Cupcakes:
1-3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1-1/4 cups firmly packed dark brown sugar
6 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/3 cup peanut butter, smooth or chunky (I used smooth)
1 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
3.5 ounce bar bittersweet or dark chocolate, cut into 12 squares

Penuche Icing:
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1/4 cup peanut butter, smooth or chunky (I used smooth)
1/4 cup milk (I used skim)
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/8 tsp salt1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup powdered sugar

To make the cupcakes:

Preheat the oven to 350F. Lightly coat 6 Texas-size muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray or Baker’s Joy (I don’t have one of these, so we just used a regular muffin pan). Using a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a large bowl on medium speed for about

30 seconds. (I don’t have a KA mixer, but a handmixer worked just fine for us.) Add the butter, peanut butter, milk, and vanilla. Mix for 1 minute on medium-low speed. Add the eggs and beat for 1-1/2 minutes on medium-high speed. Fill the prepared muffin cups with batter halfway to the top. Place 2 squares of chocolate in the middle of the batter and add more batter to fill the muffin cups three-quarters of the way to the top.

Bake for around 30 minutes (shorter if you use a regular muffin pan), until the tops of the cupcakes are light brown and a toothpick stuck into the middle comes out with no crumbs clinging to it. (A bit of melted chocolate from the center may show, but that doesn’t count.)

Cool the muffins for 10 minutes before removing them from the pan. Let them cool on racks at least 5 minutes longer before frosting.

To make the icing:
Combine the butter, peanut butter, milk, brown sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring the mixture to a low boil and cook for 1-1/2 minutes without stirring. Take the pan off the burnder and cool about 30 minutes (do not let it sit longer than 30 minutes or the icing will not mix smoothly). Add the vanilla and powdered sugar. Using a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or the handmixer again for my fellow Kitchenaidless novice bakers), beat on medium speed until the icing is creamy and of spreading consistency, about 1 minutes. Ice the cooled cupcakes immediately.

These were the perfect addition to our Couch Potato Sunday, where the Panthers pulled out another nerve-racking, last minute, Steve Smithless win.