WWE: Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Filling

adapted from Rachel Farnsworth

makes 3 dozen cupcakes


Chocolate Cupcakes

3 cups all-purpose flour

3 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tbsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp salt

4 eggs

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

1 1/2 cups warm water

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 tsp vanilla extract

Peanut Butter Cream Filling

1 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup butter, melted

1/2 cup powdered sugar

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Line muffin tins with cupcake liners. 
3. Mix together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt on low speed until combined.
4. Add eggs, buttermilk, warm water, oil, and vanilla.  Beat for two minutes on medium speed until smooth. Scrape the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl to fully incorporate the ingredients.
5. Fill each cupake 2/3 full, a little over a 1/4 cup for each muffin.
6. Bake for 20-22 minutes until toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean.  Remove from tins and let cool completely.
7. Make the peanut butter cream filling by mixing together the peanut butter, melted butter, and powdered sugar in a bowl  using a hand mixer.  Transfer the filling to a pastry bag with a large open tip.  Insert the tip into the top of each cooled cupcake and squeeze about a tablespoon of filling into it.  Be careful not to inject too much or it may split the cake.
8. Frost each cupcake before serving.

Creamy Chocolate Frosting

from allrecipes.com

makes enough to frost 12 cupcakes

Ingredients

2 3/4 cups confectioners' sugar

6 tbsp unsweetened coca powder

6 tbsp butter, softened

5 tbsp milk

1 tsp vanilla

Instructions

1. In a medium bowl, sift together the confectioners' sugar and cocoa, and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream butter until smooth, then gradually beat in half the sugar mixture with 3 tbsp of milk.  Then beat in the remaining sugar mixture and 2 tbsp of mlik.  Blend in vanilla.  Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy.  If necessary, adjust consistency with more milk (if too thick) or more sugar (if too thin).

Printable Recipe

Post Script

A very happy byproduct of regular visits to the library is that Jonah now adores books.  He'll often run to one of us with a book in hand and eagerly ask, "wee? wee? WEEEEEE?!" (Translation, "read? read? REEEEEAAD?!")  That last, insistent request is a bit louder because we sometimes are not as quick to DEAR (remember "Drop Everything And Read"?) as he'd like.  Because sometimes we are in the middle of making dinner when the request is made.  Or in the bathroom.  Or currently operating a motor vehicle.  Sometimes DEAR-ing is not that feasible.  Or safe.

But it's endearing and really cute all the same.

Blurry, but I love this one.

Taking a quick Lego break.  Because he must be just like his big brother in all possible ways even when he's away at school.

Daddy's reward for reading to the Jone bones.

Jonah Time: The Library

One of Jonah's favorite things to do every week is go to the library for story time.  He excitedly says, "wi-bee, wi-bee!" when I ask him if he'd like to go.  It's high on my list of favorite things to do with him because it takes just the right amount of energy from me (which is little to none), someone else does the reading/singing/dancing, and it's free (well, sort of.  I like to think of our library fines as rather generous compensation). 

So by golly, we make sure to go every week.

We've gone so regularly now that he's got his own little routine when we get there.  He runs ahead of me as soon as I set him down to slap the button which opens the doors.  It opens by the time I get there and we walk in together.  We walk down the long hallway, hang a left at the circulation desk, at which point he makes a beeline for the librarian's desk in the children's section where the librarian gives him a stamp (usually a teddy bear) on each hand, along with two tickets for story time (one for him and one for me).  He makes it his job to hang on to those two tickets until the appointed time.  And if we're early, he'll head straight to these giant wooden activity blocks.  Still clutching those two tickets.

These bead puzzles keep him plenty occupied for a long while which keeps him from scampering off and running amok in the library and keeps me from having to leave my dignity and usually my purse behind as I try to chase after him.  Little booger can be pretty fast.

So the remains of my dignity and unstolen purse thank you, bead puzzles.

I'm beginning to think a lot of thought has gone in to these strategically placed bead puzzles throughout the children's section.  Must not be this library's first rodeo with littles.

Still clutching his two tickets.

Yet another strategically placed wooden puzzle area.

Hooray, for now story time is upon us!  You'd think he'd be unwilling to part with his tickets after hanging on to them for so long, but no, this is not his first story time rodeo either.  So the librarian stands outside the door and holds a little basket out for each person to drop their ticket in before entering the little circular room.  Jonah drops both of our tickets in the basket and marches in to pick out where he wants us to sit.  Usually it's up in the third row.  And much to my surprise (because the older three siblings mostly stayed parked next to me when they did story time), Jonah marches right down to join the librarian when she invites them down to sing and dance and move around.

Course, he does check back periodically to make sure I'm still where he left me.

Especially when they're doing the "Tooty-ta" song.

And story time usually ends right about when it's nap time, so we hustle on back home to get in his nap before it's time to go collect his siblings from school.

But like I said, we go every week, so here we are again!

And this day, we went to the earlier story time so Jonah still had enough in him to look at a book before heading home (he didn't the week before).

He's a big Curious George fan (who he knows as Georgie).

Georgie, like bead puzzles, has the ability to keep him in one place for a good bit of time.  For this, I am thankful.

"What are you doing over there, Mommy?  You're so weird."

Whatever.  Back to Georgie.

See ya next week, wi-bee.  And thanks.

Time with Daddy

Phil recently purchased two tickets for each of the remaining UCLA football home games.  I was puzzled.  Two tickets... six of us... I'm admittedly not the math whiz of the family, but this one surely did not compute.  He reasoned that it was way too expensive and not really feasible for all of us to go to all the games so he figured for future seasons that we could make it to one game all together, and the rest he could go for one-on-one time with each of the kids or sell the ones he couldn't make due to work.

I thought the one-on-one time was an especially great idea.

And our little Allie-girl got to be the first to go on a UCLA daddy date.

They were running a little late (and hit major traffic on the way over) so we took just a couple pictures before they hit the road.

Phil texted me a couple pictures once they got there.  Allie was all smiles and was a trooper even though they didn't get back to almost midnight (!) due to more traffic on the way back.

She is totally her daddy's girl.

So fun to see our kids getting to spend such special time with their daddy.  So glad he thought of this!

With Our Thanks

I'm really excited to share today's post with you in honor of Veteran's Day and in honor of those who are currently serving our country.  For a while now, I've wanted to do something beyond just saying thanks to show our deep appreciation for those who willingly go to protect our country and the freedoms we enjoy.  Their courage and bravery mean so much and I wanted even some small way to be involved in showing our appreciation.  And I wanted our kids to know how important it is to show our thanks as well.

The only thing is, I had not the faintest idea where to start.

But last month, seemingly out of the blue (but I know was God-ordained), an opportunity to send a care package to a soldier not receiving anything from home fell into my lap.  Through facebook of all places.  It was the brother of a girl on fb who is currently serving overseas who noticed some guys in his unit not receiving any care packages and asked his sister if she could send a box to each guy.  Now how awesome is it of this guy to have a heart for his fellow soldiers to ask this of his loved ones back home?

Except she's a student herself and didn't have the budget to send one to each guy he listed.  So she asked a group on fb if we'd be willing to help.  And it was wonderful to see family after family excitedly sign up to send a package to encourage these soldiers who are far away from home that they're not forgotten and that what they're doing matters to all of us.

She also even posted links of ideas of things to include and I thought I'd compile a list here just in case anyone else is like me in wanting to do something like this but having no idea where to start.  I'll also post the links to the info (originally posted by soldiers themselves of what's actually useful for them).  I'm hoping you'll adopt a soldier too as just thinking about these men and women being far away from home with no boxes of love coming especially during these holiday months makes this mama's heart really sad.

So, first off, click here or here to adopt a soldier!  Both sites also have lists and suggestions of what to include in a care package.

Next, get the large size flat rate priority mail box from the post office.  There are special military priority mail flat-rate boxes (the same large size) available at the post office, but I think you have to ask at the counter for one.  It gets a discounted rate ($14.85) if it's going to an APO/FPO military address.  But I was told at our post office that the non-military flat rate box also gets the same discounted rate as long as it's going to a military address.  It's just that the military box looks cooler with a "America Supports You" message on it.  :)

And while you're at the post office picking up the priority mail boxes, pick up a few customs forms while you're at it.  You're required to declare what's in the box and its value since it is going overseas.  Saves time to fill it out at home and having everything ready before bringing the box back to mail (I found this out the hard way after standing in line at the post office then having to move aside to fill out the extra form with Jonah climbing all over his stroller instead of just sitting in it. Fun stuff.). 

Or!  I just found this out- you can call the postal service at (800) 610-8734 and request Care Kit 4 and they will mail the packing supplies (priority mail boxes, customs forms, a roll of tape) via priority mail to you for free!  Check the Department of Defense website or the USPS website for more info on this.

And finally, fill up the box with goodies to send to your soldier!  One site says it's okay to send home-baked goodies while the other one says not to.  So I'd say don't send any in the first box but ask your soldier if it's okay to send in a future box and see what he/she says.

Here's a quick list I compiled after reading through some websites' suggestions:

• beef jerky
• white or green knee length socks
• wet wipes
• chapstick (the good kinds)
• peanut butter
• shaving cream
• deodorant
• Axe body spray
• cotton sheet set
• Starbucks ground coffee
• small Christmas decorations
• hot chocolate packets
• Gummy bears/Skittles/Sour Patch Kid candies
• chocolate (but only during colder winter months)
• hand, feet, body warmers
• fleece blanket
• q-tips
• Ziploc bags
• books, magazines, DVDs (Mikey put in one of his favorite Calvin & Hobbes comic books to send to our soldier)
• hacky sack
• Sodoku or word puzzle books
• beanie babies (to pass out to local kids) 
• a personal note of thanks and your address/email in case your soldier wants to get in touch with you

Click here or here or here for more comprehensive lists of suggested things to send (and NOT to send).

So there you have it!  An easy way to encourage an active duty soldier and to let them know they're not forgotten and very much appreciated.  A great thing to do with your family especially during this holiday season.  Hope this helps and please leave a comment with any other suggestions or if I've left anything out.  Thanks for considering this!

And because no post feels complete without a picture, here's one of Allie taken four years ago on July 4th:

Happy Veterans Day!

Date Night

Whenever an opportunity to go out by ourselves presents itself, our answer is always YES.  Doesn't matter if it's just a quick lunch date, or errand running together, or catching a movie, or a whole weekend away, the answer is always YES.

For this I am so grateful.  Because to be able to go out together means that we still enjoy each other's company enough to want to be alone together.  It means that someone special is willing to care for our kids while we are gone.  It means we have enough to be able to enjoy a meal or activity together.  It means our marriage is still an important priority to us even after four kids and hectic schedules and sometimes overwhelming tiredness.

That's why our answer is always YES and why I will always love the time we get to spend together.

I left my camera at home since I just wanted to relax and enjoy our most recent night out.  But still ended up taking pictures with my phone anyway.  Something feels a bit off if I'm not taking pictures and I think Phil even feels it too.  So we had fun taking silly pictures of ourselves even if the quality of the photos weren't the best.

And I think that's what matters most in the end.

Phil's pick for the evening.

Per the menu- Baked imported brie cheese with arugula, pecans, cranberries and champagne vinaigrette.  We both really liked this even though Phil's usually not a big brie cheese fan.

Can't go to a French restaurant without ordering escargot.  At least according to Phil.

I braved the world of baked snails and powered down two before the realization of what I was eating sunk in.  Once the ick factor got to me, I could go no further so the remaining four were all for Phil.

The server had brought out a little sample of olives with grated parmesan cheese in these teeny tiny little bowls.  So of course we spent the rest of our meal pretending that everything we ordered came in teeny tiny little bowls. 

What?  Isn't this what normal, middle-aged (gasp!) adults out on a date night do?

But to be fair to Dominique's Kitchen (since we really enjoyed the food and service at this restaurant), here's Phil's real dinner plate.   Wild Boston sea scallops with crushed potatoes, shallots, parsley, garlic, lobster reduction au jus.

And mine- Slow braised beef short ribs with pinot noir, tomato, onion, garlic, vegetables and creamy mashed potatoes. Although I think I would go with the lamb next time.

And the light and lovely dessert- Panna cotta with berry compote.


An evening spent over delightful food and company, laughing and being silly together.  What a blessing it is to be married to my best friend.  Thank you Lord for sustaining our marriage, for growing and maturing us together, and for giving us these refreshing times to enjoy with each other.  You are so good to us.

Jonah Time: The Playdate

Having the older three in school means having daily time to focus on the Jonut.  I've been loving it (for the most part) and have been trying to keep the errand running, grocery shopping, chore doing to a minimum on most days.  Trying, but not always succeeding.

So we have about two and a half hours to eat, play, do stuff, or go somewhere and then he has about a two hour nap (HALLELUJAH) before it's time to go pick up the kids from school.

One day at church, a friend and I were chatting and agreed to get our boys together to play sometime.  The plans were set and when the day finally arrived, it occurred to me that this was going to be Jonah's very first playdate.  Ever.

Playdates for me have kind of evolved as my oldest kids have grown from gatherings more for the moms to get together while babies napped to getting our kids together for homeschool co-op learning to drop-off playdates so the other mom can go get stuff done.

So it's been quite a few years since I've been part of a toddler playdate and only realized how utterly playdate-deprived our fourth child has been once I saw how much fun this boy had with a buddy around his age.  Not his size though.  His friend is six months younger, but a good many inches taller than him.  Sigh.  Like our last name.

They banged on drums, they toted Nerf guns around, they cooked pretend food, they played with toy cars, they ate, they jumped, they made silly faces, they even had a little cry-fest at the same time.

It was such a momentous occasion in the life of Jonah that I had to get a few pictures.

Witness...

I thought it was very polite of each boy to look at his friend's mom's camera and smile.  Good thing too, because...

It sorta went downhill from there.

The sillies were surely setting in at this point.

And there was no reeling them back now.

Cuz no one can resist a good game of peekaboo, you know.

Then they decided we needed some music to liven up the place.  Good thing pictures are quiet. ;)

Lookit how intensely in-your-face happy my boy is while his buddy is all "Dude, relax. It's just a playdate, man."

Killing me.

Seriously, the boy had so much fun with his buddy that he learned the word "buddy" that day and insisted that M's name was actually "Buddy" whenever I tried to correct him.  He woke up from nap later that day asking for "Buddy" again.

Thank you, J and M for introducing my poor deprived son to the world of playdates.  He LOVED it.  And uh, sorry if our intense happiness was a bit... intense.  Please don't be afraid of us because now Jonah knows playdates are a real thing and is hoping to do it again sometime.  We promise to be cool next time.  :D