Because you can't have enough cupcakes.

Dan's birthday was on Tuesday, so I made him a sizable quantity of cupcakes. A couple people requested the recipe for my chocolate peanut butter cupcakes, so here they are.

I will say the general ideas were my own, but parts of the actual recipes were not. The chocolate cupcakes were from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World, and the homemade peanut butter cups were from The Kind Diet. All of the recipes I've tried from both books have been excellently delicious and amazing, SO BUY THEM.

Vegan chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter frosting and homemade peanut butter cups

These cupcakes are like two desserts in one. Start these the day before serving them. The peanut butter cups need to hang out in the fridge for a while before you can use them. I have not been able to find graham crackers without honey, but you can make these completely and irrefutably vegan if you can.

FOR THE PEANUT BUTTER CUPS

1/2 c. Earth Balance butter

3/4 c. crunchy peanut butter

3/4 c. graham cracker crumbs

1/4 c. sugar

1 c. vegan chocolate chips

1/4 c. soy milk

Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.

Melt the butter in a saucepan. When it's melted, add the peanut butter, graham cracker crumbs and sugar. Mix until it's all melty. Divide the peanut butter mixture among the muffin cups. 

Combine the chocolate and soy milk in a small saucepan. Stir over medium heat until chocolate has melted. Spoon chocolate evenly over the peanut butter mixture. Place in the fridge to set at least two hours (but probably more)

FOR THE CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES

1 c. soy milk

1 t. apple cider vinegar

3/4 c. sugar

1/3 c. canola oil

1 t. vanilla extract

1 c. all-purpose flour

1/3 c. cocoa powder

3/4 t. baking soda

1/2 t. baking powder

1/4 t. salt

1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line muffin pan with paper liners.

2.) Whisk together soy milk and vinegar in a cup to curdle. 

3.) In a separate bowl, whisk together dry ingredients

4.) In a mixing bowl, mix together sugar, oil and vanilla. Add the soy milk mixture and beat until foamy. Add the dry ingredients and beat until no large lumps remain.

5.) Fill cupcake liners three-quarters of the way. Bake 20 minutes until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer cupcakes to a cooling rack and let cool completely.

FOR THE PEANUT BUTTER FROSTING

1/2 c. Earth Balance butter

1/4 c. Crisco

2/3 c. creamy peanut butter

3 t. vanilla extract

2 1/2 c. confectioners' sugar

2 to 4 T. soy milk or almond milk

1.) With an electric mixer, beat together Earth Balance butter and Crisco. Add peanut butter and vanilla and beat until smooth. 

2.) Beat in confectioners' sugar. The mixture will be very stiff. 

3.) Add soy milk one tablespoon at a time until frosting reaches a spreadable or pipe-able consistency. 

ASSEMBLY

1.) Slap the frosting into a pastry bag fitted with a large-ish tip. 

2.) Pipe frosting onto cupcakes. It doesn't need to be perfect because you'll be ruining your beautiful frosting mountains in a second.

3.) Unwrap the chilled peanut butter cups and shove them into the frosting. 

4.) Take a picture and post it on Facebook to impress all of your friends with your madd cooking skillz.

5.) Devour cupcakes.