one down.. (re-visiting peanut butter cupcakes)

so i said, just the other day, that i needed to re-visit this cupcake with a glorious idea that hit me..  sometime, i can’t remember when.  it was most likely when i was ready to fall asleep.

(those darn glorious ideas hit me then or when i am in the shower..  at least i can write them down when i am in bed.)

i originally tried this recipe in the fall and we all loved it.  after that trial, i had the idea to add some reeses (big ‘uns) to the actual cupcake.

yeah, i didn’t get around to trying that one out until, well, last week.

they were winners.

so when my next glorious idea hit, i knew i’d better test drive it (so to speak) soon.

that, and one of the guys who works for merrill didn’t get his peanut butter cupcake due to the fact that merrill ate it.

(i think that means they are kind of good.)

so here goes…

i start out with my most favorite boxed triple chocolate fudge cake mix ever (still haven’t found the perfect chocolate cake recipe to make from scratch that stays moist…).  i tweak it a little by substituting 1/2 cup softened butter in place of the oil.

then i divide the batter among my cups and get an assistant to unwrap, and not eat the regular sized reeses peanut butter cups. 

(not eating them now is key.  tempting, i know, but very important.)

you take that little cup of yumminess, and place it on the top of the batter.  press it in until the top of the cup is level with the surface of you batter.

see:

pop those in the oven and let them bake according to the recipe.

after they have cooled, they will look flat.

(but they are delicious, so don’t fret.  frosting will make up for the flatness soon.)

we had one, that didn’t get “reesed” (totally just invented that word..  you can even see it up there!!) and you could tell which one was missing the secret surprise.

it was all fluffy and junk.

then lynn ate it assuming it was like the rest.  she was greatly disappointed.  but she should have known.  there were no chopped peanuts on top!

(that is our code of sorts.)

which is okay, i am sure that she was the culprit who got into the jumbo bag and ate the one cup that we were going to need to reese all of them.

so after they have cooled, frost them.

when i say “frost them” i really mean that you should frost them with this:

Peanut butter frosting

• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/3 cup heavy cream

Place the confectioners' sugar, peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on medium-low speed until creamy, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as you work. Add the cream and beat on high speed until the mixture is light and smooth.

so, you can go on ahead, and pipe that on the way it is OR…

you can do what i did..

i substituted the regular old peanut butter (delicious, but boring in comparison) with a cup of this!!!

it is a bit of an addiction lately…

i really wanted to add dark reeses to the cupcakes, but would not (no way!!) settle for the miniatures.  i wanted the big’uns.  i couldn’t find them.  i will have to attempt it again, i guess.

(i am sure everyone will throw a fit of epic proportions..)

now these are good the “regular way” but SO good with this little tweaking.

(i finished off the frosting.  right out of the bag…  can you picture that?  me, mouth ajar, bag of frosting inserted..)

when i asked merrill if they were good, i got quite the reaction.

now that frosting recipe makes enough to generously frost a little more than a dozen, so we made some of each…

(and to further try to convince you to go and make them yourself, here’s some pictures to help with the convincing.)

yeah, don’t forget those chopped peanuts either.  you know, “code” and all..

oh, and i have been told that a glass of milk is a great addition.