Banana Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

Bleh days.

I know you have these kind of days. Days where you feel like you don't want to talk to moms at drop-off because you didn't brush your teeth and there are crumbs from the morning's pancakes on your shirt. Days when you don't care that your son didn't cut out "one" picture to put under the word "one" and got red admonishments all over his assignment. We all needed a translator for that assignment.

Days when you don't want to check your email, walk the dogs, decide what to make for dinner. Fold laundry.

Bleh! That is pretty much every day.

Then there are days replete with sweet smelling flowers and colorful sprinkles. Days you don't care if your kids are arguing senselessly over a green cup. Days you aren't even remotely flustered by them fighting over who won the staring contest. Days you just know you are blessed.

You dream of what fatty and buttery recipe you will create to make every thing a little better. These cupcakes will make you smile. Smile. Look at them! You can't take your eyes off of them. They are just good. Cupcakes have that effect.

Of course these cupcakes are good. They should be with a whole stick of butter and a half a cup of sour cream in them. The bananas have to be perfectly ripe. Not ripe where they are baby food consistency. That is just gross. Toss those bananas away. You could maybe even eat them without the peanut butter frosting. Not the best choice. But still good.

Ingredients


1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
2 very ripe large bananas, peeled
1/2 cup sour cream
1 1/2 t vanilla
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temp
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk


Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Line 12 standard (1/3-cup) muffin cups with paper liners. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl to blend. Mash bananas with fork in another medium bowl until smooth. Mix sour cream and vanilla into bananas.Using electric mixer, beat sugar and butter in large bowl until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg and egg yolk and beat until well blended. Add flour mixture in 3 additions alternately with banana-sour cream mixture in 2 additions, beginning and ending with flour mixture and beating just until blended after each addition. Divide batter among prepared muffin cups (generous 1/4 cup for each).Bake cupcakes until tester inserted into center of each comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer cupcakes to rack and let cool completely.


Peanut Butter Frosting


1 1/2 cups powdered sugar (I think I added a couple extra Tablespoons)
1  8 oz. package cream cheese, room temp
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temp
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter (not natural)
chopped, salted roasted peanuts


Sift powdered sugar into large bowl. Add cream cheese, butter, and peanut butter. Using electric mixer, beat mixture until smooth. Spread frosting over top of cupcakes, dividing equally. Sprinkle lightly with chopped peanuts.

A man waiting for a bus on Miami Beach. A cupcake would have made him smile. September 2010.

Sunset on Miami Beach, September 2010. Sunsets make me smile