Monday, September 28, 2009

Double-Dark-Double-Dip Peanut Butter Cuppies

Hi all you cupcake eating/football watching friends out there,

Thanks to this weekend being a bye week for our Sooners, I caught up on some much needed sleep. And bought some nifty cupcake gadgets! Like a new piping bag and new muffin pans! I know, exciting, right!?

Anyways, on to the good stuff. Last week’s treat for the office… The Double-Dark-Double-Dip Peanut Butter filled Cupcakes! Yum. They took some time in the kitchen, but worth it. Make sure you bring milk next time, ‘cause these were over the top chocolate. Some might say “too much, too much” (including me), but I got more positive feedback on these little cuppers than any before!

Let’s take a look at some testimonials..


“It was pretty fantastic.” – Adam
“omg! Freaking awesome job on the cupcakes!!!” – Steven

“This is the best cupcake I’ve ever had. In my life.” – Chaun

“Double-Dark Peanut butter filled cupcakes = Awesomeness in a paper wrapper!” – Crystal

And my fav… “those cupcakes are the dope bomb diggity! THX!” – Tribble

Excellent! Thanks guys!


DOUBLE DARK DOUBLE DIP PEANUT BUTTER FILLED CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES!

Ingredients

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons cocoa powder (not Dutch process)
1/2 cup boiling water
1 cup buttermilk
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks plus 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup creamy peanut butter
2/3 cup confectioners' sugar
1 cup heavy cream
8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350° and position 2 racks in the lower and middle third of the oven. Line 24 muffin cups with paper or foil liners.

2. Put the cocoa powder in a medium heatproof bowl. Add the boiling water and whisk until a smooth paste forms. Whisk in the buttermilk until combined. In a medium bowl, sift the flour with the baking soda, baking powder and salt. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat 1 1/2 sticks of the butter with the granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the eggs and vanilla, then beat in the dry ingredients in 2 batches, alternating with the cocoa mixture. Carefully spoon the cupcake batter into the lined muffin cups, filling them about two-thirds full. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes, or until the cupcakes are springy. Let the cupcakes cool in the pans for 5 minutes, then transfer them to wire racks to cool completely.
3. In a medium bowl, beat the peanut butter with the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter until creamy. Sift the confectioners' sugar into the bowl and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Spoon all but 3 tablespoons of the peanut butter filling into a pastry bag fitted with a 1/4-inch star tip. Holding a cupcake in your hand, plunge the tip into the top of the cake, pushing it about 3/4 inch deep. Gently squeeze the pastry bag to fill the cupcake, withdrawing it slowly as you squeeze; you will feel the cupcake expand slightly as you fill it. Scrape any filling from the top of the cupcake and repeat until all of the cupcakes are filled.

4. In a small saucepan, bring the heavy cream to a simmer. Off the heat, add the semisweet chocolate to the cream and let stand for 5 minutes, then whisk the melted chocolate into the cream until smooth. Let the chocolate icing stand until slightly cooled and thickened, about 15 minutes. Dip the tops of the cupcakes into the icing, letting the excess drip back into the pan. Transfer the cupcakes to racks and let stand for 5 minutes. Dip the tops of the cupcakes again and transfer them to racks. Spoon the remaining 3 tablespoons of peanut butter filling into the pastry bag and pipe tiny rosettes on the tops of the cupcakes.


Picture Time!!


Lookin good!
peaceloveandcupcakes.
katie
Coming soon: German Chocolate Cupcakes!! nomnomnom...







Thursday, September 24, 2009

GameDay Fashion

We have a new contributor!! Introducing, the poem writing, blog inspiring.... Christine. She'll be keeping us all up to date with the best and worst in GameDay Fashion. So get ready!


One can go pretty much anywhere in Norman and find some sort of OU paraphernalia. Campus corner is like the Holy Grail for OU anything, for this post we’ll be focusing on the different attire available for Sooner GameDay.

All of the t-shirt stores on campus corner have the same boring options. Don’t get me wrong a t-shirt is perfectly acceptable if you’re a guy. But if you’re a girl like me, I prefer dresses and skirt options. A t-shirt will be fine if accessorized correctly, you can’t show up in a t-shirt looking like you just rolled out of bed. A t-shirt is cute if paired with a cute American Apparel skirt and adorable flats from Shoetopia. This girl, Krista White, got the t-shirt look right at the OU vs. BYU game in Dallas.


A t-shirt is also acceptable when it’s fitted and paired with a great pair of jeans, like Patti Zumwalt did in Seattle last year for the OU vs. Washington.



The first few games have much more options for apparel since the weather is warm. One can wear a dress, tank top, shorts, skirt, and sandals there are plenty of options. Here are a few of the best warm gameday outfits I have seen.




I unfortunately forgot to take pictures of bad gameday outfits. I saw so many, but felt bad taking the picture. I wasn’t sure I could lie and tell the person I liked their outfit and wanted a pic of it for the blog. So I’ll just describe to you what merits a bad gameday outfit. Shorts that are too short, a baggy t-shirt, a red that’s a little more orange than red, cowboy boots that are too tight around the calf (causing a calf muffin top), and sometimes jerseys. A jersey has to fit right and must be paired with something girly so as not to confuse the girl wearing it with a dyke. I’m sorry but you know if you saw a girl in a jersey, ponytail, jeans and tennis shoes you’d think the same thing!

Next time I promise to take pics of the BAD.

xoxo
Tine.

Tomorrow on cup/foot: Double-dark-double-dip peanut butter filled chocolate cupcakes! mmmmmmm...yumyumyum!