Peanut Butter Cupcakes with Milk Chocolate Frosting

 

There are few things in life that are better than the combination of chocolate and peanut butter.  Creamy, nutty peanut butter, offset by sweet and rich chocolate- It's seriously one of the best things to go together. Even better than peanut butter and jelly.

I began by baking the peanut butter cupcakes, which I suspect I slightly over baked, but they were still good- The recipe is forgiving, and they are were still pretty moist.

And then the frosting. Oh, the frosting. I don't know why people buy frosting out of a can, when making this is so easy. sure, you dirty a bowl, but the results are 1000x better than the chemical-laden stuff you get in cans.  Even as someone who is more partial to dark chocolate, this is a clear winner.  I've made something similar from Smitten Kitchen before, and it was just as (if not better!) than it was last time.

I used Trader Joe's Cocoa Powder for the frosting, and I am impressed on how well it held up.  I think a side by side tasting with Hersheys, and a high end cocoa powder might be a fun thing to do- but that would require much, more frosting than I need to have around.
I grated a little dark chocolate on top for decoration, and ta da! Cupcakes:

note: this recipe makes extra frosting. I stuck mine in the fridge, intending to use it for another dessert, and ended up using it on graham crackers, and apple slices... and perhaps just directly from a spoon into my mouth. it's GOOD, you guys.

And the recipe's still online! Grab it here