Ridiculous PB Buttercream - OMG

There are good cupcakes...and there are GREAT cupcakes!   The photo here shows the cupcakes as chocolate, but the recipe reflects Peanut Butter cupcakes and they are....amazing!  But besides that, this PB Butter Cream recipe is out of this world.  I literally licked the bowl clean, after I licked the beater attachments :-) 






Peanut Butter Cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache and Peanut Butter Buttercream
Cupcakes adapted from Sweet and Savory Tooth (who adapted it from Cupcakes! by Elinor Klivans)
Peanut Butter Buttercream adapted from Fifteen Spatulas
Yields 12 cupcakes

For the cupcakes
Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup chunky or smooth peanut butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup milk (I used 2% milk)

Method:
Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 12 muffin tin cups with paper cupcake liners.

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.

Using a stand mixer, beat the butter, peanut butter and brown sugar, on medium speed, until smooth and ligh in color, about 1 minute. Stop and scrape the sides of the bowl, as needed. Mix in the egg. Add the vanilla and beat for 1 minute, or until the batter is smooth. On low speed, add the flour mixture in 3 additions and the milk in 2 additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture and mixing just until the flour is incorporated and the batter looks smooth.

Fill each paper liner with batter, about 1/3 inch below the top of the liner. Bake just until the tops feel firm and are lightly browned, about 20 minutes. There will be a few cracks on top. Cool the cupcakes for 10 minutes in the pan on a wire rack. Carefully remove cupcakes from pan to finish cooling.

For the Ganache
Ingredients:
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 teaspoon instant coffee granules
2 ounces heavy cream

Method:
Place the chocolate and coffee granules in a heatproof bowl. Heat the cream in a small sauce pan over medium heat, until it comes to a boil. Pour the hot cream into the bowl with the chocolate and stir until completely mixed and glossy.

For the Peanut Butter Buttercream
Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature (2 sticks)
1 cup powdered sugar, or more, to taste
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup peanut butter, at room temperature

Method:
Beat everything in a bowl until smooth and blended. Add in more powdered sugar, if needed, according to your preference.

Assembly
Spread a layer of chocolate ganache on top of the cupcake and then frost with the peanut butter buttercream.


Coffee Cake Muffins

Coffee Cake Muffins
Adapted from Martha Stewart Cupcakes  via my favorite sweet blog:  Erica's Sweet Tooth

















For the muffins:
2-1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1-1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1-1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1-1/4 cups sour cream

For the streusel topping:
2-1/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
2-1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp unsalted butter, chilled

For the milk glaze:
1-1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
3 tbsp milk

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 24 standard muffin tins
- Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt
- With an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy
- Add eggs one at a time, beating until each is incorporated
- Stir in vanilla by hand
- Add flour mixture and sour cream, stir until just combined
- Divide batter evenly among lined cups.
- For the streusel: whisk together flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Cut in the butter using a pastry cutter or your fingers, until combined but still crumbly
- Sprinkle half of the streusel over the muffins, pressing it into the muffins
- Sprinkle the other half evenly over the muffins
- Bake for 20 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean, rotating pans half way through
- Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing muffins
- Once cooled, prepare milk glaze by whisking together sugar and milk
- Remove muffins from tin and place on a wire rack set over a cookie sheet and drizzle evenly with milk glaze

Strawberry Cupcakes

What else do you do when your husband over-buys berries?
Recipe from:(adapted from Martha Stewart, originally from Candace Nelson at Sprinkles Cupcakes)





Cupcakes:
3 tablespoons strawberry puree (just puree fresh or thawed frozen strawberries in a food processor)
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch salt
2 tbsp whole milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) softened butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
Frosting:
1/4 cup soft butter
1/2 cup thawed frozen (or fresh) strawberries, pureed and simmered until reduced by half
1 3/4 cups powdered sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla
To make the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350 F. Put paper liners in 6 cupcake tins.
Sift the flour, baking powder and salt onto a piece of wax paper. Set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk together the milk, vanilla, and strawberry puree.
Cream the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer, and add the sugar. Beat for a few minutes, until light and fluffy. Add the egg and mix on low until combined.
Add half the flour mixture and mix briefly on low. Scrape down the bowl and add the milk mixture, mixing just until combined. Scrape down the bowl and add the remaining flour mixture. Mix on low, then divide the batter evenly among the prepared cupcake tins. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean.
Cool in the pans for about 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
To make the frosting:
Beat the butter, sugar, and vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the strawberry puree a teaspoon or two at a time until the frosting is smooth and spreadable.

Mile High Peanut Butter Pie

This is a recipe I came across on the Kraft Recipes  website.  I made it for Thanksgiving this past year, and my family RAVED about it!  So there was a special request to whip it up again for Christmas...and it was just as good!  My only alteration is that I am lazy and didn't make my own pie shell, since the nice pie shell people actually make a Nilla Wafer pie shell that you can just buy :)  I like shortcuts! OH....and...I may have "decorated" the top of it with mini peanut butter cups! (insert evil laugh here)

What You Need35 NILLA Wafers, finely crushed (about 1 cup)
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 pkg. (3.9 oz.) JELL-O Chocolate Instant Pudding
2 cups cold milk, divided
4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
1 pkg. (3.4 oz.) JELL-O Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding
1/2 cup PLANTERS Creamy Peanut Butter, divided
2 cups thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, divided
1/2 square BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate

Make It

HEAT oven to 375ºF.
MIX wafer crumbs and butter until well blended; press onto bottom and up side of 9-inch pie plate. Bake 10 min.; cool.
BEAT chocolate pudding mix and 1 cup milk with whisk 2 min. (Pudding will be thick.) Spread onto bottom of crust. Gradually add remaining milk to cream cheese in large bowl with mixer until well blended. Add dry vanilla pudding mix; beat 2 min. Reserve 1 Tbsp. peanut butter. Add remaining to vanilla pudding mixture; beat until well blended. Stir in 1 cup COOL WHIP. Spread over chocolate pudding layer to within 1 inch of edge. Spoon remaining COOL WHIP onto center of pie.
REFRIGERATE 3 hours. When ready to serve, microwave remaining peanut butter in microwaveable bowl on HIGH 15 sec. or until melted. Melt chocolate as directed on package. Drizzle peanut butter and chocolate over pie.

Butterbeer Cupcakes

Welcome to my blog!  My first post is a declicious one that I would like to share!  Butterbeer Cupcakes...a recipe from AmyBites -- talk about sweet tooth!  My only alteration on this would be to spray your cupcake liners...mine seemed to be a bit clingy once they were ready to be devoured!

 

Butterbeer CupcakesMakes 18
.For the cupcakes:
.
2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
3 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon butter flavoring
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup cream soda
.
For the ganache:.
1 11-oz. package butterscotch chips
1 cup heavy cream
.
For the buttercream frosting:.
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup butterscotch ganache
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon butter flavoring
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 16-oz. package powdered sugar
Splash of milk or cream (as needed)
.
For the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line cupcake pans with paper liners. Combine your flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, cream your butter until light and fluffy. Add your sugars and beat until well-combined. Beat in your eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Then beat in your vanilla and butter flavoring.
.
Alternate adding your buttermilk, cream soda, and dry ingredients in batches until all are well incorporated. Fill each cupcake liner 3/4 full, then bake for 15 to 17 minutes until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean and cake springs back to the touch. Cool completely on wire racks.
.
For butterscotch filling: In a double boiler (heat-proof bowl over a pot of simmering water on the stove), combine butterscotch chips and heavy cream and stir until completely combined and smooth. Cool to room temperature. Fill a squeeze bottle with ganache and insert into the center of each cupcake, squeezing until filling begins to overflow.
.
For buttercream frosting: Cream butter in a large bowl until fluffy. Add in ganache, vanilla, butter flavoring, and salt and mix until well combined. Beat in powdered sugar 1 cup at a time until reaching desired consistency. Add milk or cream by the Tablespoon as needed. Frost cupcakes and top with a drizzle of butterscotch ganache.