Mini Chocolate Crunchy Peanut Butter Cupcakes!

These are my signature cupcakes.  No words describe how rich, peanut-buttery and amazing these cupcakes are.  A must do.

Yield: Makes 48 Mini Cupcakes

Ingredients – Cupcake Batter

·         8 tbs softened butter

·         2 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips

·         ½ cup cocoa powder

·         ¾ cup flour

·         ½ tsp baking soda

·         ¾ tsp baking powder

·         2 eggs

·         ¾ cup granulated sugar

·         ½ tsp salt

·         ½ cup sour cream
·         48 mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
·         1 package Pillsbury Peanut Butter Cookies
 

Preheat oven to 350°.   Place liners in cupcake pans.  Microwave together butter, chocolate, and cocoa powder and stir until melted and shiny.  In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and baking powder.  In another separate bowl, beat the eggs and then wisk in sugar and salt.  Add in melted chocolate mixture and beat until smooth.  Wisk in dry ingredients and finally fold in sour cream until just blended.

*At this point I usually fill a pastry bag with the batter because it’s easier to pipe the mixture into each cup than spoon it. 

Fill each cup halfway and push either a mini peanut butter cup or half of a peanut butter egg in the center of the batter.  (I think the egg is better than the PB cup - creamier - but if you like something denser, go for the PB cups.)  Pipe a small amount of mixture on the top to cover – cupcakes should be almost full.

Bake for 10-15 minutes.   Look at the batter for doneness on the sides – they pretty much won’t look done when you pull them out but don’t worry.  Wait at least 20 minutes to remove from the pan because the chocolate inside needs to set.

Peanut Butter Cookie Topper

For 48 cupcakes make half a roll of Peanut Butter Cookies (Pillsbury).  Bake the cookies slightly* crispier than normal.  Break each cookie into 3-4 pieces.

Peanut Butter Icing

·         1 cup creamy peanut butter

·         5 tbs softened butter

·         2 cups 10X sugar

·         1/2 to 2/3 cup heavy cream

     

Beat peanut butter, butter, and 10X until thoroughly combined.  Add cream and beat until you hit desired fluff level.  You can really make this stuff get uber-fluffy, but I usually shoot for it to be thicker to go with the same consistency as the cupcake itself.  Use a piping bag to place a small amount of frosting on each cupcake and then press down several pieces of peanut butter cookies on each cupcake top.  Finally, finish the cupcake with more icing.

**Refrigerate and enjoy!!

S'mores Mini Cupcakes

I had been on a serious S’mores kick after I figured out I could use a long stick and my broiler to toast marshmallows in the kitchen.  So, I decided it was time to try my hand at a S’mores themed cupcake.  These came out awesome! 

Yield: 48 Mini Cupcakes.

Ingredients – Crust

• 1 1/2 cups finely ground graham cracker crumbs
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 6 tablespoons butter, melted

Receipe from allreceipes.com - http://allrecipes.com/recipe/graham-cracker-crust-i/

*I used a generic graham cracker crust from allrecipes.com and made sure to buy regular and not cinnamon sugar graham crackers.

Preheat oven to 350° and place cupcake liners in pan.  Ground graham crackers in a food processor until just blended.  Stir in melted butter and sugar and press into cupcake cups.  (I like a lot of graham cracker with my S’mores, so I made a pretty thick crust.)  Bake 10 minutes at 350° until crispy.

Ingredients – Cupcake Batter

• 1 cup sugar  
• .875 cups all-purpose flour (3/4 cup of flour and 2 tbps)
• 3/8 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa (1/4 cup and 2 tbps)
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup boiling water

*Recipe is halved from Hershey’s Perfect Chocolate Cake.

Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin).

Spoon or pipe cake mix into cups.  Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes.  Pull out of oven and allow to cool on stove top to finish cooking. 

Ingredients – Marshmallow Frosting

• 4 large egg whites at room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• ¼ tsp of cream of tartar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

*Frosting adapted from Annie’s Eats - http://annies-eats.com/2009/11/16/smores-cupcakes/.  This woman is amazing.  Check out her blog.

Combine the egg whites, sugar and cream of tartar in the top of a double boiler. (Note: I just set my clean, dry mixer bowl over simmering water, to avoid dirtying two bowls.) Heat the mixture, whisking frequently, until it reaches 160° F with an instant-read thermometer. Transfer the mixture to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whisk starting at low speed and gradually increasing to medium-high speed until stiff, glossy peaks form. Mix in the vanilla until combined.

As tempting as it is to frost immediately, WAIT!  These cupcakes need to be cooled completely first.  The first time I tried these I attempted to brown them in the broiler but the heat proved too much and the frosting just ran instead of browned.  You’ll need a kitchen torch for that burnt look.  Top with a section of a Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bar and YUM!

Mini Oreo Chocolate Cheesecakes

Mini Chocolate Cheesecakes with an Oreo Crust and Ganache Topping

 I really freakin' love these things.  There is no other way to put it.  Fantastic.

Yield: Makes 48 Mini Cupcakes

Crust:

·         2 sleeves of Oreos

·         4 tbs melted butter

Cheesecake Filling:

·         2 packages (8 ounces each) of Philadelphia Cream Cheese

·         1 cup sugar

·         1 tsp vanilla

·         8 squares semi-sweet Baker’s chocolate (1 package), melted

·         3 eggs

Ganache Topping:

·         4.5 ounces bittersweet and 4.5 ounces semi-sweet chocolate

·         ½ cup heavy cream

Preheat oven to 325°.  Place liners in mini cupcake pan.  In a food processor, blend the Oreos until there are no longer large chunks and slowly incorporate in butter.  The mixture should be crumbly but will stick together if you push on it.  Fill each mini cupcake approximately ¼ full and then use a spoon or kitchen hammer to flatten out crust.  Bake the crust for 7-8 minutes.  While the crust is baking, beat the cream cheese, vanilla, and sugar until well blended.  Add melted Baker’s chocolate.  Beat in the eggs, adding only one egg at a time. Batter should be smooth and shiny.  At this point, I usually fill the batter into a piping bag and pipe the batter in until cupcakes are ¾ full.  You can just use a spoon though if you don’t have a piping bag.  Bake cupcakes for 12 minutes or until batter is just slightly jiggly.  Remove from oven and allow to completely cool. 

For the ganache, heat heavy cream over the stove until it just begins to boil and pour boiling cream over chocolate.  Mix with a fork until smooth and shiny.  Spoon ganache over each cupcake.  At this point, I will cut the remaining Oreos I have into quarters and top the cupcakes with them.  Refrigerate and enjoy!

*Inspired by: http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/our-best-chocolate-cheesecake-74552.aspx