Don't Eat That, John! -- Pickled Pigs' Feet Cupcakes

I want to leave my mark on the world--to do something significant that will leave an impact on others for generations to come. And, to the best of my knowledge, no one has ever made cupcakes flavored with pickled pigs' feet.

Last year, I told you about 10 wonderful ways to eat pigs' feet. Among them are pickled pigs' feet. These are a Southern delicacy. To my great fortune, my parents are from the Deep South, so I was raised on this marvel of pork flesh and vinegar.

When I grew up, we ate them straight out of the jar with a knife and fork. They are fine this way, but they can also be a dessert. These cupcakes have pickled pigs' feet inside, both in the cake and the frosting. They're my latest contribution to our Don't Eat That, John! gourmet dining series.

To make them, you'll need two 9-ounce jars of pickled pigs' feet. I picked up a third for this display photo, but I will promptly consume its contents the old fashioned way.

To make the cake batter, mix:

1 1/2 cups of flour
3/4 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
6 tablespoons of melted butter
3/4 cup of sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup of milk
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
And the most important ingredient . . . .

Pickled pigs' feet! That's the heart of the recipe, so don't forget it.

A typical jar will contain a lot of bone and gristle. The food is, after all, a foot. Unless you like your cupcakes crunchy-style, then I suggest cutting away the meat using a knife and fork. Gather about 1/3 of a cup of lean pigs' feet meat.

Then grind the contents in a blender. The result looks like this. You'll be tempted to eat it all right away, but save it for the cupcakes.

Mix the ground pigs' feet into the cake batter. I added some drops of red food coloring so that the cupcakes come out pink.

Mix it all up and bake at 350ºF for about 15 minutes. I normally don't use baking cups or cupcake liners. But I wanted to impress you guys, so I picked up some pink baking cups. I was under the impression that they would stand up well on their own. In this, I was wrong. The cupcakes came out a bit flat. But don't worry! This didn't affect the flavor at all.

The frosting is made of:

2 cups of powdered sugar
2 tablespoons milk
2 tablespoons of melted butter
1/3 cup of ground pickled pigs' feet

Spread it on. I was displeased with this recipe. The frosting was more liquid than I care for. Still, you can't go wrong with frosting--especially when there's pickled pigs' feet inside!

How do they taste? They're a vivid mixture of flavors: sweet, sour, and tangy. I suggest pairing them with a sassy moscato wine. They'd be ideal for summer cocktail parties.