Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie Cupcakes!!

Well Hello!! Its been awhile since I have been on here.  Well it has been quite a year.  We welcomed our baby boy into the world a year ago and now that life is getting somewhat back to normal-ish (I mean we get real sleep) I thought I would throw around a few posts.  My good friend Sara at Golden Poppy Press came into town for a visit.  I was telling her about these cupcakes I occasionally make and she said I had to post directions so here ya go!  They look impressive and taste amazing. They are super simple and a good activity with kids (kids older than mine that's for sure).  I took these to some co-workers so I wouldn't eat them all and I had people who aren't chocolate fans raving about them. So here ya go!

The basic idea is make cookie dough and make cake batter and put both in cupcake liners. Feel free to mix and match flavors. I have done chocolate chip and its amazing too.  

You need a package of peanut butter cookie mix and chocolate cake mix.

Follow the package directions for each. So make sure you have eggs and oil on hand.

Preheat the oven

I pour my cake batter into a spouted measuring cup so that it makes less mess when I pour it into the cupcake liners.

Pour a small layer of cake batter in the bottom of each cupcake liner

Drop pieces of peanut butter cookie dough in so that they are on top of the batter. You don't want them touching the bottom.

Cover the cookie dough with the rest of the batter.

The peanut butter cookie ends up being a nice surprise. They don't look peanut buttery at first!

Bake in a preheated 350F oven for about 18 minutes

Let your cupcakes cool completely. This makes 24 cupcakes and some cookie dough is leftover for some cookies! They look like an ordinary chocolate cupcake!

Now on to the frosting.  I was a bit brain dead this day and doubled my frosting recipe because I wanted two kinds of frosting. Not sure what I was thinking. I had a TON leftover. So one stick of butter should do you. But you also need cocoa, peanut butter (creamy kind), milk, vanilla, and powdered sugar.

Whip your room temperature butter until it is light and fluffy 

Add 1 tsp of vanilla, about 1-2 tablespoons of milk, and 1-2 cups of powdered sugar.  I just sort of eyeball the consistency of the frosting. If it is took runny I had more sugar, too dry add more milk.

Whip until fluffy then take half of your vanilla buttercream and put it to the side.

Add about a 1/4 cup (or a couple good scoops) of peanut butter and whip throughly. You may need to add more sugar if the consistency gets too soft.

 Ta Da! Peanut butter frosting!! Yummmmm!

Now add cocoa to the other half of the vanilla buttercream. I did a 1/4 cup here and I think it was too much.  Next time I think I will do a tablespoon at a time until I get the right flavor. Darn I am going to have to taste test more as I go!

I put mine into some nifty piping things I had but they were kind of a pain. I had to keep refilling. Next time I will use something different to pipe. They do look nice though. I put the peanut butter frosting layer first and then decorated with chocolate.

 YUMMMMMMMMMM!

 Here's to deliciousness!! Enjoy!