Child's Play: Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes

Yesterday I told you about how I like to let Thatbaby be a kid, since we don't get a long time to experience that time of life, and in the words of George Bernard Shaw, "Youth is wasted on the young."

In reality, I'm terribly jealous of Thatbaby's life.  I mean, sure I tell him all the time how hard it is to be a toddler, mostly when he's in hysterics about not being able to consumed massive amounts of sand or dirt, but I'm lying to him.  It's not hard to be a toddler - it's fantastic!  Wouldn't you love for someone to tell you to go back to sleep in the morning?  Prepare all your meals?  Have no responsibilities other than to play with your toys? The kid doesn't even have to wipe his own bottom!

The good thing about being a parent, is that it forces you to join in every now and again.  Before Thatbaby came around, weekends were a time to clean, organize, run errands, prepare for the week.  That doesn't happen so much anymore.  Now we try to make time to take him to one of the multitudes of parks and playgrounds in our area every weekend.  My house is a disaster area, and Monday mornings come far too soon, leaving me scrambling to get ready, but as I said before, this is only a short period of time, right?  There'll be years to clean the house - and eventually the little guy will be able to shoulder some of the mess, since he is the one who makes a majority of it.

And I still try to find time for some weekend baking - lately I've been all about the cupcakes.  Playing with "fun" flavor combinations, instead of the same old ones that I typically make.  My most recent cupcake exploration took me back to one of my favorite flavor combinations - chocolate and peanut butter.  Thatboy isn't as big a fan of this combination in general, but he's never one to shy away from a cupcake!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes

1 2/3 cup flour

3/4 cup dutch processed cocoa powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup sour cream

2 Tbsp milk

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, divided

16 Tbsp butter, divided

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs and 1 egg yolk, divided

2 cup confectioners’ sugar, divided

3/4 cup peanut butter

1. Preheat the oven to 350.  Line muffin pans with cupcake liners. Cream 8 Tbsp butter in an electric mixer.
2. Add the sugar and bet until light and fluffy.
3. Add the 2 eggs, one at a time, beating between each addition. 
4. Combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.
5. In a separate bowl, combine the sour cream, milk and 1 tsp vanilla extract.
6. Alternately add the dry and wet ingredients, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.
7. Fill muffin cups about 2/3 full with batter.  Bake for 20 minutes, or until cooked through.  Cool in pan for 5 minutes, then turn out to wire rack and let cool completely.
8. Combine 1 cup confectioners’ sugar, peanut butter, 4 Tbsp butter and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract in an electric mixture and beat until thoroughly combined. Place in a pastry bag, or ziplock with a corner cut off.
9.  Cut a cone into the top of each cooled cupcake.  Remove the cone and cut off the pointy end.
10. Squirt the peanut butter filling into the hole you've cut into each cupcake and replace the top (round) part of the cone.
11. Beat the remaining 4 Tbsp butter until light and creamy.
12. Stir in the egg yolk and continue to beat, adding remaining confectioners' sugar, 2 Tbsp at a time.
13. Beat until all the sugar is added and the frosting is fluffy.  Frost the cooled and filled cupcakes.