KCC Healthy Red Velvet Cupcakes

Combine the eggs, buttermilk, brown sugar, granulated sugar, vanilla extract, applesauce and pureed beets together in a bowl.  Whip the ingredients together using an electric mixer.  

Once they are mixed well, add in the dry ingredients;  the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  

Mix in the red food dye.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Line a cupcake/muffin tin with cupcake liners.  Fill the cupcake liners with the batter.  Bake the cupcakes for 25 minutes.

Pureed Beets:  Simply purchase sliced or diced PICS beets.  Drain the liquid.  Place the beets in a food processor, mini chopper or blender and puree them until the look like a purple applesauce.

Original Red Velvet Cupcakes:  When this recipe originated, the cupcakes turned a natural burgundy through a chemical reaction that took place with certain ingredients.  Over time our ingredients have changed and cocoa powder is now alkalized so the chemical reaction no longer naturally occurs.  

Red Food Dye:  If you have an allergy to red food dye, you can eliminate the red food dye all together.  The color will lean towards a darker burgundy.   A typical red velvet recipe requires ½ cup of red food dye.  This recipe allows us to greatly reduce the amount of red food dye used.

Top it off!  Simply serve with a traditional Cream Cheese Frosting by combining a ½ cup (1 stick) of PICS butter at room temperature with 8 oz. PICS cream cheese at room temperature, 3 cups of PICS confectioner’s sugar and 2 teaspoons of PICS vanilla extract.

Pipe it on top of the cupcakes using decorating utensils or simply fill a quart sized snap and seal freezer bag and clip a corner to pipe on the frosting.

Cooking with Kids! Every recipe has lessons, small and big, that encourage life and cooking skills. Here are a few to focus on:

• Measuring ingredients

• Level ingredient measurements

• Pouring

• Pureeing

• Food processor safety

• Scooping

• Baking 

• Oven safety

• Following directions