Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

Today I made these amazing cupcakes to take down to Allison in Portland.  I figured the new mommy of twins could use a little chocolately goodness!

I thought the end result was pretty good. I may use a different cupcake recipe in the future as my cupcakes turned out more dry than I had hoped, but my friend did not have this issue when she made them (upon reading the reviews online the cupcakes results were split).  But the frosting is hands-down the best peanut butter frosting recipe I have ever tried.  Another great recipe from Ms.Garten.  Love her!

Chocolate Cupcakes and Peanut Butter Icing, courtesy of Barefoot Contessa
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

2/3 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk, shaken, at room temperature
1/2 cup sour cream, at room temperature
2 tablespoons brewed coffee
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup good cocoa powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line cupcake pans with paper liners.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and 2 sugars on high speed until light and fluffy, approximately 5 minutes. Lower the speed to medium, add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla and mix well. In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, sour cream, and coffee. In another bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. On low speed, add the buttermilk mixture and the flour mixture alternately in thirds to the mixer bowl, beginning with the buttermilk mixture and ending with the flour mixture. Mix only until blended. Fold the batter with a rubber spatula to be sure it's completely blended.

Divide the batter among the cupcake pans (1 rounded standard ice cream scoop per cup is the right amount). Bake in the middle of the oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes, remove from the pans, and allow to cool completely before frosting.

Frost each cupcake with Peanut Butter Icing and sprinkle with chopped peanuts, if desired.

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.

Sugar Cookies to Die For!

I offered to bring a dessert to Tonya's engagement party this afternoon and I knew exactly the recipe to choose.  Paula Deen's sugar cookie recipe!  Sooo good.  Okay, okay. It is actually a Christmas cookie recipe, but there is no reason it can't be used year-round.  This is the same recipe I used for Allison's baby shower cookies - seen below.

The end result is a slightly soft and chewy, yet sturdy sugar cookie with hints of both almond and vanilla. I also like this recipe as it seems very quick to make.  But, be warned.  There is a lot of downtime required for this recipe... chilling the dough at two separate times in the making/baking process. 

The thick cookie batter all mixed and ready for the next step.

The recipe says to wrap the dough in plastic wrap and then chill.  I recommend dividing the dough in half or thirds, wrapping in plastic wrap, then chilling.  This way you can roll out smaller batches and the dough will also chill slightly faster.

The dough rolls out very nicely and the cookies won't lose their shape and swell while baking.  Typically I used a buttercream style frosting for my cookies. But today I went with more of an icing style that dries smooth and is also less work to make and decorate with.

Hands with little engagement rings:

A wedding cake cookie. I added a few sugar flowers just for fun:

Blake thought the hand cookies were pretty cool.  He even gave his cookie a 'high five' before taking a bite!

Every time I make them people rave about the flavor and request the recipe. Now that is a good sign. Thank you Paula!

Sugar Cookies

1 c. butter, softened

1 c. sugar

2 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp almond extract

3 1/4 c. flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer until fluffy. Beat in eggs, vanilla and almond extract until combined.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Gradually add to sugar mixture, beating until smooth. Wrap dough in heavy-duty plastic wrap, and refrigerate 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut with assorted snowflake cookie cutters and place 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Chill dough 15 minutes. Bake for 10 minutes, or until edges are very lightly browned. Let cool for 2 minutes on baking sheet. Remove from pans and cool completely on wire racks.

*This recipe doubles well

Cookie Icing

2 Tbsp milk

1 1/2 c. powdered sugar
1-3 drops extract (vanilla, almond, lemon, etc)
food coloring (optional)

Mix together in a shallow bowl with whisk. 
*These are rough measurements.  Add more powdered sugar to thicken (for piping, etc), and add more milk for easier spreading/flooding.

I make a more 'runny' base if I want to coat the entire cookie in one color, as I did for the skin color of hand cookies.  Just dip top side of cookie in to icing and smooth with a spatula, or even your finger.  You will need to sacrifice one cookie for testing your icing to see if it is too thin or thick (darn, you'll have to eat that one). You don't want it so runny that the icing runs and drips off the edge of the cookie.

If you want to pipe with this icing, thicken with more powdered sugar.  Scoop in to a small plastic bag and snip a very small corner off to squeeze icing through (or use pastry bag).  As a test, squeeze out a small amount of icing and see if it holds it's shape.  If it starts to spread you'll need to thicken.

The iced cookies will need anywhere from 30-120 minutes to dry and set, depending on thickness of icing.