Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes

Ingredients

Cupcakes

3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup powdered sugar
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs, room temperature
4 ounces chocolate chips, melted and cooled
1 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Frosting

4 ounces cream cheese, softened
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, softened
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1 1/4 cups powdered sugar, sifted


Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease two 12-cup muffin tins, or line with papers.

2. Combine peanut butter and powdered sugar in a mixing bowl. Using a mixer at medium speed, beat until light and fluffy.

3. Whisk flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt together in a medium bowl.

4. Combine butter and granulated sugar in mixing bowl. Using a mixer at medium speed, beat until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Pour in melted chocolate and beat until thoroughly combined, about 30 seconds.

5. Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately to butter mixture and beat to combine. Add vanilla and mix well.

6. Fill muffin tins half full with batter. Spoon about 1/2 tablespoon of peanut butter mixture on top of batter (don’t spread). Spoon remaining batter over peanut butter. Bake 18 to 20 minutes, until tops spring back when touched. (Note: The normal toothpick test for doneness won’t work due to the filling.) Remove from oven and let cool completely.

7. To prepare frosting, combine cream cheese, butter and peanut butter in a bowl. Using a mixer at medium speed, beat until creamy, about 3 minutes. Add powdered sugar, beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.

8. Frost tops of cupcakes when they are completely cool. Makes 24 cupcakes.

Source

Indian Corn

If I Only Had a Brain

Jungle Fever

Hippos
Reeds
Flamingos
Crocodiles

Crocodiles

Ingredients

4 vanilla cupcakes baked in blue liners
1 cup canned vanilla frosting
Black and neon blue food coloring
1/3 cup each blue and green decorating sugar
4 peanut butter sandwich cookies
8 pieces green cereal O's

Directions

1. Tint 2 tablespoons of the vanilla frosting black with the food coloring. Spoon the black frosting into a ziplock bag, press out the excess air, seal, and set aside. Spoon 1/4 cup of the vanilla frosting into a ziplock bag, press out the excess air, seal, and set aside. Tint the remaining vanilla frosting blue with the food coloring.

2. Place the blue sugar in a small shallow bowl. Spread the blue frosting on top of the cupcakes. Roll the edge of the cupcakes in the sugar.

3. For the croc heads, trim the edges of the cookies with a serrated knife to from a long V-shape. Place the green sugar in a shallow bowl. Snip a small (1/8-inch) corner from the bag with the vanilla frosting and pipe on top of the trimmed cookies to cover; spread smooth. Press the frosted side of the cookies into the green sugar and cover completely. Attach the sugared cookies to the frosted cupcakes, sugar side up, allowing one third of the cookie to hang over the edge.

4. For the eyes, trim the bottom edge of the green cereal pieces. Pipe 2 dots of vanilla frosting at the back of the head and attach the trimmed pieces of cereal, cut side down. Pipe teeth on the outer edges of the heads with the remaining vanilla frosting in the bag, starting at the top edge of the cookie and using the squeeze-release-pull technique. to make sharp teeth. Snip a small (1/8 inch) corner from the bag with the black frosting and pipe dots to make the nostrils and eyes.

Source: What's New Cupcake?

Hippos

Ingredients

4 vanilla cupcakes in blue liners
1/3 cup blue decorating sugar
1 cup canned vanilla frosting
Neon blue food coloring
4 peanut butter sandwich cookies
8 mini chocolate chips
16 pieces orange cereal O's

Directions

1. Place the blue sugar in a small shallow bowl.

2. Spoon the 2 tablespoons of the vanilla frosting into a small ziplock bag, press out the excess air, seal, and set aside. Tint the remaining vanilla frosting blue with the food coloring. Spread the blue frosting on top of the cupcakes and smooth. Roll the edge of the cupcakes in the sugar.

3. For the hippo heads, press a cookie into the frosting of each cupcake, allowing one third of the cookie to hang over the edge. Snip a small (1/8 inch) corner from the bag with the vanilla frosting. Pipe dots of the frosting onto the peanut butter cookie for the eyes, nostrils and ears. Attach the chocolate chips, flat side up, to the frosting to make the eyes and attach the cereal pieces to make the ears and nose.

Source: What's New Cupcake?

Mr. Bones Jangles

Ingredients

11 chocolate cupcakes in black paper liners
12 orange paper liners
1 black paper line
1 cup white candy melting wafers
1 1/4 cups chocolate cookies (Oreos, Famous Chocolate Wafers)
1 cup canned chocolate frosting
Orange and black gummy worms or crunchy worms for garnish

Directions

1) Place the bone templates on two cookie sheets. Cover with wax paper. Place the white candy melting wafers in a ziplock bag; do not seal the bag. Microwave for about 10 seconds to soften. Massage the mixture and return to the microwave. Repeat the process until the candy is smooth about 1 minute. Press out the excess air.

2) Snip a small (1/8 - inch) corner from the bag, and following he bone templates, pipe an outline. Fill in the bones with melted candy. Use a toothpick to pull the melted candy into the smaller areas. Tap the pans lightly to smooth the surface. Transfer the cookies sheets to the refrigerator for 5 minutes, or until firm.

3) Spoon the cookies crumbs into a shallow bowl. Spread the forst on top of the cupcake and smooth. Roll the top of the cupcakes in the crumbs to cover completely.

4) Place each cupcake in an orange paper liner. Arrange the cupcakes in a skeleton shape on a serving platter. Carefully peel the bones from the wax paper and place them on the cupcakes as shown, pressing them into the crumbs and frosting. Garnish with gummy worms in paper liners.

Source: What's New Cupcake?

Reeds

Ingredients

12 mini vanilla cupcakes baked in blue paper liners
1/4 cup granulated sugar
5 candy spearmint leaves
1/2 cup canned vanilla frosting
Neon blue food coloring
1/4 cup blue decorating sugar

Directions

1. Spring the granulated sugar on a clean work surface. Roll out the spearmint leave to a scant 1/4-inch thickness, using additional sugar as necessary to prevent sticking. For the reeds, cut the flattened candies into zigzag grass shapes with clean scissors.

2. Tint the vanilla frosting blue with food coloring. Spread the blue frosting on top of the mini cupcakes. Place the blue decorating sugar in a small shallow bowl and roll the edge of the cupcakes in the sugar. Insert several pieces of the cut spearmint leaves into the frosting as reeds.

Source:What's New Cupcake?, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2010

Flamingos

Ingredients

12 mini vanilla cupcakes baked in white paper liners
1 cup pink candy melting wafers
12 thin pretzel sticks
12 large pink jelly beans
6 banana-shaped candies (Runts), halved crosswise
1/2 cup pink decorating sugar
1 cup canned vanilla frosting
Black food coloring

Directions

1. Line a cookies sheet with wax paper. Place the pink candy melting wafers in a 1-cup glass measuring cup. Microwave for 10 seconds to soften, stir, return to the microwave, and repeat until the candy is smooth. about 1 minute total.

2. For the necks and head, hold the end of the pretzel stick and tip the measuring cup; dip the stick into the melted candy to cover almost completely. Allow the excess candy to drip off back into the cup. Transfer the coated pretzel stick to the wax paper. Dip one end of a jelly bean into the melted candy and attach to the coated end of the pretzel at an angle to make the head. Repeat with the remaining pretzels and jelly beans. For the beaks, dip the cut ends of the halved banana candies into the melted candy. Attach to the other end of the jelly bean to make the beak. Refrigerate until set, about 5 minutes.

3. Spoon the remaining melted candy into a small ziplock bag; do not seal the bag. Reheat in the microwave for 5 to 10 seconds if necessary. Press out the excess air and seal. Place the wing templates on a cookie sheet and cover with wax paper. Snip a small (1/8-inch) corner from the bag and pipe the outline of the wings, then fill in with melted candy. Tap the pan lightly to smooth surface. Repeat to make 12 sets of wings. Refrigerate until set, about 5 minutes.

4. Place the pink sugar in a shallow bowl. Tint 1 tablespoon of the vanilla frosting black with the food coloring. Spoon into a ziplock bag, press out the excess air, seal, and set aside. Spread the remaining vanilla frosting on top of the mini cupcakes, mounding it slightly in the center. Starting on the edge, roll the cupcakes in the pink sugar to cover completely.

5. Gently peep the chilled flamingo head assemblies and wings from the wax paper. Insert the pretzel stick all the way into each cupcake close to one side. Press the wings into each cupcake on either side of the neck. Snip a very small (1/16-inch) corner from the bag with the black frosting and pipe dots of fronting for the eyes and a line on the banana candy to mark the tip of the beak.

Source:What's New Cupcake, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2010

I made these for my friend Travis' 22nd birthday at his house. He asked me to make him cupcakes for his birthday and of course I said yes! It was myself, Travis, Randy, and Jayson. They were actually really easy to make, not hard to all!

Koi Pond

Ingredients

24 vanilla cupcakes baked in blue paper liners
1 can (2 cups), plus 1/2 cup vanilla frosting
Blue food coloring
48 orange circus peanuts
48 orange peanut butter–filled candy-coated chocolates (Peanut Butter M&M’s)
24 orange cereal O's (Froot Loops, Apple Jacks)
48 brown mini candy-coated chocolates (M&M’s Minis)
White and light blue candy-coated chocolates for serving (My M&M's; optional)
White and blue paper circles (optional)

Directions
1) Spoon 1/2 cup of the vanilla frosting into a small ziplock bag, press out the excess air, seal, and set aside. Tint the remaining can of vanilla frosting pale blue with a few drops of the blue food coloring. Cover and set aside.

2) For the fins, place 24 of the circus peanuts on their sides and cut lengthwise into 2 slices, to make 48 slices. Lay each slice cut side down and cut each in half on the diagonal to make 96 pieces. For the bodies, place the remaining 24 circus peanuts flat side down and make a diagonal cut from one end, removing no more than 1/4 inch.

3) Spread the tops of the cupcakes with the light blue frosting and smooth. Place 1 of the circus peanut bodies on top of each frosted cupcake. Arrange fins, cut side up and pointed ends out, 2 at the uncut end of each circus peanut body and 2 on either side in the middle.

4) Snip a small (1/8-inch) corner from the bag with the vanilla frosting. Pipe a large dot of frosting at the cut end of the circus peanut body. Press 2 orange candies into the dot of frosting for the eyes and 1 cereal O for the mouth. Pipe small dots of vanilla frosting on the orange candies and add the brown candies for the pupils. Repeat on all of the koi bodies with the remaining frosting and candies.

5) If you like, arrange the cupcakes on a surface with circles cut from white and blue papers and sprinkle the platter with white and light blue candies.

Source: What's New Cupcake?, Karen Tack & Alan Richardson, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2010.

Ants on a Picnic

Ingredients

12 vanilla cupcakes in green paper liners
watermelon candies (available in a candy store that sells candy by the pound)
1 cup flaked sweetened coconut
green and yellow food coloring
1/2 cup canned dark chocolate frosting
1 can (16 oz.) vanilla frosting
36 brown candy-coated chocolate covered almonds (used Planters Dark Chocolate Almonds)

Directions

1. Place the coconut into a ziplock bag. Add 3 drops of green food coloring and 1 drop of yellow food coloring. Seal the bag and shake vigorously until the coconut is tinted grass green. Place the coconut in a shallow bowl.

2. Spoon the dark chocolate frosting into a ziplock bag, press out the excess air, and seal.

3. Tint the vanilla frosting spring green with green food coloring and a few drops of yellow. Spread the top of a cupcake with the green frosting and smooth. Roll the edge of the cupcake in the coconut. Repeat with the remaining cupcakes and frosting.

4. Snip a small (1/8 - inch) corner from the with with the chocolate frosting. Arrange 3 brown candies in a row on top of each cupcake, securing with a dot of chocolate frosting between the candies. Pipe 3 jointed legs on each side of each center candy. Pipe 2 chocolate antennae on each head. Pipe chocolate dots to look like seeds on the watermelon candies. Place the watermelon candies on top of the ant's legs. Arrange the cupcakes so the ants are marching in a row.

Source: What's New Cupcake?, Karen Tack & Alan Richardson, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2010.

Perfect Cake Mix Cupcakes - Vanilla

Ingredients

1 box (18.25 oz.) cake mix (such as classic vanilla or devil's food)
1 cup buttermilk (in place of the water called for on the box)
vegetable oil (the amount on the box)
4 large eggs (in place of the number called for on the box)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. Line muffin cups with paper liners.

2. Following the box's instructions, combine all the ingredients in a large bowl, using the buttermilk in place of the water specified (the box will call for more water than the buttermilk here), using the amount of vegetable oil that is called for (typically, white or yellow cake calls for 1/3 cup; chocolate cakes usually call for 1/2 cup), adding the 4 eggs. Beat with an electric mixer until moistened, about 30 seconds. Increase the speed to high and beat until thick, 2 minutes longer.

3. Spoon half of the batter into a large ziplock bag, press out the excess air, and seal. Snip a 1/4-inch corner from the bag and fill the paper liners two-thirds full. Repeat with the remaining batter. Bake until golden (if using a light-colored mix) and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes for jumbo, 15 to 20 minutes for standard, and 8 to 10 minutes for mini cupcakes. Remove the cupcakes from the baking pans, place on a wire rack, and allow to cool completely.

Source: What's New Cupcake?, Karen Tack & Alan Richardson, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2010.

I did not do the part with the ziplock bag. Thought I did not have a big enough size but I did. Next time I will try that because I never get 24 cupcakes like the recipe says. Again, I had the left over buttermilk from my father's cake.