In Praise of Starbucks' Mini-Cupcakes

​I only go to Starbucks when having to buy coffee for others, so I've been able to slowly eat through their food offerings over the years, scavenging over leftovers that my friends either didn't eat, didn't like and handed off to me, or that I was able to score via guilt trips. The food has never impressed me--weak fruit and cheese offerings, bland sandwiches, too-big, too bland pastries.

I really don't care for cupcakes--never did, and made it a point not to during the recent craze for the fad.

Combine the two together, and one can reasonably expect me rolling my eyes over them, if not outright rant. But I cannot tell a lie: their mini-cupcakes are the greatest mini-cupcakes I've ever scarfed down.

Using the same magic that Starbucks has used to convince a nation that their day hasn't started until queuing up for overpriced, over-sugared drinks, the Starbucks mini-cupcake is an exercise in concentration: picking a flavor, and overwhelming anyone who eats it with said flavor. Carrot cake is like coating your tongue in the telltale tart cream and lingering sweetness of the cake; the above, a peanut butter mini-cupcake topped with a peanut butter cup, has an ostensibly chocolate center but really is nothing else than the smooth, velveety, creamy flavor of that peanut butter frosting on top.

I can eat ate a dozen of these in one sitting. Sorry, local cupcakeries. But tell me:

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