That eye guy? I have no idea, either.

But, I do have a brilliant cupcake idea to share with you.

Fortune Cookie Cupcakes. How cool is that?

My son needed a treat for a class party, so I had him make a bunch of fortunes (He chose to include lucky lottery numbers, too). The fortunes are then wrapped in foil and tucked into cupcake batter. The kids all loved them. I loved them.

Bonus is that the cupcakes, doctored up from a cake mix, really taste fabulous, with perfect crumb and a hint of lemon. The foil wrapped fortune is large enough that it is not a choking hazard, but small enough to be easily covered with icing to conceal the surprise.

Fortune Cookie Cupcakes

Ingredients:

1 package (18.25 ounces) plain yellow cake mix
1 package (3.4 ounces) vanilla instant pudding mix
1 1/4 cups milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon lemon extract
Vanilla icing (I used 2 ready made containers)
Colored sprinkle chips

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

2. Line 24 cupcake cups with paper liners and set the pans aside.

3. Measure a strip of parchment that is 12 inches long and 2 inches wide into 1/2-inch-long segments. Cut the strip into 24 pieces (2 x ½ inch each). (I have also used regular paper and it works fine). Write the fortunes on one side of each parchment piece with a ballpoint pen. Fold the fortunes in half, wrap each in a small piece of aluminum foil, and set aside.

Here are fortunes my son wrote:

Some that I came up with:

Wrapped in foil.

4. Place the cake mix, pudding mix, milk, oil, eggs, and lemon extract in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes more.

5. Scoop 1/3 cup batter into each lined cupcake cup, filling it three quarters of the way full. Gently press a fortune into the center of each cupcake with a toothpick or a fork, sinking it into the batter so it cannot be seen. (I found this to be not possible, but the icing covered the fortune, so not big deal).

6. Bake the cupcakes until they are golden and spring back when lightly pressed with your finger, approximately 20 to 22 minutes.

7. Remove the pans from the oven and place them on wire racks to cool for 5 minutes. Remove cupcakes from pans and cool completely.

8. Swirl vanilla icing onto each cupcake and dip in a dish filled with colored chips or mini M&Ms.

Recipe from “Cupcakes! From the Cake Doctor” by Anne Byrn

This new song by Plastic Animals was on the Song, by Toad Records 2013 Sampler and I cannot get enough of it.

“Edinburgh based atmospheric punk rock sludge ensemble”.

You had me at Edinburgh.

Check out Plastic Animals on Facebook and the band’s Website (which is totally freakin’ cool), where you can link to buy their older music.

You can pre-order the upcoming Split 12″, that also contains 3 other new Scottish bands, here. Make sure you at least have a look at how gorgeous that red vinyl is.

If you live in Scotland, here are two upcoming gigs. I wish I could teleport myself and see tonight’s show.

Sun 17th Feb @ Wee Red Bar, Edinburgh (w/ PAWS)
Fri 22nd Feb @ Art School, Glasgow (w/ Honeyblood)

Cheers!