Perhaps you remember the little cupcake swap that Kellee and I had a few months ago? I made some red velvet, and strawberry cupcakes, and she made chocolate peanut butter cupcakes and we swapped. . . or rather, she took 9 cupcakes and I took the rest. Yeah, that's how that worked. Anyways, when my kids whined that they didn't have enough snacks to eat in Sunday school I caved. Normally, I don't give in to whining, but in this case I did. Last week I made all the kids popcorn balls, courtesy of Lauren's popcorn cake. Today, I made these chocolate peanut butter cupcakes for the Sunday school children. They were a HUGE hit, so I suggest you make them right away. (Maybe you could pair them with Adriane's beef pickle roll thingies.)
Here's a little play by play. I used Pampered Chef's small scoop to make the peanut butter balls. It was the perfect size. The balls are a mix of peanut butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and butter.
This batter is whoa! It's like the perfect chocolate mousse. Now you'll have to make these cupcakes for sure.
The batter comes out pretty thick, so don't worry if it looks like this.
Use that small scoop again and place a scoop of batter in each cupcake liner.
Then stick a peanut butter ball in the center of each cupcake. Then another scoop of batter goes on top of that.
Stick them in the oven for about 20 minutes and voila! Beautiful aren't they?
Oh, goodness. I forgot about the frosting. This frosting is incredible. I love a cream cheese frosting. My next favorite is a whipped cream frosting. Put the two together with some peanut butter and wow!
Now I had to make sure that the cupcakes would be edible for the children, so I had to have a little taste test. Wow! That's all I can say. I don't know why I don't make these more often.
The cupcakes are loaded and ready to go! I have this nifty cupcake carrier. In fact, it's so nifty that it rocks!
It actually holds 36 cupcakes, but if you have a cake or if you want to put cookies in it, there are inserts to cover the cupcake holes. I got mine at Costco, on clearance, but HERE it is on Amazon if you're interested. Happy cup-caking!
Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes
Ingredients:
For the filling:
1 cup confectioners' sugar
¾ cup creamy peanut butter
4 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ tsp. vanilla extract
For the cake:
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1 cup sour cream
2 tbsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
8 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1½ cups sugar
2 large eggs
For the frosting:
8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
4 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
½ cup creamy peanut butter
3¼ cups confectioners' sugar
1 cup frozen whipped topping, thawed
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line two cupcake pans with paper liners.
To make the filling, combine the confectioners' sugar, peanut butter, butter and vanilla extract in a bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until well combined. Roll the mixture into 1-inch balls (at least 24) and set aside on a baking sheet.
To make the cake batter, 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 fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter and sugar, and beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the 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.
Spoon a tablespoon or two of batter into the bottom of each cupcake liner. Place a ball of the peanut butter filling in each cupcake well and top with the remaining batter so that all the cups are filled. Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
To make the frosting, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the cream cheese, butter and peanut butter until smooth. Slowly mix in the confectioners' sugar, beating until smooth and well blended. Mix in the whipped topping until smooth and fluffy. Frost cooled cupcakes as desired.
Ingredients:
For the filling:
1 cup confectioners' sugar
¾ cup creamy peanut butter
4 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ tsp. vanilla extract
For the cake:
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1 cup sour cream
2 tbsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
8 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1½ cups sugar
2 large eggs
For the frosting:
8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
4 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
½ cup creamy peanut butter
3¼ cups confectioners' sugar
1 cup frozen whipped topping, thawed
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line two cupcake pans with paper liners.
To make the filling, combine the confectioners' sugar, peanut butter, butter and vanilla extract in a bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until well combined. Roll the mixture into 1-inch balls (at least 24) and set aside on a baking sheet.
To make the cake batter, 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 fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter and sugar, and beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the 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.
Spoon a tablespoon or two of batter into the bottom of each cupcake liner. Place a ball of the peanut butter filling in each cupcake well and top with the remaining batter so that all the cups are filled. Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
To make the frosting, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the cream cheese, butter and peanut butter until smooth. Slowly mix in the confectioners' sugar, beating until smooth and well blended. Mix in the whipped topping until smooth and fluffy. Frost cooled cupcakes as desired.
Recipe courtesy of Annie's Eats. No changes for high altitude were made.
