Rebellion Cupcakes (Chocolate Peanut-Butter Cupcakes)

Okay, so the original name for these cupcakes is "Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut-Butter Marshmallow Frosting." But after reading yet another headline about the evils of sugar, "Rebellion Cupcakes" seemed more fitting. These cupcakes, which my little family declared "maybe the best cupcakes you've ever made," break every current food rule, but they sure taste delicious while they're doing it. 

According to Facebook/magazines/newspapers/the Internet, I am not supposed to eat nor drink nor feed my family:

• dairy
• sugar of any kind/form
• wheat
• corn
• nuts (too many allergies)
• meat/chicken/fish of any kind unless possibly I kill it in the wild and/or make sure it's sustainable and/or make sure it doesn't have any mercury and/or make sure it has never been given growth hormones and/or make sure it had plenty of room to run around during its livelier days
• eggs (allergies again)
• non-organic anything but most especially not strawberries
• tap water if my pipes are old
• bottled water
• M&Ms
• anything from Subway--or any other restaurant unless all the food comes from the certified organic garden they've got growing in their back yard or on their roof
• salt

I know we need to be careful about what "foreign substances" we put in our bodies, and I know some people must observe special dietary restrictions in order to be healthy. I believe that our bodies are gifts from God and, and we should treat them as precious vessels. But I personally believe that the spirits in these bodies are what God is most concerned about, and our spirits are the only parts of our bodies that aren't going to die anyway. I want to feed my family as healthfully as I can given constraints of time, budget, accessibility, personal preferences (gardening makes me want to cry...more on that in another post), individual tastes, and scheduling challenges. But eating one of these cupcakes is not going to desecrate my holy temple, and NOT eating one isn't going to prolong my life on this earth. So we'll have broccoli with dinner (non-organic, but cruciferous nonetheless) while we work on memorizing Bible verses for Sunday School (read: feed our eternal souls). Then, we'll enjoy a Rebellion Cupcake for dessert, and in the relative blink of an eye, we'll be in heaven and won't have to worry about any of this.

Rebellion Cupcakes

(Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut-Butter Marshmallow Frosting) 

Cupcakes:
1 standard-sized box (2-layer) chocolate cake mix WITHOUT pudding in the mix
1 package (4-serving size) instant chocolate pudding mix
2/3 cup water
1/3 cup reduced-fat or regular sour cream 
4 egg whites or 2 whole eggs
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 24 standard-sized muffin tins with paper liners and lightly coat each liner with nonstick cooking spray. 

With a hand mixer, beat together all the above cupcake ingredients on low speed until moistened. Stop mixer, scrape down sides of bowl with rubber spatula, and beat 2 minutes longer on medium speed. The batter will be thick. This is a good thing. Spoon into prepared muffin cups. Bake 18-24 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs clinging to it. Cool in pans for 10 minutes, then remove from pans and cool completely on a wire rack.

Frosting
1 cup peanut butter (I like smooth)
1 cup marshmallow creme
1/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup powdered sugar
For garnish: 4-5 full-sized peanut butter cups, coarsely chopped

By hand (don't use a mixer here unless you want PB sauce instead of frosting), gently fold together the peanut butter, marshmallow creme, milk, and vanilla. Gently fold in the powdered sugar. Frost each cupcake, then top with chopped peanut butter cups. Store cool and airtight for a few days.