peanut butter cupcakes

I sincerely believe this is the best treat I've ever baked. Not too sweet -- dense and moist . . . and the frosting is SO good. This recipe even enjoyed some coverage on one of my favorite baking blogs: the chocolate peanut butter gallery.

By the way, it's vegan . . . but you'd never know it.

Peanut Butter Cupcakes

You'll Need . . .

• 6 tablespoons Earth Balance; at room temperature
• 1 cup natural peanut butter
• 1 and 1/3 cups firmly packed brown sugar
• 3/4 cup applesauce
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 and 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 and 1/2 cups oat flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup soymilk
• (optional: tiny chocolate chips, however many you'd like to add)

Method . . .

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Insert liners into a medium cupcake pan.
2. Cream together the Earth Balance, peanut butter, and brown sugar with an electric mixer until fluffy (about 3-5 minutes). Add applesauce. Beat well. Mix in the vanilla.
3. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture, alternating with the milk. Mix well. Add the tiny chocolate chips, if you want (I did because I had some left over -- about 1/4 cup).
5. Fill the cupcake liners one-half to three-quarters full. Bake for 15-20 minutes (it took 20 for me) or until a toothpick inserted in the center of cupcakes comes out clean. Cool cupcakes in the pan.

Chocolate Frosting

You'll need . . .

• 6 tablespoons Earth Balance
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 cups confectioners' sugar
• 3/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1/3 cup soymilk

Method . . .

1. Cream the Earth Balance and vanilla together with a fork or electric mixer.
2. In a separate bowl, combine the confectioners' sugar and cocoa powder.
3. Add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture until fully integrated. Slowly add the milk to the frosting until you have reached desired consistency. You may not use all of the milk (I only used about half). Beat mixture for 1 minute or until creamy.

Source: Recipes adapted from Crazy About Cupcakes, which, by the way, is a fantastic cookbook!

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