Marshmallow Gingerbread Kiss Blossoms.

Pillowy-soft gingerbread cookies topped with puffy marshmallows, white chocolate Hershey's Hugs, and caramel Kisses. 

It's December (for a few more days)... and that means we can add marshmallows to absolutely anything.

Lately I've been thinking about the gingerbread bundt cake I baked two years ago. Or, as I like to call it, the bundt cake that finally made me fall in love with all things gingerbread. Not the crispy cut-out, iced, old-fashioned gingerbread men (my least favorite Christmas cookie ever), but actual molasses-rich, spicy, cakey gingerbread.

Or maybe I'm just blinded by the creamy cheesecake center and sprinkles of merry-Christmas-to-me powdered sugar. Either way: it's love.

But it's not the time for the cake (even though it's always the time for cake). I'm deep in peppermint and chocolate, baking every holiday cookie ever to gift this season this week and you just can't put a bundt cake on a cookie platter.

These bite-size gingerbread blossoms were just what I needed to add some Christmas sass to my cookie platters. They're pillowy-soft, rolled in sparkling sugar, and full of holiday spice. To top these cookies off, literally, we're throwing mini-marshmallows in the mix, just before they're finished baking, giving them enough time to puff up nice and toasty.

On top of it all: a frozen Hershey caramel Kiss or white chocolate Hug (you could also use milk or dark chocolate Kisses!). The frozen Kiss is my secret/not-so-secret way of keeping your chocolate from melting.

It's a s'mores twist on a holiday favorite. You know... just without graham crackers. Gingerbread, white chocolate, and marshmallows. It's exactly everything I want this Christmas.

I'm obsessed with baking blossom cookies. This is just one of my many Hershey-kissed cookies:

•  Chocolate Crinkle Kiss Cookies 

•  Cinnamon Pumpkin Spice Kiss Blossoms

•  Oreo-Stuffed White Chocolate Raspberry Kiss Cookies

•  Peanut Butter Blossoms

•  Pumpkin Spice Kiss Gingerdoodle Blossoms

Marshmallow Gingerbread Kiss Blossoms

Printable Recipe

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup mini marshmallows
60 Hershey Kisses, unwrapped and frozen (For mine, I used Hershey's Hugs and Caramel Kisses)

Whisk. In a large bowl, whisk together the first six ingredients (flour, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt). Set aside.

Mix. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and brown sugar. Add molasses, egg, and vanilla, and mix until nearly combined. Mix in the flour mixture and beat until full combined. 

Chill. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and chill for 2-4 hours or overnight. 

Prep. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with a baking mat or spray with baking spray. Remove dough 20 minutes prior to baking- dough should be firm,but still easy to work with and roll. 

Roll. Roll dough into 1-inch balls, roll in sugar, and place 2-inches apart on baking sheet. 

If topping with just Hershey Kisses: Bake 8-10 minutes (mine were perfect at 8 minutes). Remove from oven and immediately press a frozen chocolate Kiss into the center of each cookie. Allow to cool completely.

If topping with marshmallows and Kisses: Bake for 6 1/2 minutes. Remove from oven and gently press 3-4 mini-marshmallows into the center of each cookie. Return to oven and allow cookies to finish baking for another 1-2 minutes, or until marshmallows begin to puff up. Remove from oven and immediately press a frozen chocolate kiss into the center of each cookie. Allow to cool completely.

Makes about 4 1/2 dozen cookies.

Source: Adapted from Baked by Rachel.

My Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies {with Sno-caps!}

These are my favorite chocolate chip cookies. 

For the longest time, they've been hidden away on my blog, nestled inside this Cheesecake Cookie Sandwiches Two Ways: Brown Butter Chocolate Chunk & Strawberry Shortcake post. How have I never just written about my go-to, most-baked, most boyfriend-demanded chocolate chip cookies? 

Probably the same way I missed National Bundt Cake Day. 

P.S. Do you need a bundt cake? I got you. Try my Buttermilk Banana Bundt Cake with Brown Butter Icing, Zebra Bundt Cake with Chocolate Ganache Icing, Pumpkin Buttermilk Bundt Cake with Brown Butter Icing, or my favorite: this Cheesecake-Filled Gingerbread Bundt Cake. It's never too late to celebrate... or too early for gingerbread.

Today we're baking Sno-caps into our chocolate chip cookies... because there are red cups and wrapping paper and twinkle lights in the world and Sno-caps (semi-sweet chocolate chips covered in white nonpareil sprinkles and resembling snow-capped mountains) are the perfect holiday twist for easing ourselves into Christmastime baking.

Tis the season, I know.. but I'm totally not ready just yet for candy canes and peanut butter blossoms. Let's start with festive chocolate chip cookies!      

What makes these my favorite chocolate chip cookies? 

n  Brown butter. You know about my love for baking everything ever with brown butter and these chocolate chip cookies is where that love all started. Besides adding a nutty, caramel-rich depth of flavor, it gives these cookies a soft chewiness that can only found when you're baking with melted butter.    

n Molasses + dark brown sugar. Molasses adds a warm, just-slightly gingerbread flavor to the dough, while keeping the centers of these cookies just-baked soft for days. The dark brown sugar (which is just light brown sugar with even more molasses) works with the molasses to create one perfectly-soft, chewy chocolate chip cookie.

 Fact: No matter what I'm baking, I almost always reach for the dark brown sugar over the golden brown.  

n  Cinnamon. I'm almost always adding a little something extra to my cookie dough and that something is either in the form of cinnamon or bourbon. Bourbon accents the vanilla/caramel flavors from the brown butter and molasses and cinnamon makes the chocolate flavors really pop.

But be honest: who really keeps bourbon in their baking cabinet? I just don't have that kind of faith in myself.

  n  Triple chocolate chips. These cookies are similar to my Triple Chocolate Chip Cake Batter Cookies... they're full of semisweet chocolate, white chocolate chips, and crispy, sprinkle-covered Sno-Caps. My weakness? White chocolate chips in my chocolate chip cookies! 

Now if Nestle would just make a white chocolate version of their semisweet chunks.

Crispy edges. Soft, chewy centers that stay just-baked for days... if they even last that long. Plus those golden specks of brown butter I can't stop talking about, cinnamon, dark brown sugar, molasses, and as many types of chocolate chips as I can possibly bake into a cookie? 

It almost makes up for not having bourbon.

Almost.

P.S. I made these cookies Saturday. They were gone within four days. 

Brown Butter Triple Chocolate Chip Cookies

Printable Recipe

1 cup (2 sticks) + 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 teaspoon molasses

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup white chocolate chips 

1 (3.1-ounce) package Sno-Caps

Brown butter. Brown 1 stick plus 1 tablespoon of butter by heating over medium heat, whisking constantly, until golden brown. Once butter is browned, remove from heat and pour into a bowl to cool slightly. For more information on how to brown butter, see this post. 

Mix. In a stand mixture fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the other stick of butter with the granulated sugar until creamy, about 3 minutes. Add the vanilla and molasses and beat until incorporated. Add the slightly cooled brown butter and the brown sugar and mix on medium speed for about 2 minutes. Add the egg and egg yolk and mix until fully incorporated. 

Whisk. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, cinnamon, and baking soda. Add all at once to the butter mixture and mix on low until just incorporated. Fold in the chocolate, white chocolate, and Sno-Caps with a wooden spoon or spatula.

Chill. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. (Tip: The longer you chill the dough, the thicker they will become when they bake!) Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Scoop dough into balls using a small cookie scoop and place 2 inches apart on baking sheet.

Bake. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until cookies are just starting to turn golden brown around the edges. Remove from oven and let cool 5 minutes on baking sheet, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Source: Adapted from the Joy the Baker cookbook.

Candy Bar Bundt Cake with Chocolate Fudge Icing.

It's October. Now is the time to spend way too much money on fun-sized candy bars, smash them into chocolate chunks, and bake them into a candy bar bundt cake. Because you can... and you can get away with absolutely anything in October. Pumpkin spice cookies for breakfast, pumpkin lattes for dinner, candy bars and cinnamon in your popcorn (I can't even) , "just one more" pumpkin spice candle because I'm in love and obsessed/just try and stop me, and spending hours pinning all things pumpkin and then baking absolutely nothing because The Walking Dead is on. This is real life and we're living it!

Aren't you glad too? I'm in love with this Etsy print... and with October. It's the calm before the storm. You know... before we have to deal with candy canes and mistletoe and tangled-up Christmas tree lights.

And a month away from home, at training, where I'm expected to run three miles, study the law, and excel at ground-fighting. Do not major in criminal justice.

In the mean time, we're celebrating that calm by putting down the pumpkin spice and baking a cake. A soft, fluffy, tender, brown sugar-vanilla bundt cake filled with chunks of our favorite chocolate Halloween candy and then completely covered in the thickest, most pure fudge chocolate icing ever.  

And sprinkles. You should never miss an opportunity to use sprinkles. It's the best life advice I could ever give you.

My real life isn't always as sweet, styled, and covered in pumpkin-shaped sprinkles as you would think. Maybe I stress-bake bundt cakes sometimes... because it's who I am, they're a cake-walk to bake, and let me feel completely in control of things for at least 50 minutes.

P.S. Are cake walks even a thing anymore? They were my favorite part of my town's annual Halloween fair growing up. I mean, why try and win a Pixy Stix at the ring-toss when you could when a WHOLE CAKE for walking in a circle?

... this is probably why I run today.

  This bundt cake is the perfect place to start for Everything Ever Baking. As in... this batter smells like chocolate chip cookie dough... and anything can be baked into a chocolate chip cookie! What do you have hiding in your cabinets? Oreos? Chocolate-covered pretzels? Seventeen opened and forgotten bags of chocolate chips?

If you're reading this in November... the answer is probably leftover Halloween candy.

Into this cake went all of my favorite fun-sized chocolate things... 

❤ Reese's peanut butter cups

❤ Rolos

❤ Hershey's Cookies & Cream bars

❤ Almond Snickers 

I love a good suspenseful cake. With this bundt, each slice was different! The slice above was full of chopped almond Snickers and Rolo halves... making it taste like a rich, moist caramel-vanilla cake with unexpected chunks of chocolate.

My boyfriend ate this slice for breakfast full of nothing but peanut butter cups. He totally thought I'd baked him a peanut butter pound cake.

The secret to this cake's fluffy softness? I almost always swap out the light, golden brown sugar in any cookie or cake recipe for dark brown sugar. Besides adding a deeper and richer brown sugar/caramel taste, it leaves my baked goods so much more tender, soft, and moist.

P.S. This cake came THIS close to having a brown butter icing (my second best life advice tip? Follow that link to my buttermilk pumpkin cake & immediately make it a part of your life). This chocolate icing though? Pure fudge + a good decision. It was similar to the stovetop icing used to ice one of my favorite go-to chocolate cakes: Texas sheet cake.

There's just too many things going on here that I love.

It's fall. Let's smash chocolate and bake cakes!

Candy Bar Bundt Cake with Chocolate Fudge Icing

Printable Recipe

Cake
3 cups all-purpose flour + more for dusting
1 cup vegetable oil + more for greasing
1 1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
3 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 cup vanilla Greek yogurt

1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups assorted candy, roughly chopped & tossed in 2 tablespoons of flour (I used Rolos, Reeses peanut butter cups, and fun-sized almond Snickers and cookies & cream Hershey bars)- 

Chocolate Icing
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup cocoa powder
6 tablespoons evaporated milk
3 3/4 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1-3 tablespoons evaporated milk or heavy whipping cream, if needed

Prep. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 12-cup bundt pan generously with oil and dust with flour, tapping out any excess. Set aside.

Mix. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the oil and brown sugar. Add the eggs and mix well. Next, mix in the vanilla extract and vanilla Greek yogurt until thoroughly combined. Whisk in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Fold in the chopped candy bars (tossed in 2 tablespoons of flour).  Pour cake batter into prepared bundt pan and spread evenly.

Bake. Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into center of cake tests clean. Remove cake and allow to cool for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Make icing. In a medium saucepan, bring butter, cocoa powder, and evaporated milk to a boil over medium heat, whisking occasionally. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt, and whisk continuously until smooth, about 30 seconds. If icing is still to thick, add extra evaporated milk or heavy whipping creaming one tablespoon at at a time until icing is a pouring consistency. Immediately remove from heat and pour icing over the top of your cake. Work fast- the icing will harden quickly once it's removed from heat!

Source: Candy Bar Bundt Cake inspired and adapted from Scarletta Bakes. Chocolate icing from Brown Eyed Baker.

Brown Butter Cookie Butter Truffle Brownies + a C25K Update.

It's been almost thirty days since I last created, thought up, baked, or wrote anything that wasn't these sweet lemon-blueberry cupcakes or dark chocolate-raspberry banana bread. My summer baking dreams have quickly turned into the bittersweet resignation that (for now) I will never be that girl who can balance life, laundry, baking, running, a full-time job, sleeping, True Blood, a boyfriend, and, you know, the really important things: like catching up on a year's worth of Revenge and Once Upon a Time. 

They've also turned into pumpkin daydreams. I'm ready for fall, a change of space, a week in Hawaii, and a moment to breathe. 

What's taken over my summer?

Work. In real-life I work a high-stress, fast-paced, unpredictable job... and now that I've recently been offered a promotion, the stress has tripled. As has, coincidentally enough, my collection of wine glasses.

Running. I started running Couch to 5K in June and have since done Week 1 and 2 twice, Week 3 three times, and am currently starting my third week of Week 4 (week 5 ends with a 20-minute 2 mile run and I don't even want to talk about it yet). I run each week until it's no longer a challenge. To be honest, I thought I would never get where I am today... and I'm only halfway through the program!

I started running every other day three times a week like the program suggests. Just the one minute run made me feel like I would definitely be giving up by Week 2 or 3... but I stuck it out.

Slowly I started adding in extra time at the gym after my run and by Week 3, I was adding in "fun runs." These are my favorite. Where my actual C25K days are something I "have" to do, these are the days where I go to the gym and just run. It started with 5 minute runs and half miles. Now for the first time ever I can run a mile without walking. I bested my high school mile time instantly and today... I ran my fastest mile yet.

I wake up early. I fit it in before work. Instead of being a thing I have to make myself do, it's part of my day, something I look forward to. And I'm noticing changes. I'm happier, less stressed, more confident. After I run, even if it was a challenge to the very last second, I feel like I can do anything the rest of the day.

And no big deal, but I've signed up for a Color Run in October.

But let's get real: you came here for the chocolate, brown butter, and cookie butter truffles.

Has cookie butter made it's way into your life yet? This glass jar of dreams looks like innocent creamy peanut butter... but tastes like gingerbread, snickerdoodles, honey graham crackers, and salted pretzels, all at once, and with tiny crunchy bits of Speculoos cookies in every sugary spoonful. It's something you have to experience.

Another thing to experience? Cookie butter truffles: Creamy Biscoff spread/cookie butter + powdered sugar, rolled into dough balls and chilled. Honestly we could just end this post here, but running makes me dream of all things chocolate... so let's bake these truffles into brownies!

Brown butter brownies alone are the best brownies you could ever dream of... even more so than the Baked brownies I made a few years ago. But these? These were irresistable and over the top, with crisp edges, molten, fudge centers, hidden pockets of cookie butter truffles, and that rich, toffee-caramel, something-extra from the brown butter that just enhances the chocolate flavor. And then, to top it all off, they're studded and sprinkled with semisweet and dark chocolate chunks.   

See how thick and fudgy these are? Almost like squares of chocolate cheesecake.

I really believe cookie butter was meant to be paired with chocolate.

P.S. I baked these brownies before work... and came home to half the pan missing and this note from my boyfriend's friend.

Honestly.

Brown Butter Cookie Butter Truffle Chocolate Chunk Brownies 

Printable Recipe

Cookie Butter Truffles
1/2 cup Biscoff spread (I used Trader Joes creamy Cookie Butter)
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Brownies 
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) salted butter
2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon water
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 large eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips or chunks (I used a combination of semi-sweet + dark chocolate)
Additonal chocokate chips for sprinkling on top

Prep. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 9x13-inch baking dish with baking spray; set aside.

Make truffles. To make thetruffles, combined cookie butter (or a Biscoff spread) and powdered sugar in a bowl and mix until combined and the consistency of cookie dough. Roll truffles into 3/4-inch balls and place on a wax paper- lined baking sheet. Place in freezer until ready for use.

Brown your butter. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly until golden brown (for more information browning butter, see this post). Pour butter into heat-proof bowl and allow to cool slightly.

Mix. Pour cooled brown butter into the bowl of an electric stand mixer. Add the sugar and cocoa powder and beat until smooth. Add the salt, water, and vanilla and mix until combined. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition until throughly combined. Add the flour and chocolate chips and mix well. Batter will be very thick!

Bake! Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth with a spatula. Press frozen Biscoff truffles into the batter until just poking out. Sprinkle additional chocolate chips over the top of the batter, if desired. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the brownies comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool before serving.

Source: Adapted from Something Swanky. 

Graham Cracker Chocolate Chip S'mores Cookies.

This July, I'm wishing I was that girl who lived her summer to the max: long days by the sparkling pool, late nights by a cozy campfire. Short sundresses and sun-kissed, beach-blonde waves. Road trips, pie-baking, and grilled banana bread (it's really a thing!). Beachy drinks and totally burned s'mores. You know... adventures in unknown places, taking chances, and doing everything ever on a bucket list. That girl.

But really? I'm that girl who crushes graham crackers into her chocolate chip cookies, spends $23 on kettlecorn at a summer flower festival, and is content just to have seen fireworks on the 4th (just barely... as I was leaving work at 10 PM)... not to mention the inside of a gym three days a week (running! Purple shoes! I'm doing it!) and every new episode of True Blood this season.

Which I haven't decided if I'm in love with or not... because: Bill.

Also: Ben.  

Can we go back to that crushed graham crackers in our chocolate chip cookie thing? Because let's live summer right and, if nothing else, bake campfire dreams into our cookies.


These are the softest chocolate chip cookies ever and were totally inspired by my love for all things s'mores + my favorite cookies ever- chocolate fluffernutter gobs: soft, puffy peanut butter cloud cookies topped with just-melted marshmallows and a rich chocolate ganache glaze. Honestly, if I could at any moment recreate a recipe from the last three years of baking, it would be these. And I should! They're like peanut butter cup s'mores... without the graham cracker. And the peanut butter cup.

But this is summer. This is July (even if there are pumpkins at Michaels already). We're definitely going to need some graham crackers in our business.

What makes these cookies so soft? The graham crackers! 1 cup of all-purpose flour is replaced with 1 cup of crushed honey graham crackers... making these the softest, buttery-rich chocolate chip cookies. Several days later they were still soft. Cookie perfection! Don't even get me started on the cookie dough. Irresistable/I can't even deal/someone please put this in an ice cream. 

Then two minutes before they were done baking, I smashed 4-5 mini marshmallows on to and baked them until soft and puffy. 

Then I straight stole this soft, rich chocolate glaze with those chocolate fluffernutters in mind.

Chocolate sprinkles = love. 

Could we smash chocolate caramel Ghiradelli squares or leftover Valentines hearts on top? Yes/love/please don't judge me. 

Because yeah. I'm also that girl who still has chocolate Santas, heart-shaped chocolates, and too many to Peeps talk about. 

P.S. I love these cookie bottoms. Those mini chocolate chips! I don't bake with them enough.

Graham Cracker Chocolate Chip S'mores Cookies

Printable Recipe

Cookies
3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup crushed graham cracker crumbs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup mini chocolate chips
Mini marshmallows for topping

Chocolate Glaze
9 tablespoons unsalted butter
6 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3-6 tablespoons of milk, depending how thick you want your glaze

Prep. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with a Silpat baking mat or spray with baking spray; set aside. 

Mix. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and mix until thoroughly combined. Add the flour, crushed graham crackers, salt, and baking soda and mix thoroughly. Fold in the chocolate chips. 

Bake.Using a small cookie scoop, scoop dough into rounded tablespoons and place on prepared baking sheet. Bake for 7 minutes. Remove from oven and gently press 4-5 mini marshmallows into the center of each cookie. Return sheet to the oven and bake for another 2-3 minutes, until just melted. Be careful not to burn them! 

Cool. Allow cookies to cool at least 5 minutes on the baking mat before removing to wire racks to cool completely. 

Glaze it! When completely cooled, make the chocolate glaze (or smash a chocolate candy on top). To make the glaze, melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the cocoa powder and mix until smooth. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Slowly stir in the powdered sugar, gradually adding the milk as needed to get the desired consistency (ideally you want it thin enough to drizzle... about the consistency of molasses. I kept my glaze as thick as ganache here and spread it with a spoon). Spoon a small amount over each cookie. Glaze will set slightly when cooled.

Source: Cookies adapted from Eat My Shortbread. Glaze from the fluffernutter chocolate gobs.  

Vanilla Bean Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Buttercream.

Things I have to tell you:

These are the first cupcakes I've baked since last July.

These are the first homemade vanilla cupcakes I've ever made. 

These are the first vanilla cupcakes I've ever loved.

This is exactly what I imagine my wedding cake will taste like (just let a girl dream!).

More things in life need peanut butter cup centers.

Peanut butter + vanilla = dreams. 

And these three words: PEANUT BUTTER BUTTERCREAM.

I've moved on from golden brown butter specks to black vanilla bean specks... because I've just decided: vanilla beans are the new brown butter.

Have you ever baked with vanilla beans before? It's such an easy way to infuse your baking with an extra rich vanilla flavor that you just can't get from teaspoons of vanilla extract... and since spontaneously ordering a handful of bourbon Madagascar vanilla beans from Beanilla last month (... because who wants to spend over $6 for one bean at the store?), I've become completely obsessed with all things vanilla. 

These vanilla cupcakes are perfectly soft, light, and spiked with vanilla beans... like fat, fluffy vanilla bean-infused wedding cake cupcakes.

They almost taste like they're baked from a box mix. Except, you know... better.

Because I stuffed peanut butter cups inside!

They baked up into soft, molten chocolate-y peanut butter centers. 

They were nearly baked into my favorite chocolate cupcakes... because the only thing better than peanut butter and chocolate is peanut butter, chocolate, and more chocolate, right? Who knew that white vanilla cake and peanut butter were just as much a match made in heaven as chocolate and peanut butter?

 It's simple and subtle and just as rich... if not more: the vanilla cake makes the peanut butter and chocolate flavors really pop. 

Do we have to bake peanut butter cups inside? Always, of course, but I baked a few without the extra shot of chocolate and peanut butter... because sometimes a simple, classy cupcake is just the way to go.

You could even put an Oreo in there... or a scoop of chocolate ganache. 

Could we just bake these vanilla bean cupcakes, slice them in half, and turn them into a strawberry shortcake situation? I think you just figured out summer living.

And then, because let me just live life, I topped them with thick, rich soft serve-looking swirls of peanut butter buttercream. If you've never had peanut butter frosting, I'm 100% sure you've never lived. I'd never even imagined it until four days ago, when I stood in my tiny apartment kitchen shame-eating it off a spoon. 

This frosting is almost exactly the same as my go-to vanilla buttercream recipe... except, you know, for the 1/2 cup scoop of creamy peanut butter.

Would it be wrong to be put peanut butter buttercream on top a red velvet cupcake? Because it's all I can think about today.

This is one perfect cupcake and I can't even deal.

This summer, let's get into vanilla beans, turn cupcakes into shortcakes, and fall in love with peanut butter + vanilla. Let's also eat four of these for dinner with a glass of wine... because yeah, been there/done that/just a normal day.

Vanilla Bean Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Buttercream 

Printable Recipe

Cupcakes

1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 cup granulated sugar
2 egg whites
1/4 cup sour cream (or vanilla yogurt)
3/4 cup milk
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Seeds scraped from 1/2 a split vanilla bean
12-15 peanut butter cups

Peanut Butter Frosting

3/4 cups butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup shortening
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 - 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream (or milk)
4-5 cups powdered sugar

Prep. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin tin with 12 cupcake liners and set aside.

Mix dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

Melt. Melt the butter in the microwave in a large bowl. Stir in the sugar until combined. Stir in the egg whites, sour cream, milk, and vanilla extract. 

So... what do I do with this vanilla bean? Using a sharp knife, cut one vanilla bean in half length-wise, from top to bottom. Set aside one half for later (store in an airtight container). Use a knife or spoon to gently scrape all the black seeds from the other half into your butter mixture (it'll look like wet black sand). Be sure to break up any clumps with your spoon or spatula.  

What if I don't have vanilla beans? No big deal. You can substitute the vanilla bean with 1 teaspoon vanilla powder or 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or 3/4 teaspoon ground vanilla beans or 1-2 teaspoons vanilla extract. 

Make your cupcake batter. Slowly mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until smooth and no lumps remain. 

Scoop. Fill cupcake liners halfway with batter (tip: use a cookie scoop!). Place a peanut butter cup in the center of each, then place another scoop of cupcake batter over the top to cover the peanut butter cup completely.

Bake. Bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake tests clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before frosting. 

Frost. To make the frosting, combine softened butter, shortening, peanut butter, and vanilla extract in the bowl of an electric mixer until smooth. Add in four cups of powdered sugar. Add 1/4 cup of the whipping cream, mix until combined well, then beat on high speed until fluffy. Continue adding the remaining powdered sugar and whipping cream until the frosting is the consistency you want... then frost your cupcakes!

Makes 12-15 cupcakes. 

Source: Cupcake recipe adapted from The Cupcake Project. Peanut butter frosting from Love From the Oven.