Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Icing

Happy New Year! I thought I'd get in an indulgent recipe before I go on my upcoming Cooking Light blogging streak.

I finally got my dream appliance, a Kitchen Aid mixer, for Christmas (thanks Mom and Dad!). So now I have no excuse to not make decadent baked goods, right? I found the recipe for these cupcakes in another one of my Christmas gifts: a Barefoot Contessa Cookbook from John's mom (Ina Garten's cookbooks are so beautiful, by the way... I want to try just about every recipe in them).

The only change I made was making mini cupcakes instead of regular-sized ones. I served them up at our New Year's party last night, so I wanted them to be bite-sized. If you go the mini cupcake route, try baking them for 12-15 minutes (and it will make about 4 dozen of them!).

The results? Everyone loved these. Personally, I thought the cake part was perfectly good, but the real star here was the peanut butter frosting. Luckily, when I was done frosting all of my cupcakes, I had plenty left over to pipe straight into my face. Don't judge, you know you'd do it too.

Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Icing
from Barefoot Contessa at Home

Ingredients:
    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
     Kathleen's Peanut Butter Icing, recipe follows
     Chopped salted peanuts, to decorate, optional

Directions:

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.

Makes 16 cupcakes.

Kathleen's Peanut Butter Icing:

     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.

Isn't she beautiful??

Download a printable recipe.
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