Tag: Peanut Butter Frosting

Lofthouse Style Soft Peanut Butter Chip Sugar Cookies with Peanut Butter Frosting

I’m sorry to put up two peanut butter recipes in a row, but the proportion of peanut butter recipes I make to other recipes is so high that this sort of thing is inevitable…and these cookies are amazing, so you need them in your life sooner rather than later.

Back when my metabolism was still going strong, I used to love Lofthouse cookies. I realize I haven’t really cut back on my cookie consumption since then, but somehow making homemade cookies instead of store bought helps me justify eating a cookie or two a day (I wish I was lying). The amazing thing about Lofthouse cookies is the incredible, inexplicably soft cookie paired with the overly sweet and amazing frosting. If you can’t think of what they look like, here’s the website for reference. If you’ve never them, go to your grocery store immediately and buy the ingredients for this recipe as well as a box of the real deal. It’s not excessive. It’s just necessary.

Anywho – I’ve never had a bad batch. They literally melt in your mouth. I’m not sure if it’s some sort of preservative that we’ve never heard of, or just plain magic makes the cookies so soft, but I wouldn’t want the Lofthouse elves (or equivalent) to change a thing.

Averie, being the queen of all things delicious, came up with this copycat recipe to try to achieve that same combination of soft (not underdone) cookie and sweet, creamy frosting. As she acknowledges, they aren’t exactly like Lofthouse cookies, but they are still incredible. I prefer everything cooked no more than the amount of time called for in the recipe, and usually a little less depending on the recipe. Cooking time is essential with this recipe. Some people like crispy cookies. I get that. This is not the recipe to tweak to make them crispy. Because of the ingredients they will not get crispy. Instead they will just be dry, and no one wants that. I cooked mine about nine minutes for a full cookie sheet. I also love the idea to freeze this cookie dough for quick baking at a later date. Enjoy!

Lofthouse-Style Soft Peanut Butter Chip Sugar Cookies with Peanut Butter Frosting
Recipe from Averie CooksYield: about 13 medium cookies
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: about 8 minutes
Total Time: 3+ hours, for dough chilling

Ingredients:

Cookies

1 large egg
1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick), softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups cake flour (no substitutions)
2 teaspoons cornstach
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
pinch salt, optional and to taste
one 10-ounce bag Reese’s Peanut Butter Chips (about 1 2/3 cups)

Peanut Butter Frosting

1/3 cup creamy peanut butter (use Peter Pan, Jif, Skippy, etc. — Not
homemade or natural PB because they’ll separate and so will the
frosting)
1/4 cup unsalted butter (half of 1 stick), softened
1 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar
pinch salt, optional and to taste
splash cream or milk, if needed to achieve proper consistency
chocolate sprinkles, optional for garnishing

Directions:

For the Cookies – To the bowl of a stand mixer
fitted with the paddle attachment (or large bowl and electric hand
mixer), cream together the first 5 ingredients (through vanilla) on
medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the next 5
ingredients (through optional salt), and mix on low speed until just
incorporated, about 1 minute; don’t overmix.
Add the peanut butter chips and mix until just incorporated. Dough will be on the sticky and tacky side.
Using a medium 2-inch cookie scoop,
form heaping two-tablespoon mounds (I made 13). Place mounds on a large
plate, flatten mounds slightly, cover with plasticwrap, and refrigerate
for at least 3 hours, or up to 5 days, before baking. Do not bake with
warm dough because cookies will spread and bake thinner and flatter.
Preheat oven to 350F, line a baking sheet with a Silpat or
spray with cooking spray. Place mounds on baking sheet, spaced at least
2 inches apart (I bake 8 cookies per sheet) and bake for about 8 to 9
minutes, or until edges have set and tops are just beginning to set,
even if slightly undercooked, pale and glossy in the center. Do not
overbake because cookies will firm up as they cool. Allow cookies to
cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes before transferring to a
wire rack to finish cooking. Meanwhile, make the frosting.
For the Peanut Butter Frosting –
To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or large
bowl and electric hand mixer), combine the peanut butter and butter,
and beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
Slowly add the sugar, optional salt, and mix until frosting comes together.
Add a splash of cream or milk as necessary to achieve desired consistency.
Add a generous dollop (about 2 tablespoons) to each cookie, and smooth it as desired with a knife or spatula.
Optionally garnish with sprinkles or chocolate chips. Serve immediately.

Note from Averie: Cookies will keep airtight at room temperature for a few days or in
the refrigerator for up to 1 week. I’m okay with leaving buttercream
frosting at room temperature for a couple days; if you aren’t,
refrigerate the cookies, knowing they’ll dry out more. Unbaked cookie
dough can be stored airtight in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or
frozen for up to 4 months, so consider baking only as many cookies as
desired and save the remaining dough to be baked in the future when
desired.

Cola Cake with Broiled Peanut Butter Frosting

Ever since I was 13 years old I have not drank soda. I just sort of decided one day that I was perfectly happy drinking water with food and to quench my thirst so why waste the calories? I’ve always had this terrible pet peeve with drinking my calories (same reason why I turned to vodka shots in college rather than mixed drinks, etc). Gotta say though, it’s kind of terrible for a non-obese 13 year old to be thinking that way. Oh, the society we live in…

Anyways, later in life I campaigned against soda simply because I consider it to be like poison for your body. My Husband was vastly disappointed that I would never let it into the house. The rule is and always will be- you can buy it for yourself as you’d like, but I will not allow it to become a staple in my house. It’s just not fair for me to say “you can’t have it”. I am simply not that controlling haha So he indulges on occasion when he grabs lunch at a fast food place usually. Well, while he was deployed last November I bought a rack of coke to provide for the guys helping me move. They only drank two! That left me with 10 cans of cola that I didn’t really want lying around the house for my Husband. I had to think of ways to use up the cola.

Enter: Cola Cake! I had only ever skimmed by this recipe in one of my cookbooks. It was right next to a recipe for Milky Way Cake, neither of which I was ever particularly interested in making. However, I decided to turn to this recipe in my time of need. I knew it would be the perfect cake to take to my church luncheon. Almost the whole thing- gone!

I was surprised by the flavors of this cake, not too chocolatey, and definitely without a strong cola taste. The frosting- ubber delicious! Big fan of the frosting, probably more so than the cake. The cake left me wanting more chocolate flavor. It was moist enough with a nice fluffy texture, but I think the whole thing would have been better with my favorite Chocolate Cake and the broiled peanut butter frosting. But what’s the fun in that? A cola cake is just so fun and different!

Cola Cake with Broiled Peanut Butter Frosting

For the Cake:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
2 Tb Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 cup cola
½ cup buttermilk
2 large eggs
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1½ cups miniature marshmallows
For the Frosting:
6 Tb unsalted butter, softened
1 cup dark brown sugar (lightly packed)
⅔ cup smooth peanut butter
¼ cup whole milk
⅔ cup chopped salted peanuts

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter and flour one 9×13-inch cake pan.
For the cake, in a large bowl, combine the flour and the sugar, whisk to combine. In a medium bowl, combine the melted butter, cocoa, and cola and pour this into the dry mix. Stir until well blended. In another separate medium bowl, whisk together buttermilk, eggs, baking soda, and vanilla. Whisk into batter. Fold in marshmallows.
Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. While the cake begins to cool, make the frosting, which you should apply while the cake is warm.
Preheat the oven to broil and place the top rack 4 to 5 inches from the heat source.
For the Frosting: In a large bowl, combine the butter, brown sugar, and peanut butter. Stir in the milk and fold in the nuts. Spread the frosting evenly over the surface of the cake. Place the cake in the oven and broil 20 to 30 seconds, or until the frosting starts to bubble, rotating the cake for even cooking. Watch carefully: you want the frosting to bubble and to caramelize slightly; do not let it scorch.

Tagged as:
cake,
chocolate,
dessert,
nuts,
peanut butter,
peanuts

Nutella Swirled Banana Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

It’s almost time.

I can count on one hand the number of days I have left @ the Sweet Spot. I’ll soon be moving and un-veiling my new location!

Ohhhhh, the bittersweet excitement…

I am so excited and anxious that I decided to makes some stellar cupcakes. So stellar that they hit the cupcake right out of the cupcake park- so to speak.

And once I did, it was impossible for me to stop taking pictures of them.

They’re just so homey, yet fanciful.

And delicious! Oh boy, are these some yummy cupcakes!!

I modeled the recipe after my Nutella Swirled Peanut Butter Banana Bread that I made last year. The only thing that these cupcakes are missing from the banana bread are the chopped Reeses and chocolate chips. That’s an easy problem to solve though- sprinkle some chopped Reeses and mini chocolate chips on top! SCORE.

A killer moist banana cupcake with Nutella swirled right into the center, topped with a creamy peanut butter frosting!

Gosh. Bananas, Nutella, and peanut butter were just made for each other. I’m tellin’ ya.

Nutella Swirled Banana Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

For the Cupcakes:
½ cup butter, at room temperature
1-1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2 medium)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup buttermilk, at room temperature
½ cup Nutella
For the Frosting:
1 cup (8 ounces) butter, softened
¾ cup creamy peanut butter
3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 tablespoons milk

Preheat oven to 350°F and line two 12-cup muffin pans with paper liners.
In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on medium until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time beating, scraping after each addition. Add vanilla and banana. Mixture might curdle- that is okay.
In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Whisk to combine.
Add ⅓ flour mixture to butter mixture then ½ the buttermilk. Add another ⅓ flour mixture followed by remaining buttermilk, then remaining flour mixture. Only mix until each is just combined.
Fill muffin cups ½ full with batter.
In a small microwave safe bowl, microwave Nutella for 30 seconds and stir to loosen (more if necessary). Dollop 1 teaspoon Nutella on top of each cupcake. Swirl Nutella into cupcake with a toothpick, using a figure 8 motion.
Bake cupcakes 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into a Nutella-free section comes out clean. Remove from oven and set pan on wire rack to cool. Cupcakes might be sunken where the Nutella sits- that is normal.
FOR THE FROSTING: Cream butter and peanut butter together in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment until well combined and smooth. Add powdered sugar and mix on low until powdered sugar is absorbed. Add vanilla and milk. Beat on med-low for 2 minutes until fluffy and creamy. Spread on cooled cupcakes.

Tagged as:
banana,
cake,
cupcakes,
dessert,
nuts,
peanut butter