I am interrupting this blog to say something REALLY SUPER INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT.
Today...The Pinterest Project turns one. Yes, ONE. We started this blog a year ago - on August 14th, 2011 having absolutely NO idea what we were doing, or if anyone would read or even care about what we said. And a year later, we are continually amazed that people DO read. And we have met some incredible bloggers that are fun and helpful and so sweet. We have had over half a million hits on this blog to date - nearing closer to a million, and we have thousands of views daily. That is a fact that does not go unnoticed OR unappreciated. We value all of you SO much and are so grateful, honestly, that you take the time to pop over to our little corner of the blogosphere to see what we are up to. And to comment, to encourage, to give advice and offer tips of your own. We obviously couldn't do this without you. So from the bottom of our normally flippant and sometimes sarcastic hearts, we thank you!
We have exciting changes coming to the blog next week, so be on the look out for that and for a few fun giveaways too! We want to celebrate our awesome readers!
We have exciting changes coming to the blog next week, so be on the look out for that and for a few fun giveaways too! We want to celebrate our awesome readers!
Ok - enough gushing. On to the cupcakes!
You. Guys.
These cupcakes.
I die.
Hopefully by now you all know of my love affair with chocolate and peanut butter. And if you don't, just know that I love it. And if you're any kind of normal person, you probably love it too. If you DON'T love it, I'm not sure that I can trust you...or be your friend.
Just kidding.
Kind of.
Anyway - so I have put most of my baking to the back burner recently, but a friend asked me to make cupcakes for her son's 1st birthday party and I was excited to bust out my Kitchen Aid old, dirty hand mixer {because my 2 year old Kitchen Aid apparently is NOT covered under warranty anymore, and who cares if we paid $399.99 for a mixer that is no longer working? Not Kitchen Aid, that's who. Yes, I'm irked. Please feel free to send angry mail on my behalf...}
But I digress. So I busted out my dirty old hand mixer that's like a gillion years old but hey, it's trust worthy and it works. And I got to work on a lot of cupcakes.
Actually, first I ran to the grocery store for a few ingredients that I was lacking. And as I came out of the grocery store, this guy was standing across the parking lot staring right at the door, just posing like this.
Honestly, I don't know what was going on here. He stood like that the entire time I walked to my car, unloaded the groceries into my trunk, buckled my son into his carseat, and was still standing like that when I drove off.
I immediately texted the picture to several friends so they could share in my joy. I love when random, hilarious and yet potentially creepy things happen and I'm able to document it for the world to see. Yes, I realize I need a better hobby...but look at the picture again and TRY not to laugh.
Ok, back to the baking. So I was set on baking some delicious funfetti cupcakes for my friend's son's birthday party. It was a fun, circus themed party so we did some bright and colorful cupcakes. But then I got worried that perhaps I wouldn't have enough, or maybe people would like a little variety - and I remembered a recipe from Annie's Eats for a chocolate cupcake with a peanut butter cookie frosting. And you know I can't turn down a recipe that involves peanut butter and chocolate.
Plus I had all the ingredients on hand, so I decided to go for it. As with pretty much all recipes from Annie, I followed to the T. She's a baking genius, and I don't see the point in changing up something that's already perfect. I'll save that for my AllRecipes.com recipes. Just sayin.
So if you want to make your own (and trust me, you definitely do) just follow the recipe below. You will think you have died and gone to dessert heaven. These babies are pure danger to have around, so I was glad to unload most of them (I'm not a total sucker for punishment, we kept a few for ourselves!).
Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Cookie Frosting
Recipe from Annie's Eats
INGREDIENTS
For the cupcakes:1½ cups hot brewed coffee
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2¼ cups all-purpose flour
1½ tsp. baking soda
¾ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
12 tbsp. (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1½ cup packed brown sugar
¾ cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2¼ cups all-purpose flour
1½ tsp. baking soda
¾ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
12 tbsp. (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1½ cup packed brown sugar
¾ cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
For the ganache:
6 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
½ cup heavy cream
6 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
½ cup heavy cream
For the peanut butter cookie frosting:9 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1½ cups creamy peanut butter
3 cups confectioners’ sugar
1½ cups creamy peanut butter
3 cups confectioners’ sugar
DIRECTIONS
- To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Line cupcake pans with paper liners. In a bowl or liquid measuring cup, whisk together the hot brewed coffee and cocoa powder until dissolved. Set aside. In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter and sugars. Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Blend in the eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl as needed. Blend in the vanilla.
With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients in three additions alternating with the coffee-cocoa mixture, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Mix each addition just until incorporated, being careful not to overmix. Divide the batter between the prepared liners, filling each about two-thirds of the way full. Bake about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pans briefly, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients in three additions alternating with the coffee-cocoa mixture, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Mix each addition just until incorporated, being careful not to overmix. Divide the batter between the prepared liners, filling each about two-thirds of the way full. Bake about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pans briefly, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
To make the peanut butter cookie frosting, combine the peanut butter and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat on medium-high for 1 minute. Turn off the mixer, add in the confectioners’ sugar and mix on low speed until fully incorporated. Increase the speed to medium and mix until smooth, about 2 minutes. Scoop about 1 tablespoon of the peanut butter mixture and use clean, dry hands to form it into a patty. Use the tines of a fork to make the classic crisscross pattern on top of the “cookie”. Repeat with the remaining peanut butter mixture.
Use an offset spatula to spread a layer of ganache over the top of each cupcake. Place a peanut butter “cookie” on top of each cupcake.
And, if you're smart - well...you'll give the batch away as fast as you can. Trust me on this one. Maybe to a strange, Zoolander posing man at your local grocery store?? All that posing has to make a person hungry...
