Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Happy New Year!! ( and peanut butter cupcakes)



Husband and I have been in Vancouver for New Years eve and New Years Day! It has been tons of fun! We have been eating lots of yummy food and buying fun dresses ( me not Gary :P) and doing a lot of fun stuff!

On New Years eve, we went shopping and I bought 2 cute dresses ( because I totally could not decide) then we went over to my uncles' house for supper and then to a comedy thing which was really not that funny and we left half way through and went back to our hotel and watched tv haha. ( oh dear...it was not quite worth how much we paid! Our lights didn't even turn on!)

New Years day, we went for breakfast at a very cool restaurant on Dunbar street called Jethro's Fine Grub. SO YUMMY! My sisters and cousins took me there for brunch on my bachlorette and it was so good that we just had to go again! After we went roller-blading through Stanley Park, which was gorgeous!

All-in-all we had a fantastic get-away! (Probably my favorite holiday as a married woman so far!)

So I know I promised healthy recipes this month, but I have just one last unhealthy recipe that I really wanted to post on new years eve but I ran out of time! So I promise after this...health recipes till the end of January! yay!

These beautiful babies are Peanut Butter Cupcakes with Dark Chocolate Ganache. YUM!
I have a thing with peanut butter cupcakes. Or really just cupcakes in general. I think it may have something to do with the fact that they look like muffins. And muffins are healthy.

 These are so dense and peanut buttery and moist. Just talking about them makes me want more right now. So you should make them. Right now. Please.

Here is the recipe. I bet you have everything in your house...to make these right now.




Peanut Butter Cupcakes with Dark Chocolate Ganache

1 cup Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp Salt
6 tbsp Butter (softened)
3/4 cup Peanut Butter ( I use smooth, but chunky would probably add something yummy too)
1 cup Brown Sugar
1 Egg
1tsp Vanilla Extract
1/2 cup Milk

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Mix ( or sift if you're into that sorta thing) flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Set aside.
3. Beat butter, peanut butter and brown sugar until light and smooth. (1 min ish)
4. Add egg and vanilla. Beat till smooth.
5. Add flour mixture alternating with milk. Starting and finishing with flour mixture.
6. Fill muffin liners ( and do use liners, I think they are pretty necessary in this recipe)
7. Bake about 20-25 minutes. Until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Usually there will be cracks in the top.
9. Cool in the pan for a few minutes and then remove to finish cooling on a wire rack.
* Personally I think these cupcakes are the best cool*

Chocolate Ganache

1/4 cup Whipping Cream
1 tbsp Butter
1 cup Chocolate chips (I like dark, but you could really use semi-sweet or milk)
1/2 tsp Vanilla ( if you want... I dont)

1. Warm whipping cream and butter in a pot on the stove until hot and butter is melted, but not scalding or boiling. Remove from heat.
2. Sprinkle chocolate chips over the top of the warm butter/whipped cream mixture. Let sit for a few minutes. Stir together till smooth.
3. Dip cupcakes tops into the chocolate to cover the tops. Let sit until chocolate is set. Eat one with a big glass or milk. Yum.
Then force your husband to eat one even though he says its not good for him.

4 comments:

  1. These look delicious! I love the thick, rich ganache on top. It's definitely something that would have me licking the bowl after making it.

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  2. Yum! These cupcakes look amazing! I'd love to have one. :)

    Glad you had a good time in Vancouver. That's somewhere I would love to visit.

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  3. happy new year to you!
    your pictures look good enough to eat! i know you pledge to eat less chocolate this year, but your chocolate recipes look so good! oh well, i should eat less too! joanne

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  4. These look awesome and the ganache looks amazing!

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