Peanut Butter Blossom Cupcakes

I looove peanut butter. As if you couldn’t tell. It’s just one of those things I will never ever in my whole life get enough of.

I’ve been planning to make these cupcakes for a while. The inspiration came from a momentous desire to make peanut butter frosting and from my English teacher, Mrs. Fleming, who’s in love with peanut butter blossoms. Thus, this Peanut Butter Blossom Cupcake was born!

I used the chocolate cake recipe from Betsy Eves aka Java Cupcake that I’ve also wanted to try for a few months. She claims it is the best chocolate cake she’s ever eaten, and it certainly does not disappoint. Many homemade cake recipes I’ve used have been at least slightly dry or just not the right flavor or texture compared to doctored boxed mix, but this cake was incredibly moist and intensely flavorful. It paired beautifully with the peanut butter buttercream, which I was sooo proud of! Frosting is my favorite part of any cake, both to eat and to make. It’s just so satifying when you make the perfect frosting.

First make the peanut butter blossoms. You can really use any recipe you want, and you will not need the full batch, depending on how big the recipe is. I recommend: Soft Peanut Butter Cookies, Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies, or Hershey’s Peanut Butter Blossoms. Do not bake the cookies yet!! Place the dough in the fridge to chill. Also, unwrap 14-18 Hershey’s kisses (one for each cupcake), and set aside.

The cake was quite fun to make, because I’ve never done it this way before. Melt butter in a medium saucepan and whisk in cocoa powder, espresso powder, coffee, and vanilla until combined. As usual, I tried to low-fat it a bit and used half butter half oil. Because of this, everything did not combine completely, but it worked out fine.

In a separate bowl, whisk sugar, flour, baking soda, and salt.

In another bowl, whisk the sour cream and egg. Hint: to substitute for 1/2 cup sour cream, use yogurt, or drop 1 1/2 tsp lemon juice or white vinegar into a measuring cup and fill the cup up to the 1/2 cup line with evaporated milk.

To the sour cream bowl- slowly add a few drops of the chocolate and whisk thoroughly. Then slowly add the rest of the chocolate mixture, whisking until completely combined.

In the flour mixture, make a well (a hole in the flour), and pour in the wet ingredients. Whisk until it is completely smooth.

Use a small ladle or cookie scoop to pour the batter into cupcake liners, until they are about 1/3 full. Then take out the cookie dough and drop 2-3 tbs dough using a tablespoon or cookie scoop into the center of the batter. Top each with a Hershey’s kiss, then cover with batter until the liner is 2/3 full.

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes (see my post on checking for doneness). Cool completely and frost!

I used peanut butter buttercream and a Ziploc bag, and made a swirly design on top. Because these cupcakes are beautiful inside and out.

Peanut Butter Blossom Cupcakes

• Peanut Butter Cookie Dough
• Chocolate Cake
• Peanut Butter Buttercream

Peanut Butter Cookie Dough

• 1 batch Soft Peanut Butter Cookies, Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies, or Hershey’s Peanut Butter Blossoms.
• 14-18 Hershey kisses (one for each cupcake)

1. Make cookie dough according to recipe.
2. Cover and chill in fridge until needed.
3. Unwrap Hershey’s kisses.

Best Chocolate Cake Ever from Java Cupcake

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or 1/4 cup butter and 1/4 cup oil
• 3/4 cup strong brewed coffee
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tbs espresso powder (optional-I did not use this)
• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup sour cream- may substitute yogurt, or 1 1/2 tsp lemon juice or white vinegar mixed with 1/2 cup minus 1 1/2 tsp evaporated milk

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line 18 muffin cups with liners.
2. Melt butter in a medium pan. Add oil, then coffee, cocoa powder, vanilla, and espresso powder (if using). Whisk until combined and remove from heat.
3. In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk sour cream and egg. To this, slowly add a few drops of the chocolate mixture and incorporate. Then, slowly add the rest of the chocolate, whisking the whole time, and continue whisking until smooth.
5. Make a well in the flour mixture. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix until smooth, without any lumps.
6. Using a ladle or cookie scoop, fill each liner 1/3 full.
7. Using a cookie scoop or tablespoon, scoop 2-3 tablespoons peanut butter cookie dough into the center of each cupcake. Top each with a Hershey kiss and press this into the dough slightly.
8. Cover cookie dough with remaining cake batter, until the cupcake liner is about 2/3 full.
9. Bake about 20 minutes or until done (see tips on how to test for doneness).
10. Cool completely and frost with peanut butter buttercream.
11. Make cookies with remaining cookie dough or freeze to use later.

Peanut Butter Buttercream

Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 1 tbs vanilla
• 2 cups powdered sugar

1. Whip butter for 1-2 minutes until creamy.
2. Add peanut butter and vanilla and whip until creamy.
3. Slowly add powdered sugar a little at a time. Start at a low speed, mix until incorporated, then whip at a high speed. Repeat until the desired consistency is reached.

See my tips for buttercream and how to fill a piping bag.

Swirl frosting onto the cupcake, starting from the outside, and lifting the tip of the bag up in the middle.

Conclusions: The chocolate cake really did live up to its expectations. It gives an incredibly rich flavor and moist texture. I used French vanilla coffee, so the coffee flavor was detectable, but it added to the deliciousness. The cookie inside was a big hit, too, but the buttercream was my favorite part: silky and peanut buttery and amazing 🙂 The flavors work so well together and the whole cupcake is just a mini world of perfection.

Link Parties:

Flour Me with Love’s Mix it Up Monday

Jam Hands’ Recipe Sharing Monday

Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms’ Melt in Your Mouth Monday

Still Being Molly’s YOLO Mondays Link-Up

Pint Sized Baker’s Two Cup Tuesdays

Nap Time Creations’ Tasteful Tuesdays

Inside BruCrew Life’s Trick or Treat Tuesday

Mom on Timeout’s Your Creative Timeout Party

Buns in My Oven’s What’s Cooking Wednesday

Glued to My Crafts’ Crafty Thursday Obsessions

The Crafty Blog Stalker’s Blog Stalking Thursday

Angel’s Homestead Saturday Spotlight

Six Sisters’ Stuff Strut Your Stuff Saturday

SITS Girls’ Sharefest

Mrs. Happy Homemaker’s Bulletin Board

Sweet 2 Eat Baking’s Sugar and Slice Sunday Link Party

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