How to Eat an Apple Cider Donut

Apple Cider Donuts.  Hands down the best fall food on the planet.  Say what you want about apple pie, pumpkin pie, fritters, fried this and fried that from the fairs.  Apple Cider Donuts are where its at.  And the best Apple Cider Donuts are found at Russell's Orchards in Ipswich, MA.

On a whim I took the girls apple picking Monday after school.  It was a little overcast and cloudy but a fine afternoon.  Besides, I needed apples.  The relentlessly begging coworkers wanted apple pie and I was overdue, apparently, for bringing in baked goods.  So, off we went to Russell's for apple picking.  Each girl got their own bag and filled them to the brim with Gala, Cortland and I think one Empire.  Once we were satisfied we got the best picks, we wandered off to the barn for Apple Cider Donuts.

On a busy day, this place just emanates the smell of hot fried greasy goodness of warm Apple Cider Donuts.  You smell it through the car windows as you drive down the driveway.  The lines on a Saturday just to get donuts have their own weaving queue inside.  As you stand there awaiting your hot squishy prize you can watch them make apple cider from a viewing area above.  The anticipation as you creep closer and closer is too much to stand and you think you'll go crazy until suddenly there you are.  In front of you, is an old fashioned white cabinet with silver knobs and glass window.  Inside are trays lined with perfectly stacked Apple Cider Donuts just ripe for the taking.  Removing a donut without squishing it takes a delicate hand as you place not just one, but no less than 6 in your bag.  Wait, stop!  Don't close it!  The delicacy of the Apple Cider Donut, specially a fresh one requires that it be aired until cool.  Not that they typically last that long anyhow, they are much better fresh and hot.  But few people do desire to take them home.   It's science.  Many a disappointed customer has sealed their bag on a hot donut only to find it a deflated pile of grease.  So leave your bag open and check out quickly.

So, of course, on a Monday there was no line.  The girls and I sauntered right up the white cabinet, no wait necessary and helped ourselves to a bag of 6.  Jumping up and down, the girls followed me to the car where the proceeded to munch on apples and their very own Apple Cider Donut for the ride home.  Not wasting any time, I too dipped into the bag of warmth and munched a Donut for the ride home.  Knowing I had 2 in there for husband, my personal second donut had better things waiting for it upon arrival at home.

Dinner went as scheduled, cleanup was handled, kids off to bed and there sat my Apple Cider Donut in its bag, calling my name.  But, a donut of this stature, at this point, needed something more.  So out came the ice cream and caramel drizzle sauce.  It's a little known fact that Apple Cider Donuts can be brought back to their warm, squishy, greasy goodness with just a 10-15 second zap in the Microwave.  And that's exactly what I did.  Warmed up my Apple Cider Donut, plopped a heaping scoop of Vanilla Bean (Turkey Hill Sugar Free) ice cream on the top and drizzled it in caramel sauce.  Yes.  Now this Apple Cider Donut was being given the respect it deserved.  Grab a fork, a glass of milk and savor each bite.

Oh yeah, and here's the result of all those apples.  Coworkers should be sufficiently satisfied today for breakfast.  I'm not posting the recipe for the pies, that, is a family secret.

More Muffins Please

There are some Saturday mornings I wake up, and if the kitchen counters are actually clear, I'm in an instant baking mood.  The girls will typically ask for pancakes and bacon, and often I will oblige, providing bacon exists in the "fridge-a-frator" (Karsyn) and it usually does.

But I was downstairs this week before they were.  And in the fruit basket hung 3 bananas, dangerously close to dropping to the counter from their precarious hanging spot because they were so overripe.  Gotta do something about that before the fruit flies start swarming.  Bread? Meh.  Boring.  Muffins!  Yay!  And why not add chocolate chips?  Muffins are always better with chocolate chips.  Heck, ANYTHING is better with chocolate chips.  Besides, if I made pancakes, they'd have chips in 'em too.  Oh yes, let's play.

Ingredients

• 3 overripe bananas
• 1.5 c flour
• 1/2 c sugar
• 1t baking soda
• 1 egg
• 1/4 c melted butter/margarine
• chocolate chips... just pour!

Mash the bananas in bowl until they are not quite pureed, but have a few small chunks.  Add to that the one egg and beat.  Add flour, add sugar, add baking soda, add butter.  Stir with spatula until just combined.  Spoon batter (will be thick) into muffin tins.    No need to grease them, and please, don't use cupcake papers... these are muffins, not cupcakes.
This will yield just about 12 muffins only.  Put into 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.  Let cool.

Kassidy couldn't devour them fast enough.  Best breakfast idea ever and it took me all of 35 minutes to make from mash to out of the oven.

But wait, there's more!!
As I put the 12 muffins in the oven, I realized that 12 just isn't enough.  I needed more.  But... bananas were gone.  Thinking, I remembered that I had overripe peaches I had sliced sitting in the fridge!  Yes, score!

Repeat recipe, substitute bananas with peaches.  And withhold the chocolate chips.  My only change I would make the the peach would be adding finely chopped pecans.  I did not do this since my girls don't like nuts.  But adding pecans to the peach muffins... Oh yeah, yum.  If you do this, let me know how it turns out.

But why stop there?  Kassidy asked if I could do lemon.  I did not do lemon on Saturday, but oh the possibilities of lemon and blueberry.

This recipe is SO versatile.  It's based off an old banana bread recipe I got from middle school.  So no muffin tins, no problem, drop the batter into a bread pan and bake for up to 45 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.  It's never failed me.  It's a thicker muffin, but so good with a cup of coffee and doesn't toss crumbs all over your lap like most muffins.  The biggest plus.

Steak Bomb Omelette for Breakfast

So, recently, a blog that I follow:  Good Morning Gloucester had a Steak Bomb challenge, to determine who had the best steak bomb in town.  Now, I can only go so long hearing about Steak Bombs before wanting one.  I, of course, nominated my personal preference joint Captain Hook's.  As of today, the results are not yet in, but if Captain Hook's doesn't win, I say the competition was rigged.  Regardless, all that talk of steak bomb made me hungry for one, so of course, Thursday I went out and got one.  Can't go wrong.  Soft sub roll, piled high with steak, peppers, onions, salami and cheese.  And... per the usual, my eyes were bigger than my head, so of course I only ate half of it.  Wrapped the rest up and put in in the fridge for all good intentions to eat over the weekend for lunch.

Only I didn't eat it for lunch.  Come Saturday morning, it was calling my name for breakfast.  That's right, breakfast.  But I couldn't in my right mind have a steak bomb for breakfast.  Or, could I?  What if I wrapped it around some eggs!? 

So that's just what I did!  I made myself a Steak Bomb Omelette! 
(You spelled that wrong, Jenn... no I didn't, see?) 

So, out came the eggs and my spatula to play.


Ingredients:

• 2 eggs
• 2 T milk
• Cooking spray
• Insides of 1/2 leftover Steak Bomb 

6.) Setting your omelette

1. Dig out the insides of your leftover steak bomb and saute them up in a frying pan.  
2. While they are heating, crack 2 eggs into a bowl with 2T milk and whisk until well combined.
3. Once steak bomb is heated through, set it aside on a plate.  
4. Coat your pan with cooking spray and return to the burner
5. Pour in your eggs, turn to med-high heat and let them set.
6. Lift the sides and let the raw egg run under, creating layers and making your flip easier with less raw egg on top.  See picture to the right.  As the side cook, lift and allow more raw egg to go under.
7. When enough raw egg is no longer on top and you feel comfortable to flip, flip the entire egg like a giant pancake.
8. Add the steak, and 1 slice of american cheese to the pan like picture to the right.

9. 

   8.) Adding the steak bomb

   Fold the egg over to close in the cheese and steak bomb
10. Remove from pan, add to your plate
11. Serve with coffee

 Eat & Enjoy

Ohm Nom Nom

Talk about the most satisfying breakfast I've had in a long time.  Steak, cheese, eggs, salami, peppers, onions, more cheese.  Yeah, that hit the spot.  Definitely doing that again.

Quick Ribs

I failed to take a picture last night.  Busy busy and frankly just flat out forgot.  My parents were coming over to see the girls for a couple of hours before they run off on vacation for the next month, so I needed to put something in the oven that required very little work.  Something that could sit and bake in there for a while.  Something that if it overcooked, would be a good/OK thing.

At the local grocery store over the weekend I had happened upon a package of pre-sliced pork ribs.  8 of them.  I LOVE ribs.  We know this from past posts.  But the idea of keeping the oven on in this sweltering heat the past week has not been too appealing.  But what if I could cook fewer ribs, already cut, for less time?  Well then that would certainly work.  Oh, and I grabbed a bottle of my favorite BBQ sauce, knowing that this week I wasn't going to have time or patience to make my own, though I do have a great recipe for one.

I like my ribs tender and to be pullable off the bone without too much effort, but I also prefer that they not literally fall off the bone.  And this combination totally got them there.

So, into my 2.5qt CorningWare covered dish went my ribs to play.
Followed by 1/2 bottle of sauce, maybe a smidge less and.
Lid on and nto a 350 degree cold oven.  Meaning, I had JUST turned it on and put the ribs in as it was warming.
Let them get all happy until about 6:30.
I believe I turned them at least once so both sides could get wet.

Served them up with peas and buttered egg noodles.
Both girls PLOWED through them.
Success.  Will definitely be doing this again.

No Mimosa, No Problem

Tonight was breakfast for dinner.  Nothing special, just pancakes from Joy of Cooking, bacon and sausage.  Sided up with orange juice for the girls.  Kassidy has been asking to have pancakes all week, and I kept putting it off and putting it off.  So last night I told her fine we'll do breakfast for dinner and do it right, for tonight. While there were no Mickey Mouse pancakes this evening, I did toss in some dark chocolate chips.

I chose today as Day 1 in potty training for Karsyn.  So.  Today was a long day.  I'm glad I chose breakfast for dinner.  Nothing better than comfort food, and something easy, while not quick, was certainly in order.  But as 6:00 rolled around, I needed more than just comfort food.  With a fresh bottle of orange juice in the fridge and breakfast being put on the table, a cocktail was indeed being called for.  Yet, the breakfast standard mimosa could not be made as my stock of champagne was fresh out.  It's one that honestly I don't keep stocked.

So, what to do?  Open the cabinet and see what I can find of course!  And voila, have fun, I did indeed.  This turned out to not only be a great substitute for Mimosas, but dare I say better??

Ingredients:
Orange Juice
Triple Sec
Coconut Vodka
Blue Curacao
Ice

• Place 3 or 4 ice cubes in the bottom of your drink shaker.
• 2.5 shot classes of the coconut vodka
• 1.5 shots of triple sec
• pour orange juice to fill the shaker
• Shake vigorously
• pour drink into martini glass
• pour about .5 shot glass of the blue curacao into the glass and watch it settle

Enjoy!

Mama's Mochachino

Believe it or not, when ChocoVine is used as a mixer ingredient, it's pretty good!

Just pour together to your taste and add milk. Optional, add vodka, oh yes.

Ribs Revisited

This past weekend, was a 3 day weekend.  And lucky me, my youngest daughter woke up sick on Saturday morning.  We spent the day at my in-laws where she filled several diapers and I got thrown up on, as did my car on the ride home that night.  Sunday was a good day, Monday was not (for many reasons but personal and public).  While at the grocery store on Saturday, while I got a small chance to escape, I saw ribs on sale.  I get pork ribs perhaps once, maybe twice a year.  They're not always affordable , and they're time consuming to make.  But so worth it.  But I did not purchase said ribs on Saturday. No, I let them go, and went about the sick weekend yearning for that ooey goodness of BBQ sauce slathered on mouth watering pork.  Fast forward to Tuesday where I ended up at home from work since daughter was still sick and I was determined to finally purchase this delectable delight.  Hopefully, still on sale.  And they were.

Due to the aforementioned terrible sick weekend, and the tragedy at the Boston Marathon, it was important that I restore some mental normalcy, if not in the household, than at least my own brain.  And this meant putting on a spread.  Which, in my mind from the weekend, was ribs, asparagus and to appease my 5 year old, french fries.  I'm a semi-homemade mom, so the french fries this time did come out of a bag, but the ribs, oh no, I played.

I like to give my ribs a dry rub massage with their 300 for 3 bake.
And, as you know, I don't measure.  Simply shake/pour on in your desired amount.


Here are the ingredients for today's version of ribs.

• Salt/Pepper
• Garlic Salt
• Onion Powder
• Cumin
• Coriander
• Chili Powder

Sprinkle it all on at your desired taste and just rub it right in.  Get dirty, and love the meat.

 Place the ribs into a roasting pan.  I like to put a rack on the bottom, we are steaming them in the roast pan more than we are boiling them.

This gives the juice the ability to drain to the bottom and the ribs keep their spices attached.

Cover the roasting pan and place into the oven at 300 degrees for 3 hours.




Once your 3 hour timer goes off.  Take them out of the oven, keep the lid on and just let them sit inside the roasting pan on your counter.  Meanwhile, get your grill nice and hot, as hot as you can.  I kept mine about 400 degrees for this yesterday.

Slather your ribs with your favorite BBQ sauce and place them meat side down on the grill.  Cover the lid, turn your burners down to low, we are now aiming for a nice 300 degree grill.
Leave them be for about 10 minutes.
Open the lid, turn them over.  Let 'em sit for 10 more.  Apply more BBQ sauce as necessary and as wet as you like them. Repeat process until they are at the desired texture for you.  I left them on here for a total of 30 minutes, long enough to start cooking my sides and get the table set.

 

 When they're done, slice them up for your desired serving size, 1 to 2 ribs per slice.
As I said, I served these up with Asparagus and french fries.  They were oh so yummy.  Wet paper towel required.

A little bit of Sunshine!

2 parts coconut vodka
1 part triple sec
2 parts pineapple juice

Into a shaker over 3 ice cubes.
Shake, pour, enjoy!

A Meatloaf Makeover

Today was a snow day.  Both my work and my husband's work were open, but with 2 hour delays.  Leaving the children unattended since day care and preschool were closed was not an option.  The coin was tossed and it was unanimously decided by the husband that I was to stay home.  There really was no coin.  Apparently he lives by Sheldon's rule of voting. (The Roommate Agreement, Controversial Clauses)  Anywho, I settled in for the day.  Got a solid 3 hours of work in before having to fly solo for the day, so one could say that I was "successfully working from home."  Hey, I got to drink a hot cup of coffee.  That's rare, even at work.

Sunday, the decision had been made to make meatloaf this week.  I had defrosted the meatloaf trio (pork, veal, beef) and it was just sitting cold, waiting to go.  Sunday ended up as New England Boiled dinner with family.  Monday, well Monday went the way of Kraft for the kids and Chinese for us.  Which meant, meatloaf HAD to be tonight.

Now, if you've ever had to work from home with a 5 year old and a 2 year old, you know that the day never goes as planned.  While you may not actually get dressed, you still get absolutely nothing done, due to the cost of dedication to connect and check e-mail.  My oldest is thankfully now at an age where I can somewhat trust that's she OK in her room doing her thing.  Of course, recent history has proven this statement wrong as we have found marker on floors, doors, walls and clothes, but hey, she's learned her lesson by now...... right?  God I hope.  The 2 year old however, it another ball game altogether.  Can't take my eyes off her for a minute!  So knowing the day was not going to be easy, I knew I wasn't going to want to deal with dinner at 5, let alone anything later like 6 or even 7.  And I couldn't go another night with not cooking.  We've had take out, or hot dogs, nuggets and whatnot far too much recently.  So meatloaf had to be cooked, today.

Light bulb!  Crock pot.  That wonderful invention of 8 hour slow cooking.  Toss everything in, set it, forget it, and love it later.  I personally grew up on crock pot food.  My mom made the BEST pot roast in the world.  No man (or woman for that matter) could out do her roast.  And even though I have the recipe, it still doesn't hold a flame to hers.  So, a quick google search produced that you can, indeed, actually cook a meatloaf in the crock pot.  How interesting.  It shall be done.

So.  Mixed up my meat.  Formed said loaf.  Dropped it into the bottom of the pot.  Turned it on.  Walked away. .  .  .  Wait.  What about sides?  I don't want to have to worry about that later.  Ugh.  Now what?  Well, it's a crock pot, throw stuff in!  Turned off the crock, pulled out the loaf.  Rummaged through my cabinets and fridge.  Produced a couple of carrots, a few yellow potatoes and a turnip (aka. rutabaga depending on what side of the Mississippi you live on)  Peeled, chopped big and put them in the bottom (after spraying with cooking spray).  Hrm.. now the loaf.  Going back into my cabinets, I produced the inside of a 2 piece meatloaf pan.  You know, the ones where the juices are supposed to run through but just down into the other pan?  Balanced that baby on top of the veggies inside the pan and still had room to put the lid on.  Voila.  Yeah, this'll work!  Turned the crock pot back on, set for 8 hours.

5:30 all was done.  House smelled good.  Meatloaf temp was right!  Veggies were done.
The verdict?  The 5 year old devoured it, no ketchup.  The 2 year old, yeah well she's 2, so between the ups and downs in her seat she eventually ate all of it.  Husband.. ate it!  Didn't love it, but certainly did not get the reaction I did with the apple-sauce pork.

As the creator... I have to say it wasn't terrible.  The veggies were great!  I had modified my recipe for the meatloaf (again) and left out a few things like the chopped mozzarella, so the loaf dried out a bit.  Changes for the next time I do this, and there WILL be a next time, would be to make sure i have the mozzarella in there, and I think I will be putting the loaf right into the pot, no extra pan so it can stew in it's own juices, and pile the veggies around them. 

Good experiment.  Fun to play and was for sure a time saver.

Not Your Average Chicken & Corn Chowder

Every once in a while I get in the mood for soup.  Which is great, because soup is so easy to make, and there are so many different ways to make the same soup, adjusting ingredients to your individual liking or taste at the time.  I don't think I've ever made the same soup twice.  The bad part is, I have yet to figure out how to make soup for 1, with a couple nights' leftovers.  When you make soup, you make for the masses.  One of these days I will have to master how to make soup for 5, and not 25.  See, I'm the only one in the household who will eat soup.  5 year old girls tend to be picky eaters at this phase, 2 year olds don't yet have the ability to manage it on a spoon, and well husbands... the one in my house just doesn't like soup.  And that's OK.  More for me!

Several weeks ago, some time around Valentine's Day, my mother in law throws this really fun party for the adult women of the family.  Much laughter, as you can imagine.  This year, I was unable to attend, but was there to drop my girls off for the afternoon.  Her menu for the party that day included Corn Chowder.  She makes a great corn chowder.  After finishing two and a half bowls of it quickly before we had to leave, I was determined to get it on the menu at my house in the following weeks.  And wouldn't ya know... Sunday night, I made a roast chicken.  How convenient for me, now I can make my own stock.  Score! 

I like chicken in my corn chowder.  Growing up, my dad was a Boy Scout Executive leader, and there was this one troop that had a chicken and corn chowder meal every year.  Raising funds for some project or another.  Well, the gentleman who was in charge of making the chicken and corn chowder had the most amazing recipe.  I have never had another like it.  So I always think back to that, and eventually I will find my recipe falling into that memory.

So, last night was Chicken & Corn chowder.  I didn't even bother with a recipe, I figured I could get it close enough.  I had a general idea of what is supposed to go into it and what it supposed to taste like.  I must say, I was right on.

Chicken Stock

One leftover roast chicken.  Put it in a large pot, fill with water to just 1 inch over the height of the bird, and boil it for about 3 hours.  Not a high boil, but a medium simmer.  You shouldn't have to add too much extra flavoring to this, since your chicken should have already had flavor to it when you roasted it.  We're going to add flavor to this stock later anyhow when we make it soup.  Once the 3 hours are up, you'll want to drain the stock into a collander over another large stock pot or bowl to save for later.  Keeping the bones out, but retaining the stock.

SOUP Time!


Ingredients
4-6 cups chicken stock
Chicken, shredded or cut into small pieces (as much as you like)
4-6 carrots (chopped to 1/2 inch pieces or smaller)
4-6 celery stalks (chopped to 1/2 inch pieces or smaller)
1 medium vadallia onion (chopped to 1/2 inch pieces or smaller)
2 cans sweet corn
1 can creamed corn
1 dozen small (golf ball size) red potatos - can't find the golf ball size, then adjust accordingly - chop in to bite size pieces
1 pint Light Cream
Olive Oil
Salt/Pepper


In the bottom of a stock pot, drizzle the olive oil and heat to med-high heat.  Add your carrots, celery and onion.  This is a classic mirepox, or the holy trinity, of soup. Some people use this in just making the stock only and then dispose of it.  In this case, I like a colorful soup.  If it's not fun to eat, then why eat it?  I decided to leave these in.

Add salt and pepper.  Saute over medium heat until they are soft and the onions become translucent.  Don't rush this part, the longer they sit and marry, the better the flavor.  If you get a touch of burning on the bottom, that is ok, it's not actual burning, it's "fond" which I've talked about in past posts.  You'll scrape this off once you add the stock.

Once the mirepox is soft and translucent, add the corn and creamed corn.  Give them a good stir and let saute for just a moment.  Then add your chicken stock.  So how much?  How thick do you like your chowder and how much soup are you making?  Start by adding 4 cups and go from there.  After you add just 4 cups of stock, add the whole pint of light cream.  Stir everything together.  If you need more stock, adjust accordingly as you add the potatoes and chicken.  Bring the heat to high to boil 1-2 minutes, watching not to burn the milk.  Turn back to low and simmer until potatoes are tender.

Remove from heat, let cool so you don't burn your tongue... enjoy!

Hazelnut Cream Martini

After a day of pushing the sweetest cupcake I have ever made, I felt the need to make a sweet drink to end the night.  I never go off recipes but just open my cabinet, take out random bottles that might go together and shake.  Here's what tonight came up with.  The Hazelnut Cream Martini.  I know that calling this a "martini" is sacrilegious in the martini community because this is really a "cocktail" served in a martini glass.  But at 6:15pm being home from a long day, who's splitting hairs?  So let's drink.




Ingredients:
Pinnacle Whipped Cream Vodka
Hazelnut Bailey's
Disaronno
Kahlua
Milk/Cream











How to put it together:
In a shaker, toss in 3 pieces of ice.
After that, slosh in some vodka.  If I had to wager a guess, 1 shot
Then, splash of Kahlua, probably 1/2 shot
As you can see in the picture, I used a nip of Baileys.. this is 5mL (or roughly 1.25 shot)
Disaronno, 1/2 shot
Milk, until you think you've got enough liquid to fill whatever glass you're pouring this into.
Shake vigorously. (did you remember to put the lid on the shaker? 'Cause if not, you now have a big mess)

Pour into your glass, I chose a martini glass.
Gulp..errr sip.. and enjoy!

Nutella & Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

So, at some point yesterday afternoon, I got the inspiration to bake.  I'm not sure why, considering when it comes to baking my cakes for decorating, it's really a task I never look forward to.  I'd much rather spend my hours bent over the cake adding color and detail.  But, alas, I was in the mood to bake.  My coworkers will tell you that it was because of the new employee at work.  She bakes.  My coworkers will tell you that since I've been so used to being the one who bakes all the time, and that her cookies just happen to shine over mine 100%, that I felt the need to step it up and bake.  Perhaps I have.  But really.. I was just browsing Pinterest and got inspired.  It was also a Wednesday night and I didn't have to take the girls anywhere after work.  It was also a way to procrastinate cleaning up the tornado of toys in my house.  Besides, I'm glad there's someone else at work now who bakes.  It's a relief really.  That was a lot of pressure.  <smiley face>  And now there's none.  Though they seem to think that putting us against one another is a good thing.  Little do they know, we're starting to collaborate.

So, of course, when I'm in the MOOD to bake, I can't just whip out any old box mix and store bought icing and toss things in a bowl.  No.  That just simply won't do.  I have to go out, over the top, and push limits.

Like I said, I was browsing Pinterest.  There are thousands and thousands of links to all manner of food from the internet on here.  And I tend to pin those that interest me, not for the exact recipe, but for the thought of "what can I do better" with that recipe.  And last night I landed on a cupcake.  I had pinned this some time ago, and it's certainly over the top.  So indeed, I took it to the next level.  And... since I have a lot of coworkers, I doubled the recipe.  This will make just under 4 dozen cupcakes.  Here's how I played.

Cake Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
12 T unsalted butter, soft room temp
1 cup Nutella
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
4 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup milk
2 bags (12oz each) semi-sweet chocolate chips (set 1/2 bag aside)

Pre-heat your oven to 350degrees

1. Combine milk and vanilla in a bowl, set aside
2. Combine flour, powder, salt in a bowl, set aside
3. In your mixer, beat the butter, brown sugar and white sugar until light and fluffy
4. Add the eggs and blend until smooth
5. Mix in the Nutella and Peanut butter
6. Add 1/2 of the flour mixture and blend until combined
7. Add 1/2 of the milk and blend until combined
8. Add remaining flour, blend, add remaining milk, blend
9. Remove bowl from mixer and add 1.5 bags of of the chocolate chips and fold in by hand with a spatula

Scoop batter into lined cupcake tins until about 2/3 full
Bake for 20-22 minutes.
You will notice the cupcakes will get nice and puffy, but towards the 20 minute mark they will deflate and start to darken.  At this point they are just about done.  Toothpick the center and make sure it comes out clean (melted chocolate residue does not count)
Remove from the oven and let cool.

Now, it's time for frosting!
The recipe from the original pin was pretty weak and tasted like too much butter, so being a cake decorator I bumped up how much sugar was used in this recipe and not only naturally doubled it, but also made it taste less like butter and more like frosting.  And again, this is doubled from the original I found.
12 ouces unsalted butter, room temp (this is about 2 sticks of butter)
4 cups confectioner sugar
1 tsp salt
1 cup creamy peanut butter (this I did NOT double, 'cause simply these things were getting far too sweet)
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup milk

1. Beat the butter and peanut butter in a bowl.  Use your whisk beater so the butter can get whipped and not be clumpy, no one wants to get a lump of butter in their mouth when eating frosting.
2. Add the vanilla to your cup of milk
3. Add the salt into your sugar
4. Add 1 cup of sugar and beat on low until incorporated
5. Add a splash of milk and beat on high
6. Return mixer to low and add more sugar
7. Alternate sugar/milk until it's all incorporated
8. Beat on high to get a nice fluffy frosting.
9. If you want it thicker, add more sugar.

You can frost these with a knife, but I prefer a piping bag, make a nice circle, bring it in the middle and pull up to create a nice little "nipple" of frosting.

Now, decorate it.  Remember that remaining 1/2 bag of chocolate chips?  Put those in a microwave safe bowl and microwave at 30 seconds at a time, stirring between each until they have melted.
Using the same spoon you are stirring with, simply draw it through the chocolate and drizzle over the cupcakes in your desired pattern.

Serve with Milk.  You will need it.

Now... want to kick it up a notch?  Fellow baking coworker and I thought these would be AMAZING with some crispy fresh bacon bits on top.  Salty and sweet.  Oh yes.  Maybe next time.