Layers of chocolate and peanut butter. What could be better?

Though I usually make cookies, I'm trying to branch out and do other things. This was my first attempt at making cupcakes that didn't come from a box. They are Chocolate and Peanut Butter Layered Cupcakes. They were very good, but very dense! I also found that the chips need to be a layer and not a topping. And somehow I ended up with way more chocolate mixture than peanut butter mixture, but I easily solved that by making chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter chips.

(Made for a delicious, be it unhealthy, breakfast!)

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Layered Cupcakes

Yields: 16 cupcakes

Ingredients:

* 1 1/2 cups flour

* 1/3 cup baking cocoa

* 1 cup brown sugar, packed

* 1 tsp baking soda

* 1/4 tsp salt

* 1/3 cup vegetable oil

* 1 cup water

* 1 tbsp white vinegar

* 2 tsp vanilla

* 1 egg

* 1 8oz package lite cream cheese, softened

* 1 cup JIF peanut butter 

* 1/3 cup sugar

* 1/3 cup powdered sugar

* 1/4 Reese's peanut butter chips

* 1/4 semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

~ Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place paper baking cups in each regular size muffin cups.

~ For the chocolate layer: in a large bowl, mix flour, cocoa, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt. Add oil, water, vinegar, and vanilla to flour mixture, stirring just until smooth. Do not over mix.

~ For the peanut butter layer: in your electric mixer's bowl, beat egg, cream cheese, peanut butter and granulated sugar on medium until smooth. Add powdered sugar and beat until creamy.

~ Spoon 1 tablespoon of the chocolate batter into each cup. Evenly spread 1 tablespoon peanut butter filling on top. Repeat the chocolate layer. Sprinkle a mixture of chocolate and peanut butter chips. Finish off with a layer of peanut butter mixture.

 ~ Bake 20-25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Do not overbake. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Remove to a cooling rack and cool 10 more minutes.

 (These have the chips on top, but I had to scrape them off because they burned!)

Note: Adding the chips as a layer keeps them from burning. I don't know why the original had you sprinkle them on top. Also the peanut butter layer was very cream cheesy tasting, so I would add more peanut butter.