I’m spending today and tomorrow baking for Christmas. (We have to do it close to Christmas or everything gets eaten.) Because I love seeing what other people are baking and what their traditions are, I’ll be sharing ours with you.

My mother started making Black Bottoms for Christmas back when I was a tiny little girl and we were living in the Philippines. The freedom of having live-in help allowed her the time to experiment with an amazing array of recipes. This in one that stuck, and we look forward to it every year. They’re easy to make, and amazing to eat. They even freeze well so that you can make them ahead of time if you don’t have teenagers who will sneak them out of the freezer for a late night snack.

I hope that you like my mother’s Black Bottoms as much as we do!

Merry Christmas!

Blackbottoms

3 cups flour                  

2 cups sugar                   

2 tsp. baking soda 

6 tbsp cocoa powder            

1 tsp. salt                   

2 tbl. vinegar

3/4 cup oil

2 cups warm water

2 tsp vanilla

Mix all.

Filling:
1 8 oz pkg cream cheese
1/3 cup sugar
1 beaten egg
1 lg. package chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. Fill mini cupcake pans 1/2 full, then top with 1/2 teas. filling. Bake for 20 minutes.

(Don’t double unless you’re feeding an army. I forgot how many it made when I used the mini pans instead of regular sized cupcakes, and HOLY COW! I think we may still be eating them at our New Year’s Eve party.)