peanut butter – AT-AT Everywhere

Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter “Cookie” Frosting

Yes, I am well behind on updating this!! I missed the Olympics, the space shuttle Atlantis, and I think the end of the NBA finals. But… better late than never! (Is there an echo in here?)

I made these in the beginning of August for Lindsay’s birthday, since her kryptonite is all combinations of chocolate and peanut butter. I found the inspiration and recipe for these on Annie’s Eats and loved the look of these. I’d only ever used a spatula or frosting bag on my cupcakes, so I was pretty excited to try making the frosting “patties” – something a little different!

Instead of using my usual chocolate cupcake recipe, I decided to go with the one from Annie’s Eats. The fact that it called for hot coffee interested me, as I’d never made chocolate cake with it. Sour cream, sure. Guinness, sure. But never coffee. I used a little over half the coffee I bought and ended up throwing the rest… down my throat. No sense in wasting, right?

I probably overmixed... — I probably over mixed…

The cupcakes turned out a bit flat – maybe I over mixed the batter? Whatever – I’m blaming it on the coffee! Ugh, if only I could Anderson Silva my baked goods, and just win at it whenever I feel like it…

Okay, I admit that was a far stretch, and I’m pretty sure 80% of my 5 readers will have no idea what the hell I’m talking about. But if anyone saw the Bonnar/Silva fight last night (and really, ANY Silva fight), you’ll know what I’m talking about. Spider knows.

Any way, to make the frosting patty stick to the cupcake (and for a little extra chocolate-y oomph), I made a standard ganache to use as “glue”.

Ganache Layer Atop Each Cupcake - Now Ready for the Frosting Patties — Ganache Layer Atop Each Cupcake – Now Ready for the Frosting Patties

The frosting recipe was really thick, so that it would A) not melt and B) form cookie-like patties. I really had to be diligent about wiping my hands in between forming every other patty, as the frosting stuck to my hands and would then start sticking to the patties. You can sorta tell which were made with freshly wiped hands and which weren’t…

Overall, these cupcakes were a little too rich for my taste, especially with the ganache. However, I tend to veer towards those with lighter, fluffier frosting, and even then I usually end up scraping half or more of it off.

Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter "Cookie" Frosting — Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter “Cookie” Frosting

As long as the birthday girl was happy, that’s all I cared about!! Miss you, Lindsay!!

Off to bed in a hurry. Until next time!

Simmered Heavy Cream Poured Over Choc Chips

Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies

Before actually meeting him, I knew Alex as the guy whose face my boyfriend (at the time) had pretty much peed on. But hey, let’s not dig up the past. I knew I had to at least be nice to the poor soul forever out of sheer principle, and am so glad I gained a solid friend out of a weird introduction.

The Flair - Dark Choc Chips, Salted Peanuts, PB Chips

I have to say he is one of three reasons this blog exists today. The night I decided to get off my ass and get this thing started was a night I’ll never forget with he and Lingie at Father’s Office over amazing beer, hilarity over some tough situations, and just talking about our dreams – big and small. I think we (it was probably just me) also had a good cackle or three at the emo pedophile haircuts they both were trying out at the time. This blog will probably never go anywhere and may even even fizzle out one day, but I’m forever indebted to both of you for being such amazing and inspirational friends throughout these many years. Although, I’m pretty sure if I had said was thinking about getting a third nipple that night, you both would have tried to encouraged me to do that too. For better or for worse.

Cookie Dough - Wet and Dry Ingredients Combined

I needed an excuse to bake last weekend and decided Alex was overdue to be celebrated on several fronts. When I wrote my very first blog post about a year and a half ago, I had mentioned he was an up-and-coming artist. He’s recently taken the leap to follow his dream and move forward full-time with his music career, leaving the desk job behind as of two Fridays ago. His birthday was also this past Monday, so really – the guy deserved some friggin’ cookies!

Instead of your average peanut butter cookie with chocolate chips in it, I decided to do the reverse – a chocolate cookie with peanut butter chips and salted peanuts! I found a great recipe on this blog and made a couple adjustments (e.g., using more peanuts and only a half bag of pb chips). I liked the texture and the postee liked them too!

Happy Birthday, friend. And congratulations for taking the leap!! Check out my new favorite band – Monsters Calling Home, and download “Growing Up” here!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Mini Cheesecakes

I would have to say my love of food is probably more fervent than the average person. There is nothing I enjoy more than ordering 1.5 entrees when eating out, making enough food to last me a couple days and then eating it all in one sitting instead, talking about eating while I’m eating, stuffing my face til I can no longer formulate complete sentences . . . you get the picture. I cook and eat mostly healthy fare, but I unfortunately inherited my dad’s sweet tooth and will probably inherit his diabetes as well. I’ve learned by trial-and-error to only bake for other people and/or special occasions, because I end up eating the whole batch when I bake something just for myself.

I made these for a birthday dinner this past August, and the birthday boy was an avid cheesecake and peanut butter lover. I had never made cheesecake before nor really eaten much of it, so this project was a bit of a challenge in that I didn’t know how to adjust cheesecake texture and flavor during the baking process like I know with cookies or regular cake.

I got the recipe for the Peanut Butter Chocolate Mini Cheesecakes from Food Network, courtesy of Paula Deen. Click on the photos below for a larger view!

Pouring the cheesecake mixture over the crust.

Cream cheese, sugar, flour, eggs, vanilla extract.

Graham cracker crumbs, butter, and sugar.

I had no idea how to make cheesecake fluffy, so I thought perhaps just beating the cheesecake mixture extra long with would do the trick. I think it paid off – when I had my first bite, my favorite line from Despicable Me came to mind. Big thanks to baking/cooking connoisseur Jay Liu for letting me borrow his electric mixer!

Again, I’m not an avid fan of cheesecake, but I have to admit these were pretty tasty. The birthday boy liked them too, so that’s all that matters in the end. Thanks, Paula Deen!