Can you guys believe tomorrow is Thanksgiving! We are officially in the BEST time of year! And even better – I don’t have to be the one in the kitchen all day. 🙂 We will be visiting with my parents and even though I’ll be helping, the full responsibility won’t be mine. I’ll likely be in charge of the sweet potatoes, since they are my favorite part of thanksgiving.
I know – you’d think it’d be the dessert. But I’m spoiled and eat dessert all day every day, so it’s sweet potatoes slathered with marshmallows that make me love Thanksgiving the most. That and pumpkin pie with LOTS of whipped cream. 🙂 My dad and I devour some pumpkin pie and whipped cream.
I don’t know about you, but for me Halloween has always been all about the candy. The costume was simply necessary in order to get said candy. I’m pretty sure I was a witch for many years simply so that I’d have a costume and could go trick-or-treating.
And when it came to candy – the more, the better. We’d go door to door for hours. Then when my brother and I were done trick-or-treating, we’d pour all our candy out onto the floor, sort it and then trade the candy we didn’t like for other candy. Of course Butterfingers have always been a big hit. Who can resist the crunch and the peanut butter?!
Then of course there’s Thanksgiving night and Black Friday. For some that is BIG! I can’t say we usually partake, but it has happened in the past. I mean that is some crazy shopping! So many people, so many lines and yes, plenty of deals. All I know is that late at night/early in the morning, I better have a snack with me. 🙂 Of course you know I love my Walkers Shortbread, so that would be the perfect snack. They even have these cute little mini packs that would be easy to take with you. Did you know Home Goods sells them? Pick some up where you’re shopping there at 2 a.m. and need a pick-me-up. 😉
These cupcakes really are the most delicious way to eat a Butterfinger. The cupcake is light, fluffy and full of peanut butter. And to make sure it has that extra special Butterfinger flavor, it has bits of the candy that are crushed up and added right to the batter. Just a tip – if you have a food chopper, that was the easiest and quickest way to crush up the Butterfinger. Worked like a charm!
Speaking of a pick-me-up, these cupcakes would also do the trick! A moist and fluffy peanut butter cupcake is the start to Butterfinger heaven. The cupcakes even have some crushed up Butterfingers in them. So good!
On top of the cupcake is a bit of chocolate ganache because we all know that peanut butter’s best friend is chocolate.
To top them off, they’ve got a peanut butter frosting that is FULL of crushed Butterfingers! To die for! To make them pretty, I sprinkled them with some additional crushed Butterfingers (is it even possible to get enough?) and a Butterfinger half. They are super cute and make a super fun cupcake! Head over to The Cake Blog to get the full recipe!
Ingredients
For the Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes:
- 3 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
- 1 stick unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
- 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, not packed
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs + 1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 cup full-fat milk
- 1/2 cup very hot water
For the Peanut Butter Frosting:
- 1 and 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter
- 1 cup (2 stick) unsalted butter, very soft
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups confectioners' sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3-4 tablespoons full-fat milk
- 1/4 cup butterfinger bits (see below)
For the Butterfinger Topping:
- 12 mini butterfinger bars, chopped into small bits
Instructions
For the Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (F). Line a 12-cup cupcake/muffin tin with cupcake liners and lightly spray the liners with non-stick spray (optional, but it does help them peel right off). Set aside.
- Melt the peanut butter, butter, and chocolate together in the microwave, heating in 30 second increments, stirring between. *You can also melt the peanut butter, butter, and chocolate over very low heat on the stove top, but I find the microwave to be much easier. Whisk mixture completely smooth and set aside to cool.
- In a medium-sized bowl combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cocoa powder, and salt; stir together until thoroughly combined and set aside.
- In a large bowl whisk together the eggs, yolk, sugar and vanilla; beat smooth. Add the cooled chocolate mixture and whisk until combined. Add half of the flour mixture, then half of the milk. Repeat the process until everything is added, and be sure to mix until JUST combined. Quickly stir in the hot water. It's important not to over mix, here! Just stir until evenly combined.
- Scoop 3 tablespoons of batter into each cupcake mold; they should be 3/4 full. You will have leftover batter (enough to make another 6 cupcakes).
- Bake for 16-18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.
For the Peanut Butter Frosting:
- Using an electric mixer, beat the peanut butter and butter on medium-speed until completely smooth. Beat in vanilla. Reduce the speed to low and add in the remaining ingredients, beating until fully incorporated. Increase speed to medium-high and beat the frosting for 1-2 minutes, or until light and fluffy.
- Once the cupcakes are cooled, spread or pipe the frosting on top then sprinkle with remaining butterfinger bits.
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