Oh my goodness. These are fantastic. 

Anyone who knows me and has eaten a meal of mine knows that I am in fact my toughest critic. There is almost always something that I don’t like about my food. But these…

These were great. No changes needed. 

I pulled this recipe from a fellow cooking blogger, Katy.

And I have now found a new “easy” standard cookie. These would be great to make if some unexpected company shows up or if you really want something sweet but don’t want to bake anything. I also think these are awesome for kids to make. The rolling of the dough, the messiness & lightness of the powdered sugar, and the fact that there’s no knives or hot stoves make them awesome for a summer cooking project. 
 

Ingredients::  

• 3/4 cups peanut butter
• 1 stick butter, softened
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 4 ounces good quality dark chocolate
• 1/3 cup white chocolate chips

Directions::

1. In a large bowl, mix together the peanut butter, butter, vanilla and confectioners sugar
2. Roll into tablespoon-sized balls and place on a waxed paper-lined cookie sheet. Chill in your freezer about 30 minutes, or until firm.
3. Microwave the chocolate chips for 30 seconds, and stir. If the chocolate isn’t fully melted, microwave for another 30 seconds, stirring again. Dip frozen peanut butter balls in chocolate, about halfway up the cookie. Melt the white chocolate the same way, and drizzle it over each of the cookies. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Makes about 20 cookies – I actually think I could have squeezed a couple more out of the batch but in the interest of my current jean size…

To be completely honest, I freaked out a little bit when I saw how the dough looked. I thought it was way too crumbly. But I promise, it will roll together just fine. 

While I’m not one who usually does something because it’s trendy (i.e. Twitter, leggings, purses large enough that Paris Hilton herself could ride in them), cupcakes are fun. They are portable. They are cute. And decorating them can be a lot more fun than cakes. 

This month’s cupcake choice was inspired by a marble pound cake I made a few weeks ago that was a huge hit in my house. No need to panic, I will remake it here soon. I got this recipe out of Martha’s awesome new book, Cupcakes. Who doesn’t love those moist chocolate ribbons intertwined with classic vanilla cake? And if you don’t like chocolate frosting, well, I just don’t think we can remain friends…

For the cake:: 

• 1 3/4 Cups cake flour (not self-rising), sifted
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup milk, room temperature
• 1/3 heavy cream, room temperature
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup boiling water
   

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Stir together cake flour, baking powder, and salt. Combine milk and cream. 
2. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and granulated sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in vanilla. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of milk mixture, and beating until combined. 

Side step:: Lick the beaters. Obviously.

Also:: like my lovely wallpaper? Mrs. General Norman Schwarzkopf had impeccable taste – in 1981.

 

Also in light fixtures. 

3. To make chocolate batter, measure out 1 cup batter, and transfer to another bowl. Combine cocoa and the boiling water in a bowl. Stir into reserved 1 cup batter. Warning:: do not lick this chocolate mixture until it is combined with regular batter. It is unsweetened and I promise that you re-experience the moment as a child when you thought you could drink vanilla extract.  

4. Fill prepared cups with alternating spponfulls of vanilla and chocolate batter, filling each three-quarters full. Run the tip of a paring knife or wooden skewer through batter in a figure-eight motion to make swirls. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until tops are golden and a cake tester (i.e. toothpick) inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes. Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight container. 

5. To finish, frost with chocolate frosting. Recipe follows. 

** At this point, all my friends who ate these last night need to stop reading. You will disown me after you see how much butter is in this frosting. Please don’t leave me.  

For frosting::

• 1/2 cup plus 1 TBS unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup plus 1 TBS boiling water
• 2 1/4 cups (that’s 4 1/2 sticks kids) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cups confectioner’s sugar, sifted
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 pounds 60% dark chocolate, melted and cooled

1. Combine cocoa and boiling water, stirring until cocoa has dissolved. 
2. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter, confectioner’s sugar, and salt until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to low. Add melted and cooled chocolate, beating until combined and scraping down sides of bowl as needed.
3. Beat in cocoa mixture.
4. If not using immediately, frosting can be refrigerated up to 5 days, or frozen up to 1 month. Before using, bring to room temperature, and beat on low speed until smooth again.