Pretzel Crust

Ingredients
3 cups pretzel twists
3 Tbsp brown sugar
3/4 cup butter, melted

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tins with cupcake liners.

Place pretzel twists in the bowl of a food processor. Process in 15-20 second spurts until well broken up. Add the brown sugar and process for an additional 10 seconds to combine. Stream in the melted butter while processing

Press the pretzel mixture into the bottom of each cupcake liner. Bake for 10 minutes, then allow to cool completely.

As seen on Cupcake Project, originally from Allrecipes

Chocolate Cupcakes

Ingredients
1/2 cup plus 1 Tbsp Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/2 cup plus 1 Tbsp hot water
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
3.4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 sticks plus 1 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
1 2/3 cups sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup sour cream

Directions
While the pretzel crusts are cooling, leave oven on heated to 350 degrees.

In a glass measuring cup, stir together the cocoa powder and hot water until smooth. Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In a medium sauce pan over medium heat, combine the butter and sugar. Whisk constantly until butter is melted and combined with the sugar and the mixture looks smooth and shiny. Pour into the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat until cooled to room temperature, about 4 minutes. Add the eggs, one at time, mixing until each is incorporated before adding the next. Beat in the vanilla just until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Next alternate adding the dry ingredients in 3 additions and the sour cream in 2 additions (beginning and ending with the dry ingredients). Mix just until combined.

Divide the batter evenly among the tins (mine were a little more than 2/3 full, I was a little worried they may spill over, but they rose perfectly and stayed in their liners). Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Source: Annie’s Eats, originally from Martha Stewart Cupcakes

Whipped Chocolate Ganache

Ingredients
3/4 cup heavy cream
9 oz semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped

Directions
Place chocolate in a heat-proof bowl, set aside. In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, bring heavy cream to a boil. Pour the hot heavy cream over the chocolate and stir until the chocolate is smooth and melted. Allow the ganache to cool to room temperature then refrigerate until solid. Once solid, place in the bowl of a standing mixer and beat until light and fluffy and a good texture for piping.

As posted previously on Sunny Side Up, originally from Savory Sweet Life

To assemble

Ingredients
Additional crushed pretzels
Chocolate covered pretzels

Directions
Pipe whipped ganache onto cupcakes. When you’re ready to serve cupcakes*, sprinkle with crushed pretzels and top with a chocolate covered pretzel.

*Pretzels will start to get a little soggy and less crunchy the longer they are on the cupcake, so it’s best to wait as long as possible before adding them.