Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes

(And yes I realize that this may not be the most graceful picture of the inside, but at least you get the idea).



I find myself more often making cupcakes for special occasions. For instance, this weekend is my boyfriend's birthday. I decided that what he really loves in a dessert is the winning duo of chocolate and peanut butter. After many a Google search, I found this tantalizing recipe from Annie's Eats (http://annies-eats.com/). I had attempted to double this recipe and still only came out with 36 cupcakes. The reason being that the first 12 I had made I had filled too much and they became top heavy, looking more like muffins than cupcakes.

For the FILLING:

1 cup of confectioners’ sugar
¾ cup creamy peanut butter
4 tbsp (1/2 stick) of unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ tsp vanilla extract

For the CAKE:

1+2/3 cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1tsp baking soda
½ tsp of salt
1 cup sour cream (1/2 of container)
2 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
8 tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1+1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs

For the FROSTING:

8 oz cream cheese (1 package), at room temperature
4 tbsp (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
½ cup creamy peanut butter
3+1/4 cup confectionery sugar
1 cup (16 oz) frozen whipped topping, thawed

1. Line two cupcake pans with paper liners.

2. Make the filling first. Combine confectioners’ sugar, peanut butter, butter, and vanilla extract in a bowl. You can beat this with an electric mixer, but my friend Jess who was helping me said that she felt more comfortable using her hands. Roll the mixture into 1-inch balls and set aside on a flat surface such as a baking sheet.

3. Batter up! Combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl; whisk together and set aside. In a liquid measuring cup, stir together the sour cream, milk, and vanilla extract. In the bowl of an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, combine the butter and sugar. Beat on medium high speed until light and fluffy, for about 2 minutes. Beat in eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl as needed. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the dry ingredients and the sour cream mixture, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Mix just until incorporated.

4. Go ahead and turn your oven on now to 350º F. Spoon a tablespoon or two of cake batter into each paper cup. Then place a peanut butter filling in each cupcake and top with remaining batter. (Make sure there is still some paper cup showing at the top).

5. Bake for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow to cool in pan for 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Cooling completely takes a good hour or two.

6. Beating your frosting into Submission: Combine cream cheese, butter, and peanut butter using an electric mixer until smooth. (My Kitchen Aid Mixer's stainless steel bowl was almost filled to capacity as I made frosting for 36 cupcakes). Slowly mix in confectioner’s sugar, beating until smooth and well-blended. Mix in whipped topping until smooth and fluffy. Frost cupcakes as desired. (I frosted them according to how high they could be without getting smashed by the cupcake carrier).

Peanut Blossoms (Approx 4 Dozen)

These cookies you have likely seen before. Many people make them as they are popular with both children and adults. Young children are most often seen pilfering the Hershey kisses only off of the large cookie trays at holiday parties.

3/4 cup peanut butter (natural has a better taste but makes the cookies more crumbly)
1/2 cup shortening
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar (dark works fine too; the contrast between the kiss and the cookie is just lessened)
1 egg (large)
2 tablespoons of milk
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1+1/2 cups unsifted all purpose flour
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of salt
Sugar (about 2-3 tablespoons in a bowl)
50 unwrapped Hershey Kisses

1. Unwrap all the Hershey Kisses and put them in a bowl. They don't tell you this in the recipe I used, but it really should be the first step.
2. Blend peanut butter and shortening in large mixer. Add 1/3 cup sugar and the brown sugar; cream until light and fluffy. Add egg, milk and vanilla; beat well. Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl (just for dry ingredients) and then add to the creamed mixture about a third at a time. (If you throw all the dry ingredients in at once they are more likely to burst out of the mixer as soon as you turn it on).

3. Shape dough into 1 inch balls and roll completely around in the bowl with the loose sugar. Place on ungreased cookie sheet (you can fit about 16 on one sheet). Bake at 375º for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. As soon as you take them out of the oven, immediately place an unwrapped Hershey kiss in the center of each cookie, pressing down lightly so that the cookie cracks around the edge. (Now if you used natural peanut butter, the cookie will already become cracked during the baking process; it will also be fairly fragile until it cools). After stabilizing kisses, remove from cookie sheet and let cool on a wire rack.

It took me about 50 minutes to make this from start to finish. The majority of the time was a tie between removing the Hershey kiss wrappers and forming the cookies.