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1
Preheat the oven to 350 F.
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2
In bowl #1 of 3, combine the milk and vanilla.
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3
In bowl #2 of 3, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt.
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4
In the bowl of your stand mixer (bowl #3 of 3), combine the sugar, butter, and eggs. Add the peanut butter to the mixer as it's mixing the sugar, butter, and eggs. Mix until combined.
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5
Add half of the flour mixture into the mixer (keep the mixer on a medium to low speed) and mix until combined.
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6
Add all of the liquid ingredients (milk and vanilla mixture).
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7
Switch to a tougher, more durable mixing utensil than the whisk, then add the remaining half of the flour mixture. Mix until combined.
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8
Remove this bowl from the mixer and stir the chocolate chips by hand.
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9
Line a 12-count muffin tin with paper liners and fill them 3/4 or the whole way, depending on how big you want the cupcakes to be.
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Pop these bad boys into the oven, which should be ready for you at a lovely 350 F. Meanwhile ... prepare the icing:
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11
In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine the pre-made icing with the cocoa powder.
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12
Depending on how creamy you want the icing to look and taste, add the half-and-half (or just milk if you don't have half-and-half or heavy cream) into the icing and mix to combine.
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13
At roughly 20 minutes after the cupcakes entered the oven (or whenever they appear ready to you), remove the pan from the oven, set it on a rack and let the cupcakes cool. This is where I always get impatient! I want to frost those cupcakes in a heartbeat, but you really do have to let them cool for a good 20 minutes or longer before frosting them.
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14
Enjoy!
