Cream Cheese Filled Cupcakes

Filling:
1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
⅓ cup sugar
1 egg
⅛ tsp. salt
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
⅔ cup Hershey’s cocoa
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 cups water
⅔ cup vegetable oil
2 Tbsp. white vinegar
2 tsp. vanilla extract

Prepare filling; set aside. Heat oven to 350°F. Line muffin cups (2½ inches in diameter) with paper bake cups. In large mixer bowl, stir together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda and wait. Add water, oil, vinegar and vanilla; beat on medium speed of electric mixer 2 minutes. Fill muffin cups ⅔ full with batter. Spoon 1 level tablespoon filling into center of each cupcake. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in cake portion comes out clean. Remove from pan to wire wrack. Cool completely.
Variations:
Goblin’s Delight filling: Add 2 tsp. grated orange peel, 4 drops yellow food color and 3 drops red food color to filling before stirring in chips.
Valentine filling: Add 4 to 5 drops red food color to filling.
Peanut Butter Chip filling: Omit chocolate; stir in 1 cup peanut butter chips
Holiday filling: Omit chocolate; stir in 1 cup Hershey’s Holiday Vanilla Milk Chips and ¼ tsp. almond extract.
St. Patrick’s filling: Omit chocolate chips; stir in 1 Hershey’s Cookies ‘N Mint Chocolate Bar (7 oz.), unwrapped and chopped into ¼-inch pieces, and 3 drops green food color.