go bananas

so who doesnt love the combination of bananas, peanut butter, honey and chocolate... not too many people i know... its usually a crowd favorite... one of my favorite comfort foods is a peanut butter, banana and honey sandwich panini style (yum) with a tall glass of ice cold milk... i'm not a big milk fan, but i usually need to make an exception for this sandwich...

anyways, the hubs was having a holiday work party, and he casually asked me to make some goodies... and when i say "casually" it was more like he had already volunteered me and was just telling me politely... typical man, huh??

luckily for him i was planning on making some sweet treats that day anyways... so i looked in the pantry and saw that i had some bananas that were perfectly ripe... so a decision was made... banana rum cupcakes... topped with peanut butter cream and my favorite chocolate honey drizzle...

i use my families tried and true banana bread recipe, but with the addition of a little extra melted butter thats been browned (thats gives it a nice nutty flavor), and a kick of dark rum... why not... it gives a real moist cake with a sweet banana flavor... and the best part is when its baking, the whole house gets that deliciously intoxicating aroma...

banana cupcakes:

dry ingredients

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

3/4 cups sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

wet/fat ingredients:

3/4 cup (1 1/2 stick) melted and browned unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups smashed bananas

2 lrg. eggs

2 tsp rum

directions:
1. preheat oven to 350 and line 12 cupcake tins

2.in a medium bowl sift together all dry ingredients

3. make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add all the wet ingredients

4. using a wooden spoon, incorporate together, but do not over mix

5. divide batter evenly among the tins and bake until done, about 17-20 minutes, and cool on wire rack

peanut butter cream:

1 cup creamy peanut butter

4 ozs. cream cheese softened

1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar (more to taste if needed)

2 - 3 tbsp heavy cream
directions:
blend the peanut butter and cream cheese together until combined, gradually add the confectioners sugar and the heavy cream until desired sweetness and consistency

chocolate honey drizzle:
2 tbsp butter melted
3 tsp cocoa powder
2-3 tsp honey
confectioners sugar to taste

directions:
melt the butter and whisk in the cocoa podwer until fully combined and there are no lumps, add in the honey and combine (it should be nice and glossy and a little runny), add confectioners sugar to taste making sure to get out all the lumps