Peanut Buttery Goodness

Agave. Ever been there? You should say yes. If you can't say yes, you should go ASAP so you can say yes after that.

My family went to Agave last night, and it was seriously so delicious. I can't remember the last time I was so full and my appetite completely satisfied. I got the Red Pepper Salmon Filet. Straight from the Agave menu, it was a "pan seared fresh Chilean salmon with sauteed julienne zucchini, squash, and carrots, served over a roasted red pepper sauce with grilled asparagus."

I promise Agave's not paying me to advertise :) We are friends with one of the owners, but that's not the reason for my praise, either. It truly deserves the honor. Anyway, here's my salmon...

Now for the dessert. Not the Agave dessert...just my homemade dessert for the week.

I've probably mentioned this in a post before, but peanut butter is one of my absolute FAVORITE foods. One of my addictions. One of my guilty pleasures (yes, it's a guilty pleasure when you find a way to eat it with every meal). I love it in any form on anything. And don't even get me started on peanut butter desserts. In a nutshell, I. Love. Peanut Butter.

So if you can't tell, the dessert for today involves peanut butter. They are (drumroll please) Reeses Peanut Butter Cupcakes. The drizzle of the top of them is hot fudge. And though a Reeses cup obviously would have made more sense on top, I didn't have Reeses cups, so a mini Hershey's sufficed.

Reeses Peanut Butter Cupcakes

Reeses Peanut Butter Cupcakes 

Makes 12 cupcakes

Cupcakes

1 1/8 cups all purpose flour

1/4 cup dark cocoa powder 

1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon heavy cream

1/2 cup butter, melted

2 tablespoon sour cream

1/4 cup homemade fudge sauce (recipe below)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a bowl, whisk egg and sugar until smooth and no lumps remain. Add milk, cream, butter, and vanilla, and mix until combined. Stir in sour cream. Sift dry ingredients together and add to wet mixture. Mix until batter is smooth, then swirl in fudge sauce. Line a muffin tin with liners and using a 1/4 cup measure, add batter to each cup. Bake for 15-18 minutes. Let cool before frosting. 

Peanut Butter Buttercream

1/2 cup butter, softened

2/3 cup peanut butter

3-4 cups of powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1-2 tablespoons of milk

pinch of salt 

Cream butter and peanut butter together in the bowl of an electric mixer. Add powdered sugar with mixer on low speed and gradually add milk and vanilla extract. Mix until frosting is smooth. If too thick, add more milk; if too thin, add more sugar. Frost cupcakes as desired. 

Dark Chocolate Fudge Sauce

1 cup sugar

1 cup dark cocoa powder

2 tablespoons flour

pinch of salt

1 cup boiling water or milk

1 tablespoon of butter

1 teaspoon of vanilla

Combine sugar, cocoa, salt, and flour in a bowl or pot over a double boiler. Bring water or milk to a boil. Gradually add hot liquid to sugar mixture. Stir constantly until mixture thickens. 

Once it has reached the desired thickness, remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla. Drizzle over cupcakes and store the rest of the sauce in the fridge for 1-2 weeks.