We left Germany at the end of June not knowing where we'd land and now we find ourselves in Denver, Colorado. We bid Erik goodbye as he entered a new phase of his life, college! Ed and I are both so excited for his future and know that he is going to succeed and do wonderful things for this world. Ed and I now find ourselves trying to make it through the transition of active duty military life to civilian world. You mean I have to buy my own dental insurance!? For those that know how challenging this transition can be, we've hit just about every road block that "they" tell you might happen.
We arrived in Denver on August 23rd just a few days before I started my new job, after driving cross country from Elverson, PA to Denver, CO, I don't know how many miles it is except that it was a lot! Stopping in Columbus to visit family, St. Louis to visit a close friend, Kansas at one of the worst hotel's imaginable, to finally making it to Denver. Luckily, we still have quite a few friends in the area and were able to stay a week at our dear friends Jae and Julie's house. They have two gorgeous children, Jacob and Lilly and let me just say, we are so lucky to have such great friends so close.
Now that you're a little more caught up on our crazy life, let's get to the good part, the cupcakes! I decided since we had just moved back to Denver, I needed to dedicate my first post none other than the state of Colorado. If anyone has ever visited, you can instantly see the majestic Rocky Mountains with their snow capped mountains, almost all year round. I will admit up front that I did cheat on these cupcakes. I used a box mix, mainly because I made these after work and I was just so anxious to bake something that I didn't want to waste time measuring all the ingredients I needed, but I did add my own touch to them of course. I hope you enjoy the recipe and the deliciousness of my Rocky Road Cupcakes!
Chocolate Cupcakes
1 box Chocolate fudge cake mix
3 Eggs
1 1/4 cups Milk (I used milk instead of water, which was on the box mix)
1/4 vegetable oil
3/4 cups chocolate chips
3/4 cup pecans (set 1/4 cup aside for topping)
15-24 large marshmallows
Preheat oven according to box instructions, I believe mine said 350° F. Mix cake mix, eggs, milk and oil together until completely combined. Fold chocolate chips and candied pecans into the mix. Line a cupcake pan with liners and fill 3/4 full with cupcake batter. Bake 15-18 minutes or until when a tooth pick is inserted it comes out clean.
One cupcakes come out of oven, set oven to broil at 425° F. Top each cupcake with 1 marshmallow and broil until marshmallows are toasted. Remove from oven and top with pecans. Let cool or bite in and enjoy the toasty chocolateyness!
This is how I ended the comeback cupcake baking session!
