Red Velvet Cupcakes

We all know that Red Velvet cakes and cupcakes are a holiday favorite and Christmas tradition!  So, I'm on the quest to find the perfect combination of food coloring and cocoa in this recipe.   I was going to start with someones actual recipe and then tweak it as time went by...but the one I was going to start with had 1.5 cups of oil in it....and I simply couldn't justify that as well as a few other things.  So, bug surprise, I just did my own thing.  :)  So, here it is....

Red Velvet Cupcakes:
3 c. Flour
1.5 c. Sugar
1 t. Baking Soda
1/2 t. Salt
3 T. Cocoa Powder
1 t. Vanilla
1 t. White Distilled Vinegar
2 T. Red Food Coloring
1/4 c. Water
3 Eggs
1/2 c. Vegetable (or canola) Oil
1 c. Buttermilk
Cream Cheese Frosting

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Get our muffin tins and line them with cups.  I used my reusable silicone cups.  Aren't they cute?! :)

 2.  Combine the Vanilla, Vinegar, Food coloring, Water, Eggs, Oil and Buttermilk in a large bowl with a mixer, until well combined.

 3.  Combine the dry ingredients in a separate bowl.

4.  Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in the mixer.  Do so carefully as this is red batter.  :)
5.  Pour into the lined cups and bake for 20-25 minutes.  If you fill them 1/2 to 2/3 of the way full you will get 24-30 cupcakes, and if you fill them more full you'll get closer to 18 cupcakes.  (HIGH ALTITUDE: just fill the cupcakes 1/2 full because they will rise more than in lower altitudes.)
6.  Cool completely on a rack before frosting.

So these went over well last night!  We had dinner at a friends' house and I brought these along.  :)  The two kiddos (3 & 5) gobbled these right up as well as all four of us adults.  I was a little disappointed that they weren't as red as I would have liked, so I adjusted that above in the recipe.  I was also bummed about the texture, but then our friends informed me that that's how red velvet cakes always are down here.  So, apparently it has to do with the altitude.  So, you are lucky if you are in higher altitude and will get a fluffier textured cake/cupcakes!  :)  Overall, I'm very happy with my recipe and don't think I will change anything except for adding more food coloring like I already adjusted!  :)  Enjoy!!