Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownie Cupcakes

Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownie Cupcakes

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When I am in the mood for peanut butter and lots of chocolate these are just perfect!  The peanut butter is not overwhelming unless you want it to be.  Add as much or as little peanut butter chips as you want.  It's SO incredibly simple and fast these are going to be very common this coming winter.

If you want the PDF version of this recipe you can find it here.

You start with a basic family size brownie mix.  Mix according to directions for "Cake-like" brownies.  If you are at high altitude (like me) you will most likely had to add flour as well.  You can also use any basic brownies recipe you have.

I can never be content with a box of brownie mix, if nothing else I always AT LEAST add 1-2 handfuls of chocolate chips.  Makes them so much more chocolaty and delicious!

Scoop about 1 spoonful into the bottom paper-lined muffin pan.  Then add peanut butter chips.  This is where you decide how much or little you want of peanut butter flavor.  (You can add other kind of chips, if desired, in here, but I already added my chocolate chips to the batter).

Then cover with the remaining batter.

This recipe makes 18.  If you only have muffin tins with 12, make sure you add water to the remaining muffin tins or your brownies will not cook evenly.

Then bake at temperature according to box directions (about 350* most likely) and I used a little less time than the 13x9" pan would take.  My box said 28-30 and I baked mine for about 25.  They were perfect.  

You can't really see the layer of peanut butter but it is there and oh, so yummy!

ENJOY!

If you want the PDF version of this recipe you can find it here.

Zucchini Cake

Zucchini Cake

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  AKA zucchini brownies!  These zucchini brownies taste like chocolate cake to me.  They are not fudge-y, more cake-like.  But with 2 cups of zucchini that makes them healthy right? And then when loaded with Fudge-y chocolaty frosting goodness, well who can resist.  Great way to use up that zucchini when you are bored with zucchini bread.  One very extra large zucchini made 1 & 1/2 pans.  I shred my zucchini first and measure then figure out how many brownies I'm making.  When using a 9x9" pan, half all ingredients.

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 c. vegetable oil

1 1/2 c. white sugar

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 c. flour

1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

2 c. shredded zucchini

(you can add walnuts, about 1/2 c. chopped, we omit)

FROSTING:

6 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 c. margarine

2 c. confectioners' sugar

1/4 c. milk

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350*.  Grease and flour 9x13" baking pan.

2. In large bowl, mix together oil, sugar, and 2 tsp. vanilla until well blended.  Combine the flour, 1/2 c. cocoa, baking soda and salt; stir into sugar mixture.  (This mix will look very dry and you are probably wondering how this makes a cake, but the zucchini is where all the liquid is stored. :)

3. Fold in zucchini (and walnuts if adding).  Spread evenly into prepared pan.

4. Bake for 30-35 min. in preheated oven, until brownies spring back when gently touched.

5. To make FROSTING: melt together the 6 Tbsp. cocoa and margarine; set aside to cool.  (When working with small amounts of butter be careful not to scald it if melting over stove.)

6. In a medium bowl, blend together the confectioners' sugar, milk and vanilla.  Stir in cocoa mixture.

7.  Spread frosting over brownies AFTER COOL!  If you spread while brownies are still hot the frosting will melt and look spectacular at first but as they dry and the frosting re-hardens, it gets wrinkly.  Be patient when adding frosting.

P.S.  This frosting recipe makes A TON!  It will more than cover your cake unless you want 2" layer of frosting.  I always make as directed and save.  This chocolate frosting tastes good on almost anything.  We love storing some to spread on graham crackers or to dip our fruit in.  YUM!!!

ENJOY!

Strawberry Shortcake

Strawberry Shortcake

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Found this recipe on allrecipes.com when I picked up my bountiful basket and found 2 flats of strawberries.  My kids will eat an entire flat in about 10 min. when I bring them home and if we don't eat them the day we bring them home they always spoil.  This time I wanted to find a strawberry sweet treat.  This recipe is for SHORTCAKE, not sponge cake, pound cake or angelfood cake.  It is more like a cookie than a soft cake. When you handle shortcake, treat it like a pie crust.  Keep it cold, mix as little as possible, only what's necessary to blend.  At high-altitude I did not make any adjustments and it turned out perfect.

INGREDIENTS:

1 quart strawberries, sliced

1 cup sugar

2 cups all-purpose flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 dash ground nutmeg

1/2 cup butter or margarine

1/2 cup milk

2 eggs, separated

2 cups sweetened whipped cream (I used cool whip)

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a bowl, gently stir strawberries and 1/2 cup sugar; chill.
2. Meanwhile, in another bowl, combine flour, 1/4 cup sugar, baking powder, salt and nutmeg; cut in butter until crumbly.  (I put this bowl in the fridge for a little bit before working with it.)
3. Combine milk and egg yolks; mix well. Add to crumb mixture, stirring just until moistened.
4. Divide and pat into two greased 9-in. round cake pans.  (Touch as little as possible, using a greased cold spoon to pat down as your hands will melt the butter.)
5. In a small mixing bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form; spread over dough.
6. Sprinkle with remaining sugar.
7. Bake at 300 degrees. F for 40-45 minutes or until golden. Cool 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. (Layer will be thin.) Cool completely.
8. Place one cake layer on a large serving plate; spread with half of the whipped cream. Spoon half of the strawberries over cream. Repeat layers.

Banana Crunch Cake

Banana Crunch Cake

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A cross between banana bread and a coffee cake. We love it!

**I use a bundt pan instead of a tube pan. If you are using a bundt pan, you need to do the order opposite. So you spread the coconut mixture FIRST and end with batter. This way when you invert out of pan, the coconut mixture is on top. You do the opposite for tube pan.**

***IF you're at HIGH ALT like me (BASIN FRIENDS) you need to make a few changes - add 3 Tbsp. flour to your cake mix. Then when you bake for the first 30 min at 375, then down to 350 for another 20min and check.)

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 c. all-purpose flour

1 c. coconut

1 c. rolled oats

3/4 c. firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 c. chopped pecans

1/2 c. margarine or butter

1 1/2 c. (2 large or 3 medium) VERY RIPE bananas

1/2 c. sour cream

4 eggs

1 (1lb.) pkg. yellow cake mix

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat oven to 350*. Grease 10" tube pan (I use bundt pan). In medium bowl, combine flour, coconut, rolled oats, brown sugar and pecans; mix well. With fork or pastry blender, cut in margarine until mixture is crumbly. Set aside.

2. In large bowl, combine bananas, sour cream and eggs; beta at low speed until smooth. Add cake mix; beat 2 min. at high speed. Spread 1/3 of batter (or coconut for bundt users) in greased pan; sprinkle with 1/3 coconut mixture. Repeat layers 2 more times using remaining batter and coconut mixture, ending with coconut mixture (or batter for bundt users).

3. Bake at 350* for 50-60 min (SEE HIGH ALT ADJUSTMENTS ABOVE) or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool upright in pan 15 min. Remove cake from pan; place on serving plate, coconut side up. Cool 1 hr or until completely cooled.

(Found this recipe in Pillsbury cookbook)

ENJOY!

Banana Cake with Quick Caramel Frosting

Banana Cake with Quick Caramel Frosting

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Hubby can't rate this once since he has an insane fear of bananas, but neighbors gave great reviews! Nice change to banana bread when the bananas start to brown.

INGREDIENTS:

1 pkg. (18.25oz) plain yellow cake mix

1/2 c. packed light brown sugar

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

2 medium-size ripe bananas, peeled and mashed (about 1 cup)

1 c. water

1/2 c vegetable oil

3 large eggs

1 c. chopped toasted pecans (I'm not really a fan of nuts, so I omitted these)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Place a rack in center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350*. Lightly grease and dust two 9" cake pans. (I did one 9x13 pan instead) Set pans aside.

2. Place the cake mix, brown sugar, and cinnamon in large mixing bowl. Add the mashed bananas, water, oil, and eggs. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 min. Stop and scrap sides, increase mixer speed and beat for 2 min more. The batter should look well blended and the bananas should be well pureed.

3. Pour batter into pan/pans. (If using 2, put in oven side by side)

4. Bake the cakes until they are lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 35-40 min. Remove the pans from the oven and place them on wire racks to cool for 10 min. Allow to cool completely.

5. Prepare Quick Caramel Frosting. This only takes 5-10 min; time the frosting preparation so the cake is cool enough to frost, the frosting sets up FAST!

QUICK CARAMEL FROSTING

INGREDIENTS:

1 stick butter

1/2 c. packed light brown sugar

1/2 c. packed dark brown sugar (I only had light, so I used 1 c. light)

1/4 c. whole milk

2 c. confectioners' sugar

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:

1. Place the butter and sugars in a medium-size heavy saucepan over medium heat.

2. Stir and cook until the mixture comes to a boil, about 2 minutes. Add the milk, stir, and bring the mixture back to a boil, then remove the pan from the heat. Add the confectioners' sugar and vanilla. Beat with a wooden spoon until frosting is smooth.

3. Use immediately (while frosting still warm) to frost the cake, or frosting will harden. **If it does harden simply place the pan back over low heat and stir until the frosting softens up.**