Back to Cupcakes

These are by no means the first cupcakes that I have made since I have moved back to school.  These are just the first ones that lasted long enough for me to photograph them.  Cupcakes don't last long in the cupcake suite.

I made my classic chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter frosting the day after moving back, but those were gone before I got my camera unpacked.

I wanted to try something a bit different so I went for Martha Stewart's maple walnut cupcakes.  They were decent, not anything spectacular though.  The cake was a bit dense and not very fluffy.  That being said, my suite still ate them up.  No complaints on their end!

Happy Baking,
Margaret

Not-Quite-Christmas Cookies

When is the acceptable time to start playing Christmas music?  Some would say after Halloween, but others would wait until after Thanksgiving.  This debate has yet to be settled in The Cupcake Suite, and we are currently listening to periodic Nutcracker and Andrea Bocelli Christmas music.

However, I think everyone agreed that it was never too early for Christmas cookies.  These delicious peanut butter nutella cookie recipe caught my eye on foodgawker, and I was dying to make it.  As a kid, I always made these type of peanut butter cookies with my mom for Christmastime.  We would always put a hershey kiss in the middle, which was so wonderfully gooey and delicious right out of the oven.

So this recipe, for me, worked like a not-quite-christmas cookie recipe.  They were perfectly moist and peanut buttery with a hint of choclate from the nutella.  Also, they were gone within minutes of sharing them with The Cupcake Suite.

Bon Appétit,

Margaret

Happy Cupcakes

College can be hard.  There is lots of work- that paper that is due on Monday or that lab report that you haven't started yet, and don't forget the reading that was due yesterday that you have yet to do.  But there are certain things that make these problems (and problem sets) go away, at least for a little bit.  One of those is nutella.  My friends and I have somewhat of a nutella addiction, especially when it is on pineapple, but for these cupcakes I decided to go with peanut butter as the pairing.

They were quite divine.  The cake was a little dense, but a really peanut buttery and delicious recipe from How Sweet It Is.

For the frosting, I just whipped a couple large dollops of nutella with half a stick of butter and 4 oz of cream cheese.  Then I added powdered sugar a half a cup at a time until I was around 2 1/2 cups of sugar.  A splash of milk if necessary and voila- nutella with extra sugar and butter!  It is quite a happy little cupcake.

Bon Appétit
Margaret

Sweet Snacks

Sometimes, well most of the time actually, I crave a bit of chocolate in the afternoon.  I'm just looking for a little bite to satisfy my sweet tooth.  These homemade peanut butter cups definitely do the trick.

I used semisweet chocolate to give the cups a richer taste than the average peanut butter cup, although I would love to try these again with dark chocolate.  These are a delicious little treat or snack and are super easy and quick to make!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

Makes 8

1/2 cup chocolate chips

heavy cream

1/3 cup peanut butter

1 1/2 tbs powdered sugar

2 tsp flour

Microwave half of the chocolate chips with a tablespoons of heavy cream for a minute.  Remove from microwave and stir until the chocolate has completely melted.  If the chocolate is too thick, add a bit more heavy cream.  (You want it just thin enough to pour.)  Line a mini muffin pan with eight papers, and pour a thin layer of chocolate into each.  Cover and place in the freezer to set for a few minutes.

Combine peanut butter, powdered sugar, and flour in a bowl, and mix until smooth.  Set aside.  Melt the remaining chocolate chips using the same method as before.  Set aside.  Remove the pan from the freezer and place a spoonful of peanut butter mixture in each cup.  Pour chocolate over each one until the peanut butter is covered.  Place pan in the freezer for an hour to let the chocolate harden.  Store in freezer or refrigerator.

Bon Appétit,
Margaret

Peanut Butter Bliss

Chocolate and peanut butter is by no means my invention.  It is one of the most wonderful combinations of rich, sweet flavors and has probably been around long before the first Reese's Peanut Butter Cup in the 1920s.  But I think this beats the peanut butter cup out.  Well maybe not entirely, but it is a darn good cupcake.  The frosting is light and fluffy- reminiscent of peanut butter cookie dough- and the chocolate cupcake is rich and flavorful.

The cupcake recipe has been a favorite of my family's for awhile, and I can't take credit for writing (or even finding) it.  It is one of my mom's old ones, nicknamed "Black Magic Cupcakes."  The name suits it quite well.  These are the darkest and most moist chocolate cupcakes I have tried, and we always come back to these when we are unsure of what to bake.  That being said, they have tried quite a range of frostings, from fruit to cinnamon sugar.  It is really hard to find a flavor that doesn't go well with dark chocolate.  I am quite partial to this peanut butter combination though; it is rather addictive.

Black Magic Chocolate Cupcakes

(Makes 18-24 cupcakes)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1 3/4 cups flour

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

pinch of salt

1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs

1/2 cup canola oil

1 cup strong coffee

1 cup buttermilk

Stir together flour, sugars, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt with a whisk.

Stir in the vanilla, eggs, oil, coffee, and buttermilk until blended and then beat with an electric mixer on medium for 2 minutes.  Batter will be soupy.  Pour into cupcake cups.

Bake 20-24 minutes at 350 degrees- or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Peanut Butter Frosting

8 oz cream cheese

8 tablespoons butter, room temp

pinch of salt

3/4 cup peanut butter

2 cups powdered sugar

Cream butter and cream cheese with electric mixer on high for a full 2 minutes.  Add peanut butter and salt and beat for an additional 1-2 minutes on high.  Add sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, beating well after each addition.  Refrigerate prior to use if too soft.

Enjoy!

Margaret