Peanut Butter Cookie Cupcakes

Generally the weekend is my chance to bake. Except for cleaning, laundry and the odd evening plan, I usually have free time to use as I please. Sadly, this weekend is the exception to that rule and I spent the better part of today working on a project for work. Nevertheless, I had promised my husband, Chris, that there would be baked goods so I gave myself an hour break this evening so I could throw together something yummy.

I find Martha Stewart endlessly inspiring; I think I could kill an entire day browsing her website. Her book Cupcakes is one I often turn to when I want to try making something new (if you've been reading you may have noticed that I really like making cupcakes!!). Since I didn't have a lot of time today I needed a recipe that was pretty easy to put together, didn't require any special ingredients that I didn't already have in the house and didn't require much baking time. I pulled out Cupcakes and found the recipe for Peanut Butter Cookie Cupcakes and it completely fit the bill. Click on the title to visit Martha's website for the recipe.

 

As I mentioned, the ingredients were fairly minimal for this recipe. There really wasn't anything required that the average amateur  baker wouldn't already have in her cupboards and refrigerator. The one exception might have been sour cream; it was kind of a happy coincidence that I had it. I'm pretty sure I bought if for another recipe I made a while back. As I always do, I substituted margarine where the recipe called for butter.

It was a pretty standard cupcake recipe, mix dry ingredients separate from wet and then combine. I won't bore you with the details. The one thing I will mention is that the batter stays really thick and sticky and it was a bit of a challenge getting it into the pans. The recipe calls for three scant tablespoons per liner and I started off measuring and then got frustrated and just started globbing it in. The recipe was supposed to make 30 cupcakes but, since I overfilled, I only ended up with 22. Since mine were bigger than they were supposed to be they also baked for about 17 minutes instead of the 13 called for in the recipe. But they still finished "pale golden" as the recipe said they would so I was happy!

The recipe calls for cream cheese frosting but Chris is often complaining that cupcakes are too sweet so I decided to forgo any icing at all. The cupcakes have enough flavour on their own and they are really moist. They taste like a really soft peanut butter cookie. I served them tonight with vanilla ice cream and they were a hit. I would definitely make these again. Without the icing they'd be great for a brunch!