Baking Season

After my long hiatus there is lots to update on! Back in August I signed up for a fitness challenge for a local gym called Arete Community fitness. Through this gym they offer video workouts, meal plans, and a support group via Facebook. I knew it was going to become a busy time at work and I needed to be held accountable to continue working out and eating somewhat healthy. This challenge was just what I needed to get on track and find a routine that worked for me!

Since joining my first challenge, I've completed two total, I have begun to find a love for being in the kitchen. I always somewhat enjoyed cooking but often viewed it as a chore when I got home from work. Don't get me wrong, there are still evenings that it feels just like that... a chore, but I have grown to find pleasure in being in the kitchen. I've taken this time to learn new things since I never truly felt like I was a cook. However, I have slowly become better and have found myself feeling more comfortable in the kitchen.

Through these challenges I have been forced to plan our meals out weekly. So our routine is this- I sit down Sunday morning when we wake up and decide what we will have for dinner and create a grocery list. This way when I get off work I don't have to question what we are having for dinner. I can come home and get straight to work. Which doesn't seem like it should have been too hard to figure out but I needed someone to get me started!

Anyways, after we grocery shop I'll come home and prepare things for the week. Today, I was feeling festive, which means I wanted to bake and decided to bake cupcakes I found in a cookbook a couple weeks ago!

I have always wanted to learn how to make those delicious cupcakes you can find in bakeries and although I don't believe I have perfected that yet, these were a great start! Forgive me for the lack of photos! I was sharing them via snapchat with my family but forgot to save them. Regardless there is a nice finished product at the end!

Peanut Butter Chip Cupcakes

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon fine sea salt

¾ cup buttermilk, shaken

1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, slightly softened

¾ cup lightly packed dark brown sugar

⅔ cup unsalted natural creamy peanut butter

2 large eggs

¾ cup semisweet chocolate chips

• Preheat oven 350 degrees. Line 12-cup cupcake pan with paper liners
• In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. In a small bowl, stir together the buttermilk and vanilla.
• In the bow of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, brown sugar, and peanut butter on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce the speed to medium-low, add the eggs one at a time, and beat until creamy. 1 to 2 minutes. Slowly add half the flour mixture, then the buttermilk  mixture, then the remaining flour mixture beating until just blended after each addition. Stir in the chocolate chips.
• Divide the batter evenly among the liners (the batter will come to the very tops of the liners) and bake until the tops are just dry to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer the plan to a wire rack and cool completely before frosting with peanut butter frosting

Peanut butter frosting(makes 2 cups)

¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

¾ cup unsalted natural creamy peanut butter

¼ teaspoon fine sea salt

1 ½ confectioners sugar, sifted

1 tablespoon whole milk

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, peanut butter, and salt on medium-high speed until creamy, 1 to 2 minutes. Reduce the speed to low, gradually add the confectioners sugar and beat until just incorporated. Add the milk, increase the speed to medium-high and beat until the frosting is light and spreadable, 1 to 2 minutes.