Peanut Butter w/ Chocolate Glaze Cupcakes

Sometimes when i am in a baking mood, but i dont want to go out & buy any extra ingredients - i check on what i already have and bake based on what supplies i have, and in this case it was crunchy peanut butter, milk chocolate melts, and thickened cream. I found this recipe here, and whipped it all up one fine Sunday morning :O)

Make sure you don't overfill the cupcake liners as you need a bit of room to pour the chocolate glaze on and for it to set (i filled them just over half way)

I love making ganache and i love the decadent texture you get when it sets, or like me i ate a huge spoonful before putting any on the cupcakes... :P

Makes 12 cupcakes

INGREDIENTS

For cupcakes


1 cup all purpose flour


1 tsp baking powder


1/4 tsp salt


6 tbsp (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, softened


3/4 cup smooth peanut butter, room temp
 (i used crunchy PB)

1 cup brown sugar


1 egg


1 tsp vanilla extract


1/2 cup milk

For chocolate glaze


1/4 cup heavy whipping cream


1 tbsp unsalted butter


1 cup milk chocolate chips


1/2 tsp vanilla extract

INSTRUCTIONS

To make cupcakes
Preheat oven to 350F.

Line muffin tin cupcs with paper cupcake liners

Sift flour, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl and set aside

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter, peanut butter and brown sugar until smoothly blended and lightened in color, about 1 minute.

Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing.

Mix in egg.

Add vanilla and beat for 1 minute or until batter smooth.

On low speed, add the flour mixture in 3 additions and the milk in 2 additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture and mixing until the flour is incorporated and the batter looks smooth.

Fill each liner with a generous 1/4 cup of batter, to about 1/3 inch below the top of the liner.

Bake just until the tops feel firm and are lightly browned and a toothpic inserted in the center comes out clean, about 22 minutes. There will be cracks on the top.

Cool cupcakes for 10 minutes in the pan on wire rack.

To make chocolate glaze


In a medium saucepan, heat the cream and butter over low heat until the cream is hot and the butter has melted.

The mixture should form tiny bubbles and measure about 175F on a thermometer; do not let it boil.

Remove the pan from the heat, add the milk chocolate and let it sit in the hot cream for 30 secs to soften.

Add the vanilla and whisk the glaze until it is smooth and all the chocolate has melted. (Return the glaze to low heat if necessary to melt the chocolate completely, whisking constantly.)

The glaze should be thick enough to hold its shape when spread over the cupcakes. If it is too liquid to spread, let it sit at room temp for 5-15 minutes, depending on the temp of your kitchen.

Using a small spatula, spread 1 tbsp of glaze over the top of each cupcake.

Because i used crunchy PB, a friend tried them and said they tasted like snickers cupcakes hehe :)