Flourless Peanut Butter Chocolate Cupcakes with Vegan Chocolate Frosting

Welcome to the 93rd weekly edition of...

Thank you for joining us! If you're new to this carnival and would like to enter your post, please check HERE for the rules and regs.

YOURS: This week's "YOURS" goes to Jessica over at Moneyless Mommas! She posts a recipe on how to make your own chocolate syrup, and since I'm totally into chocolate, and we have a milk cow, I love the idea of making my own syrup. For Jessica's recipe, click HERE. Thank you so much, Jessica, for linking up and please feel free to take the "I Was Featured" button from my left sidebar. We'll look forward to hearing much more from you in the future!

MINE: Flourless Peanut Butter Chocolate Cupcakes with Vegan Chocolate Frosting

I have a new best friend. I've introduced you to her before, but I'm going to do it again, because I just can't get enough of her. Now, our relationship is a bit one-sided, in that I'm pretty sure she doesn't know I exist, but still, no prob.

Her name is Elana and I have totally been loving her recipes! They are all gluten-free, and it's not that I or anyone in my family have a wheat allergy, but I don't like using white flour and sometimes using 100% whole wheat flour in confections just doesn't do the trick.

Apparently it was cupcake month on her blog, and since I've been faithfully following her for the past three weeks or so, it's become cupcake month for me, too!

We just loved these peanut butter chocolate cupcakes. If you check out her post on this, you'll see that she used whole nuts to garnish the frosting. I, on the other hand, since I knew some of the kids wouldn't really dig whole nuts on their cupcakes, finely chopped my nuts and sprinkled them on instead. One way to get nuts really finely chopped is to partially chop them, then leave the nut chopper and the nuts out on the counter and if things go as planned, every kid who walks by will reflexively grab the chopper and the chop the nuts even further...

I certainly could not have foreseen this happening, but it did, and we ended up with lovely, super-fine nut topping...

(I had to share this picture because I'm in love with my $.99 two-tier confection server purchased from my favorite Good Will store!)

Oh, I almost forgot to mention that these cupcakes turn out a little "sinky", to use Elana's word, meaning after they are baked, they have little wells in them. That's okay, though, because they can just be filled with extra frosting! So here's the recipe, and enjoy!

Ingredients

For the cupcakes:
* ½ cup natural creamy peanut butter
* ½ cup agave nectar
* 2 eggs
* ¼ teaspoon sea salt
* ¼ teaspoon baking soda
* 1 cup roasted peanuts, chopped
* ½ cup dark chocolate chips 73% cacao
For the frosting:
* 1 cup dark chocolate chips 73% cacao
* ½ cup oil
* 2 tablespoons of agave nectar
* 1 tablespoon vanilla
* Pinch sea salt
* 1 to 2 cups powdered sugar

Directions

For the cupcakes:

1. With a hand mixer, combine peanut butter, agave and eggs.

2. Blend in baking soda and salt.

3. Fold in chocolate.

4. Spoon ¼ cup-fulls into cupcake papers and bake at 350 degrees F for 20 to 25 minutes.

For the frosting:

1. Over very low heat, melt together chocolate and oil.

2. Mix in agave nectar, vanilla and salt.

3. Place mixture in the freezer for about 15 minutes.

4. With a hand mixer, add in enough powdered sugar until frosting reaches desired consistency.

5. When cupcakes are cool, spread with frosting.

Direct recipe link: http://keyingredient.com/recipes/326211/

OURS: Okay, I'm so looking forward to reading your tips, recipes, and homemaking strategies today. Thank you so much for linking up and visiting and I hope you have a wonderful Homemaker Monday!