Peanut Butter Cup Cupcakes

My boss had a birthday this weekend. She also has four kids, a mom, and a husband at home, so as a 'gift' I decided to try out a cupcake recipe I'd wanted to try for awhile, with a twist....the rest will be passed out as quickly as possible before I give in to more than the half cupcake I tried to 'make sure they were edible.' I could try to argue that they cover the food groups: Protein, Dairy, and Chocolate, but I'll save the argument...for now. (Yes, I teach your future leaders.)
I saw a few versions of a Reese's Cakes, and I decided I wanted to spice it up with a cupcake version (surprise!). I decided to add a ganache to the peanut butter icing that would harden like 'the real thing.'
In the Beginning...
I'm not a fan of the 'just iced' cupcake look here.

Inside Edition

I gave one to my Mom, and one to my brother. My brother said they were good, very sweet (depending on the level of your sweet tooth, this can be good, or a warning). My Mom said it's one of her favorite things that I've made. I thought they tasted like a cupcake version of buckeyes. If you like things like this-I think you'll like these. If you don't, I'll eat yours. Here's the pieces of the recipe:
Make chocolate cupcakes (Forgive me, Martha-it came from a box this time.)
Peanut Butter Icing
I got this recipe from http://goodthingscatered.blogspot.com/2009/08/reeses-cake.htmlIngredients: 1 stick of butter (room temperature), 1 c. creamy peanut butter, 5 c. powdered sugar, sifted, 1/4-1/2 c. milk-divided, Reeses Peanut Butter Cups
Ganache
I got this recipe from MarthaStewart.com
Ingredients: 2 c. chocolate chips, 3 T. vegetable oil
1. For the cupcakes-one box only made 18 for me b/c I filled them really full (1/4 c. worth of batter).
2. For the icing-I mixed the room temperature butter, peanut butter, and 1/4 c. of milk, and then I gradually added the powdered sugar, and milk when it became hard to mix. I didn't end up adding all the sugar b/c it was just too shaggy. I spread a generous amount on each cupcake, and there was PLENTY, which I liked.
3. Place Reeses in the freezer, and then chop into small pieces, set aside (I pulled out one mini-candy per cupcake).
4. Melt chocolate, and add vegetable oil. Dip each cupcake in the chocolate.
5. Sprinkle the top of cupcakes with the Reeses pieces.
6. Let cupcakes dry, this particular chocolate will harden (think Dairy Queen, dipped cones-this is my favorite ganache). They are still wet in the photo....patience is a virtue I'm still working on acquiring.
Linking To:
Harrigan Howdy