MaryAnn and I have been friends since 7th grade and can still stand each other, if you can believe that. I don’t know how anyone can stand me after all those years, but MaryAnn just grows more loveable as the years pass.
There’s one thing about MaryAnn that I wish I could change, because it would make us that much more compatible. She’s not a sweets person. She likes candies, cookies, cakes, pies, but in limited quantities. For example, you’ll never know MaryAnn to eat a half pound of cream filled chocolates in one sitting, unlike me, who can go through two pounds of the same. MaryAnn has a salty tooth, and her favorite salty thing is pickles. She loves pickles. She makes pickles. At the MN State Fair she spends money to eat a giant pickle on a stick.
That said, I finally got the opportunity to celebrate MaryAnn’s birthday with her, months after the facts. As a change of pace, instead of taking her out to lunch I invited her to my house for an afternoon of girl time. I prepared snacks, sandwiches, and also served the birthday girl some much wine.
But who has a birthday without a birthday cake? MaryAnn loves salty more than sweet. MaryAnn wants pickles. Thanks to Google I found a recipe for pickle cupcakes. Yes, there is such a thing, and for my good friend of many years I would make those pickle cupcakes just for her. Not only that, I would make those pickle cupcakes with the pickles she made!
It was mostly for a joke. After all, who ever heard of pickle cupcakes? How good could they be? How bad would they be. As MaryAnn is a gracious guest she hesitantly approached the culinary experiment I presented, just for her, in honor of her. She’s a good friend.
As you know you must sniff all questionable food before you eat it…
And then, taste…
OK, it looks like she’s ready to barf there, but she didn’t. Even I, who thought pickle cupcakes would be truly barf-worthy, thought they were actually pretty good. The combination of pickle batter and a cream cheese frosting was actually…good.
Unfortunately I didn’t get a photo of MaryAnn’s delighted face when she tasted the special treat I made for her. Trust me, she didn’t barf.
If you’d like to try these unusual cupcakes, visit Delish. Despite my not being paid to promote the website, I recommend it for many wonderful recipes. An absolute go-to if you’re searching for all things delicious.
Happy Birthday, MaryAnn. May there be many more pickles in your future!
Auntie B's Wax 