Peanut Butter Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting

My daughter's birthday was yesterday, and even though she's grown (21!) and lives 2 hours away, we still celebrated her birthday without her. :)  My son picked the flavor--peanut butter (he's a peanut butter cup fanatic), and it was fitting to top it with chocolate frosting.

Peanut Butter Cupcakes

• 1 package yellow cake mix
• 1 1/3 cups water
• 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/3 cup apple sauce
• 3 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Chocolate Frosting

Preheat oven to 350°F. Place 21 paper baking cups in cupcake pans. Place cake mix, water, peanut butter, applesauce, eggs, and vanilla in bowl of a stand mixer (or mixing bowl). Beat with mixer on low for 30 seconds. Scrape down sides of bowl with spatula. Increase mixer speed to medium and beat an additional 2 minutes, scraping down sides as needed. Divide batter equally between baking cups and place in the oven.

Bake 18-20 minutes, or until tops of cupcakes spring back when lightly touched. Cool completely. Frost with chocolate frosting.

Raspberry and Apple Cupcakes

 I know it's been a long time since you've heard from me, and I am sorry for that. Life sometimes gets crazy and that is what happened here. But I am back with a yummy, yummy recipe for you! I've recently started following a vegetarian lifestyle, and as such, fruit has suddenly become so sweet and tasty for me. Don't get me wrong...I've always loved fruit, now I just love it even more!

Raspberry and Apple Cupcakes

• 3 eggs
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 cup granulated sugar + 2 tbsp extra to sprinkle
• 1 lemon, zested
• 1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, and diced
• 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2/3 cup fresh raspberries
• powdered sugar for dusting

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a 12-cup muffin pan.
2. Place the eggs, sour cream, granulated sugar, lemon zest, and apple in a blow and stir together. Sift the flour, baking powder, and cinnamon over the top and fold through.
3. Spoon the mixture into the muffin pan and top with the raspberries. Sprinkle with the extra granulated sugar. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until top springs back when lightly touched.
4. Cool slightly then turn out and dust with confectioners sugar.

Yummy!

Amish Friendship Bread Cupcakes

This is the Amish Friendship Bread Starter Recipe that you’ll need to make the Amish Friendship Bread. It is very important to use plastic or wooden utensils and plastic or glass containers when making this. Do not use metal at all!

Ingredients:

• 1 pkg. active dry yeast
• 1/4 cup warm water (110°F)
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup warm milk (110°F)

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast in warm water for about 10 minutes. Stir well.
2. In a 2 quart glass or plastic container, combine 1 cup sifted flour and 1 cup sugar. Mix thoroughly or the flour will get lumpy when you add the milk.
3. Slowly stir in warm milk and dissolved yeast mixture. Loosely cover the mixture with a lid or plastic wrap. The mixture will get bubbly. Consider this Day 1 of the cycle, or the day you receive the starter.

For the next 10 days handle starter according to the instructions for Amish Friendship Bread.

Amish Friendship Bread

• Do not use any type of metal spoon or bowl for mixing.
• Do not refrigerate!
• If air fills up the bag, let it out!!!
• It is normal for the batter to rise, bubble, and ferment.

Day 1

• Do nothing. This is the day you received the batter.

Day 2-5

• Mush (massage) the bag.

Day 6

• Add 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, and 1 cup milk to the bag and then mush.

Day 7-9

• Mush the bag

Day 10

1. Pour the entire contents of the bag into a large non-metallic bowl.
2. Add 1 ½ cups flour, 1 ½ cups sugar, and 1 ½ cups milk.
3. Measure out four separate batters of 1 cup each into 1 gallon Ziploc bags. Keep a starter for yourself and give the other three to friends along with a copy of this recipe.
4. Preheat oven to 325°.
5. To the remaining batter in the bowl (about 2 cups batter) add

• 3 eggs
• 1 cup oil (or ½ cup oil & ½ cup applesauce)
• ½ cup milk
• ½ cup sugar
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp vanilla
• 1 ½ tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 cups flour
• 1 large box instant vanilla pudding

6. Grease two large loaf pans.
7. Pour the batter evenly into loaf pans. Sprinkle the top with cinnamon sugar.
8. Bake for 60-70 minutes. Cool until bread loosens from the pan.

Variations

• I used a small box of French vanilla pudding, and it worked fine. You can also use different flavors of pudding.
• The internet is a great source for different recipes to use the starter.
• To bake as muffins/cupcakes, fill 24 muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake for 20 minutes at 325°.

Cream Cheese Pumpkin Cupcakes

It is starting to feel like fall and I am craving pumpkin. Pretty much pumpkin anything, but I am pretty sure these cupcakes will fit the bill.

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 c. flour, sift before measuring
• 1 T. baking powder
• 1/2 t. baking soda
• 1/2 t. salt
• 3/4 t. cinnamon
• 1/2 t. ginger
• 1/2 t. nutmeg
• 1/2 c. butter, softened
• 1 1/3 c. sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 c. canned pumpkin
• 3/4 c. milk

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pans with liners (this makes about 18). In a large bowl, sift dry ingredients together and set aside.

2. Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time. Mix in pumpkin.

3. Alternate stirring in the dry ingredients and the milk, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Scrape down the bowl and stir until blended. Spoon into liners and bake for 20-25 minutes.

4. Frost with Cream Cheese Frosting.

Creamy Key Lime Frosting

All I can say is "yum!"

Ingredients

• 1 (14-oz) can sweetened condensed milk
• 2 tsps grated key lime peel (or regular lime peel)
• 1/2 cup key lime juice (or regular lime juice)
• 1 1/2 cups whipping cream

Stir together milk, lime peel, and lime juice in a small bowl; set aside. Beat whipping cream in chilled bowl with electric mixer on high speed until soft peaks form. Fold milk/lime mixture unto whip cream until just blended.