Peanut Butter Cups

Well not really. These are more like Peanut Butter Cupcakes with a chocolate surprise - ah, there, I gave it away. Anyway, the recipe said Peanut Butter Cups. This is the second recipe that I've made from 'the Pastry Queen' cookbook. To be honest though, the first recipe that I tried should have been spectacular but instead it was a complete flop. I hate it when that happens. It was a white cake that used cake and pastry flour. This was the second or third experience that I've had in which the cake texture when I use cake and pastry flour is terrible. It's gets too flat, almost like a pudding. Gross. If you have any experiences, tips or ideas about using cake and pastry flour please let me know...

Anyway, this recipe is a different thing altogether. It looked interesting on paper and the smell when it was baking was great. The peanut butter isn't overwhelming at all. I have to make the most of summer for baking with peanut butter because once school starts it's no taking peanut butter anywhere. I feel bad for peanut butter sometimes, it really gets a bad rap these days. I know that the allergy is very serious and all, really I do. It's just delish stuff and there it is. I've got another peanut butter recipe stashed away for later, maybe sooner actually.

With these cupcakes, the batter was delish (yes, this is important) and the texture was quite all right. The icing looked a little fiddly at first but the reality was that I just threw some crap into a pot, boiled it, cooled it and then threw in some icing sugar and stirred. No biggy. VERY SWEET!!!! Can't emphasize that enough. If you're not a sweet tooth then do not go for this icing.

Peanut Buttercups with Peanut-Penuche Icing

(the Pastry Queen)

makes about 12 cupcakes

cupcakes

1 3/4 cup all purpose flour

1 tbsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/4 cups dark brown sugar

6 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature

1/3 cup peanut butter (smooth or chunky- I used natural)

1 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla

2 large eggs

1 bar bittersweet chocolate cut into small squares

Icing

1/4 cup unsalted butter

1/4 cup peanut butter

1/4 cup milk

1 cup brown sugar

1/8 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup powdered sugar

Cupcake:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with paper liners or whatever you normally do. Combine the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in a bowl and mix well. In another bowl combine the butter, peanut butter, milk and vanilla. Mix until everything is well blended. Add in the eggs and beat the mixture for a few minutes. Add the flour mixture and mix well. Fill the muffin cups about half full. Place some chocolate in the batter and then fill the cup with more batter until it goes about 3/4 of the way to the top.

Repeat until the batter is done (I got about 13 cupcakes. Bake for about 30 min. or until a cake tester comes out with just some chocolate on it. Cool for about 10 minutes and then remove from pan to cool completely.

Icing:

Throw the butter, peanut butter, milk and sugar into a heavy bottomed saucepan. Bring to a low boil for 1 1/2 min. Remove from heat and cool for about 30 minutes (not more than). Once cooled, add in the vanilla and icing sugar. Mix until well blended. I let mine sit for a few minutes before icing the cooled cupcakes.