Chocolate Cupcakes & Peanut Butter Frosting

I couldn't make sweets just for my office, so I made sweets for Eric's office, too. I was super busy in the kitchen, and just finished making the Candy Bar Blondies. I had leftover buttermilk and sour cream that I had to use before it expired and that's how it lead me to this recipe....and from the very fact that Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting would make anyone fall in love with you! I think that's enough explanation about why I made these, and they were soooooo good. They are kinda too sweet for my taste, it took me two days to finish one. I ate 1/2 of the cupcake yesterday and the other 1/2 today - I stretched out the wonderful goodness of it, too! Enjoy!

Chocolate Cupcakes & Peanut Butter Icing
Adapted from Barefoot Contessa at Home
Ingredients:
1 ½ sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk, shaken, room temperature
2 tablespoons brewed coffee
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup good cocoa powder
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup chopped salted peanuts (optional)
Kathleen's Peanut Butter Icing (see below)

Preparation:
1. Preheat the oven to 350° and line the cupcake pans with the liners.
2. Cream the butter and two sugars on high speed in the KA mixer with the paddle attachment. Cream until it's light and fluffy - about 5 minutes. Lower the speed to medium, add the eggs one at a time, add the vanilla and mix well.
3. In a medium bowl, add the buttermilk, sour cream and coffee and mix well. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.
4. Turn the KA mixer on low, add the buttermilk mixture and flour mixture alternatively in thirds into the bowl, using the buttermilk mixture first and then the flour mixture. Mix until blended. Add the salted peanuts and fold the batter in to make sure it's completely blended in.
5. Add an ice cream scoop or 1/3 cup of batter into the cupcake pans. Bake in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes , remove from the pans, and allow to cool completely before frosting.
6. Frost each cupcake with peanut butter icing.

Kathleen's Peanut Butter Icing
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 heavy cream
--Place all the ingredients except the heavy cream into the KA mixer and mix on medium-low speed until creamy, make sure to get the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Slowly add the cream and beat on high speed until the frosting is light and smooth.

Review: Mmmmm, this tasted like you were eating a baked Reese's Peanut butter cup...it was a chocolate & peanut butter lover's heaven! (That's a mouthful!) I think the cupcakes are perfectly fine by themselves without the frosting, but the peanut butter frosting definitely kicks it up an sweet notch.