Monday, July 6, 2020

Peanut Butter Cupcakes




  Recently, my niece Casey Case with the Pretty Face celebrated a milestone birthday, so of course I offered my baking skills for the party effort. I asked what her favorites are, and I was told that she love love LOVES peanut butter. OK, I can work with this! How 'bout if I make Peanut Butter Cupcakes? "Perfect! She'll love 'em!" But wait... then I realized.. I have no peanut butter cupcakes on my website. WHAT?? How is that even possible?? Well, we must find a go-to recipe right away!
 It didn't take me long to find just the perfect recipe on one of my favorite blogs, Sally's Baking Addiction. I don't think there is even ONE recipe I've tried from Sally's blog that wasn't absolutely perfect. And these cupcakes turned out perfectly! So there we have it. I did, however, make one slight change. Not to the cupcake recipe, but for this occasion, I decided to do a Peanut Butter Swiss Meringue Buttercream instead of the peanut butter icing that Sally posted. Honestly, the results were life changing. I don't even know how else to describe them. If you've ever made Swiss Meringue Buttercream, the recipe was the same, only I swapped out some of the butter for peanut butter. Sheer peanut butter heaven! And as My Kristin always says "the peanut butterier, the better."
 At the party, the cupcakes were a huge hit, and Casey loved them! I'd say that's a solid mission accomplished right there. And if you're also a peanut butter fanatic, you'll definitely want to make these. I'm telling you... LIFE CHANGING. Not even kidding.


1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup packed light or dark brown sugar
1 large egg
1/3 cup sour cream
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup whole milk
1/3 cup very finely crushed or chopped peanuts



Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Line a 12-cup muffin pan with cupcake liners. Line a second pan with 2-3 liners because this recipe yields 14-15 cupcakes. Set aside.
Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
Using a handheld mixer, stand mixer fitted with a whisk or paddle attachment, or a whisk, mix the oil, peanut butter, brown sugar, egg, sour cream, and vanilla extract together in a large bowl. Add the dry ingredients, milk, and peanuts and whisk or beat together until completely combined. Avoid overmixing. Batter will be slightly thick. Pour/spoon the batter into the liners, filling only 2/3 full to avoid baking over the sides. Bake for 21-23 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the tops of the cupcakes spring back when gently touched.
For around 35 mini cupcakes, bake for about 11-13 minutes, same oven temperature. Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.



Tips:
It should be noted that the original recipe suggested that all ingredients should be at room temperature for better mixing. I didn't have time, so a few of my ingredients were straight from the fridge. Sorry Sally.
I also didn't have any peanuts to finely chop or crush, so I just left them out. I did, however, add an extra pinch of salt, just to drive home that salty peanutty flavor. Turned out great!


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