A #PBChocSat Twofer: Dangerous Cupcakes and Homemade Snickers

Today Erin of The Spiffy Cookie invited us to "Get creative and make a sweet or savory recipe using peanut butter and chocolate. I run #PBchocSat throughout the college football season (GO BUCKS) so I thought it would be fun for others to join me - whether you are a fan or not."

So. Many. Possibilites. Here's the line-up of peanut butter-y, chocolate-y goodness...

• Buckeye Trail Mix by The Spiffy Cookie 
• A #PBChocSat Twofer: Dangerous Cupcakes and Homemade Snickers by Culinary Adventures with Camilla 
• Buckeye Crunch Popcorn by Palatable Pastime 
• Vegan Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl Cupcakes by The Baking Fairy 
• Muddy Buddy Rice Krispie Treats by Kate's Recipe Box 
• Peanut Butter and Chocolate Strudel by A Day in the Life on the Farm 
• Peanut Butter and Chocolate Shortbread Bars by Karen's Kitchen Stories 
• Chocolate Peanut Butter Bundt Cake by The Redhead Baker 
• Peanut Butter and Chocolate Nice Cream by Cooking With Carlee 
• Keto Peanut Butter Cups by Our Good Life 
• Classic Peanut Butter Chocolate-Filled Cookies by Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice

A #PBChocSat Twofer

As for me, I thought about making a riff on D's Gorilla Poop Cookies. Yes, that's really what he calls them.

I could have re-done my Homemade Peanut Butter Cups. But I wanted to make something new-to-us and needed to bring some things to parties anyway. So I made a batch of 'Dangerous Cupcakes' for the robotics kids one Saturday. And I made 'Homemade Snickers' for a small dinner party with friends.

Dangerous Cupcakes

When I handed R the container, I said, "If anyone asks, these have nuts, dairy, eggs, and wheat...in case anyone has any allergies." Oh, he said, so these are dangerous. "Yes, I guess they are." LOL.

Ingredients makes 12 cupcakes

Cupcakes

• 2 eggs
• 3/4 C organic granulated sugar
• 3/4 C organic dark brown sugar
• 1 C sour cream or whole milk yogurt
• 1/2 C olive oil
• 2 t vanilla
• 1 C unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 C brewed coffee
• 1/3 C peanut butter, warmed to be smooth
• 2 C flour
• 1-1/2 t baking soda
• 1 t baking powder
• 1 t salt
• 1/2 C semisweet chocolate chunks

Chocolate Buttercream

• 5 large egg yolks
• 1/3 C water
• 1 C organic granulated sugar
• 1 T organic corn syrup
• 2 C butter, softened
• 2 T peanut butter, warmed to be smooth
• 1/3 C unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 t coffee extract (use vanilla if you don't have this)

Serving

• caramel sauce, optional

Procedure
Cupcakes

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line cupcake pan with paper liners.

In large mixing bowl whisk together egg, sugars, sour cream, oil, and vanilla until well blended. Add in the cocoa powder, coffee, and warmed peanut butter. Mix until just combined.

Add flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and chocolate chunks. Whisk until all dry ingredients are moistened.

Pour into prepared liners, about 1/2 C per hollow. Bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool for 10 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Chocolate Buttercream
Place egg yolks in a mixing bowl and beat on high until they are thick, pale, and ribbon off the whisks.

Combine water, sugar, and corn syrup in a small saucepan. You can attach a candy thermometer to the side; I just kept testing until it reached soft-ball stage. If you're using a thermometer, heat until it reaches 238 degrees F. For testing otherwise, dip a spoon into the syrup, then into ice cold water. The syrup should immediately set up into a soft ball. Mine took about 8 minutes to reach the correct consistency.

Once the syrup is ready, remove it from the heat. While one hand hold the mixer, use the other hand to pour the syrup into the yolks. When all of the syrup is added, turn the mixer up to high and beat until the yolks have doubled in size and have reached medium peak stage. The bowl should be cooled and just lukewarm to the touch. Mine took about 9 minutes.

Begin adding butter, one tablespoon at a time, mixing well after each addition. The more butter you add, the more firm the buttercream will be. Once your buttercream resembles what you think of as buttercream, add in the cocoa powder, warmed peanut butter, and extract. Beat until just combined.

Serving
Once the cupcakes are completely cool, pipe the buttercream onto the cupcakes. Drizzle with caramel sauce, if desired. Refrigerate if not serving immediately. Let them stand at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes before serving though.

Homemade Snickers

Though we don't buy candy bars often, when we do, it's a Snickers. I learned just how important Snickers were to my husband when we were packing bags to go to the hospital to have R. I had CDs with babbling brooks, my yoga ball, three copies of my birth plan, and more. Jake had the phone list of people he was supposed to call as soon as we had the baby and five Snickers bars. That's it. maybe he had a change of clothes. Maybe. No joke. So, I have figured out how to make my own!

Chocolate-Peanut Butter-Butterscotch (Layer One) - you need TWO of these, but I prepare them separately since it's the first and the fourth layers

• 1 C dark chocolate
• 1/4 C butterscotch chips
• 1/2 C organic creamy peanut butter

Melt all of those together until smooth. Line a pan with parchment paper. Pour the layer in and stick it in the freezer to chill.

Nougat (Layer Two)

• 1/4 C butter
• 1 C organic granulated sugar
• 1/4 C evaporated milk
• 1 1/2 C marshmallow creme (yes, I did buy a jar of Jet-Puffed Marshmallow Creme)
• 1/4 C creamy peanut butter
• 1 t vanilla
• 2 C roasted, salted peanuts

Bring butter, sugar, and evaporated milk to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes. Remove from the stove and add marshmallow creme, creamy peanut butter, vanilla, and roasted, salted peanuts. Pour over first layer that was chilling, then place back in freezer.

Sea Salt Caramel (Layer Three)

• 1 C organic granulated sugar
• 1/2 C packed organic brown sugar
• 1/2 C ginger syrup
• 1/2 evaporated milk
• 1 C organic heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 C butter
• 1 t sea salt

In a medium-size pot, combine sugar, brown sugar, ginger syrup, evaporated milk, whipping cream, butter, and sea salt. Monitor the heat of the mixture with a candy thermometer while stirring. When the thermometer reaches 240 degrees remove the pot from the heat. Pour over previous layer that was chilling then place back in freezer.

Layer Four: Chocolate-Peanut Butter-Butterscotch (same as the first)

Once you have all four layers done, place the pan in the refrigerator to set-up overnight.

Finishing

• semisweet chocolate, melted and tempered

Lift the parchment paper out of the pan and cut into whatever size bars you want. I usually do most of them bite-size, two bites really, but usually make one very large bar just for my husband!

Place in the freezer for 30 minutes. In the meantime, melt and temper chocolate in a double boiler. Dip Snickers to coat. Place on parchment paper. Let chocolate cool and set.