Red Velvet Cupcakes

I'm back, finally! I was in a baking mood after conferences and have been wanting to try out this dish for awhile. I knew we had cream cheese and all the other stuff. It only took me about and hour of work time start to finish. I used an hand mixer for the cupcakes and the frosting. Here is the original recipe, I cut it half and made 11 cupcakes plus one for decoration.

• 1 tablespoon of butter and enough shortening to fill a 1/4 cup
  
• 3/4 cup white sugar

Cream butter, shortening, and sugar together, then add

• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Beat until light yellow and very creamy

In a small cup mix together food coloring and cocoa powder, add to the butter/sugar mixture and beat until creamy

• 2 tablespoons red food coloring
• 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder

Add the buttermilk, salt, baking soda, & vinegar to the mixture and beat until creamy

• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  
• 1 1/2 teaspoon white vinegar

While mixing, add the flour a 1/4 at a time until well incorporated.

• 1-1/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour

Spray 12 muffin cups with Pam, pour cupcake batter in 1/2 full Bake 20-25 minutes until a knife comes out clean Cool on a rack for an hour until cool

In small mixing bowl, beat the following ingredients until creamy, adding the confectioners' sugar a little bit at a time.

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/2 (8 ounce) package cream cheese (4 oz total)
  
• 2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Frost the cupcakes minus 1, pulse the extra cupcake in a food processor and sprinkle the crumbs on top.

Easy and delicious! They look so pretty!