled cupcakes. Add sprinkles and pickle chips for garnish.
- ENJOY!
