These are my favorite cupcakes! I hope you like them. These are good to make with a grownup, since you have to use the oven.

Before you begin: Heat oven to 375°, and get ready 2 cupcake pans with muffin papers, or dust them with flour.

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ cups white flour
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not hot cocoa mix)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup sugar

MIX these together in a bowl.

• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup cold water or old coffee (don’t worry, the cupcakes won’t taste like coffee!)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla

MIX these together in another bowl.

• 2 Tablespoons vinegar Add this last! Stir just just enough to blend it in.

This will make white swirls as the vinegar mixing with the baking soda to make bubbles. This is the same thing that happens in baking soda and vinegar volcanos, only instead of exploding, you get cupcakes!

• 8-12 oz. chocolate chips (1 to 1 ½ cups) Stir these into the batter.

Spoon the batter into the cupcake pans, filling each cup almost to the top.

Bake at 375 for 20 minutes for regular size, 15 minutes for mini. Or until a toothpick comes out clean except for hitting a melted chocolate chip.

Chocolate glaze

In a microwave-safe bowl or baking dish, mix:

• 8 ounces of your favorite plain chocolate or chocolate chips (about 1 cup)
• ¾ cup milk or water
• ½ teaspoon vanilla

Heat  in the microwave just until the chocolate melts (about 2 minutes; keep checking and don’t let it bubble!). Then mix it smooth with a fork.

You can also make this topping on the stove if you have a double boiler; but don’t melt chocolate directly on the stove, because it burns easily. (A double boiler has a pot of water on the bottom, and another pot on top that you put the chocolate into.)

When the cupcakes are done, take them out of the oven and spread or spoon on the glaze.