Bacon Banana Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting + a Bourbon Drizzle.
I always make these sorts of… resolutions, if you will.
Well.
Not resolutions in the new year about diet or exercise, but little brain resolutions about my recipes and how I should try to do x, y and z. How I should try to make beautiful, classic things, dishes that are pretty and simple and elegant enough to grace the inside of a Martha Stewart book or something.
I decide that I should try and make food that is more west coast cool or beautifully european and style it with pretty pastels and antique silverware and stuff that I always see others’ do but can’t quite execute in my own (impatient) state.
In attempts to grow personally and professionally in food and photography, I stack plates high enough that if they should come crashing down, I will probably lose a few toes and I proceed to stand on chairs and risk my life (okay, my ankles) any and everywhere to try and get an overhead shot that I can consider classy. CLASSY.
Then I make peanut butter bacon banana cupcakes and the whole thing flies out the window. It’s like falling off the workout bandwagon or something. Because I’m pretty sure that this combination of flavors is full of everything but class. Calories? Maybe. Richness? Obviously. Elegance? Um, no. My grandmothers are probably shouting WHAT IS GOING ON in that brain of yours, Jessica?
Except that they wouldn’t shout – they would so gently and calmly ask. They were lovely.
These cupcakes would not be described as lovely. Let’s be real.
Lovely is all robin’s egg blue napkins and embellished winter white sweaters and tomato salads with perfect drizzles of balsamic. Lovely is not dense and gooey brown sugar banana cupcakes with a fat, fluffy peanut butter hat and shards of freshly fried, crispy bacon.
These are more like… alarming. Or provocative.
But one can’t be classy and elegant if they aren’t even being themselves, right? That’s what I like to tell myself. I mean, since I do a number on trashed up food, does it make me less classy? In the fashion world, are these cupcakes considered edgy or frumpy? I have no idea. But I do know that eating one more is going to put me on the EDGE of BEING frumpy.
Totally worth it.
After making, photographing and – shockingly – eating these cupcakes, I was struck with fear. Fear that I had already made a banana bacon PB cupcake because of my infatuation with the flavors. I’ve already done that about four times this year, you know. Made something that I thought was new, only to realize that I’d shared it 273 days ago. I am officially losing my mind.
But I was wrong – I made a peanut butter bacon banana BREAD, which is entirely different than peanut butter bacon banana cupcakes. Nothing is the same as a cupcake… a portable little dreamboat packed with your favorite flavors and better yet, no fork required. Plus, banana bread is clearly a snack and a snack only. Not dessert.
THIS is dessert. A perfectly ridiculous and trashed up dessert, that is. No elegance near.
I don’t mind.
Bacon Banana Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting + a Bourbon Drizzle
Ingredients
brown sugar banana cupcakes
- 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 pinch of nutmeg
- 1 large egg
- 3/4 cup loosely packed brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 large ripe bananas, mashed
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
frosting
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 2/3 cup creamy peanut butter
- 4 cups of powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1-2 tablespoons of milk, if needed
- 8 slices cooked bacon, cut in half or thirds
bourbon drizzle
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup bourbon
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
Instructions
brown sugar banana cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners.
- Combine the flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg and set aside. In a bowl, whisk the egg and add brown sugar, mixing until smooth. Stir in the vanilla extract. Add sour cream and melted butter and mix until a smooth batter forms. Stir in the dry ingredients, then add mashed bananas and mix until the batter comes together. The batter will be thick. Using an ice cream scoop or 1/4 cup measure, scoop batter into the liners. Bake for 15-18 minutes. Let cool completely before frosting
frosting
- Add the butter and peanut butter to the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until creamy. Gradually add in the powdered sugar and mix until a frosting forms, increasing the speed from low to high. Add in the vanilla extract and beat the frosting for 2 to 3 minutes on medium-high speed. If the frosting is too thick, add in milk 1 tablespoon at a time. Beat for another 1 to 2 minutes after each addition. When ready to frost, scoop the frosting onto a spatula or into a pastry bag and frost the cooled cupcakes. Stick the bacon pieces on top of the frosting.
bourbon drizzle
- Add the ingredients to a small saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Stir constantly until the sugar dissolves and cook for 1 to 2 minutes once boiling. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for another 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the pan and let the syrup sit and cool to room temperature, where it will thicken. It won’t be super thick, but just slightly syrupy.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
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Can’t stand it.
109 Comments on “Bacon Banana Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting + a Bourbon Drizzle.”
who needs classy when we can have this? never stop being you.
You (and these cupcakes!) are frick-fracking ah-maaaaaazing! For reals! Happy Friday!
Oh my freakin goodness gracious! These are definitely a DESSERT and NOT a snack cake. I about died when I saw the first picture in my feedly. Could you have possibly gotten a better shot of that cupcake? I mean, the bacon on top is the most photogenic bacon (is that even correct?!) I have ever seen. Makes me want to jump through my computer and stuff it in my face.
Side note… I think I’m going to ‘adapt’ this frosting recipe to incorporate a little cream cheese flavor too. Oh my!
Even Elvis in his grave will turn for this! Just so happens I have stock pile of bacon and bananas. Fate? i think so!
Oh my goodness- these are more than classy enough for me!
Some of us don’t want to be classy (all the time) either, so keep trashing up our food girlfriend!
oh this is great- and nothing better than being yourself!
These are so beautiful and decadent. I’ve never used bacon in my baked goods…for some reason always scared me. BUT you may of just convinced me!
I love everything about you woman! I have perfectly ripe bananas waiting for magnificence and that is exactly what this is! The boys are going to flip for these!
I swear I mean this in the best of ways, Jessica…you’re a dirty, dirty girl…haha
This is a Friday cupcake for freaking sure!! Oh my gosh, the bourbon drizzle? Heck yes!! I have never done bacon in a dessert, because I am honestly such a wimp and totally scared. Don’t get me wrong we love bacon over here, but it had been ingrained into me that bacon and dessert should not mix. Blame my picky ass family who will not try anything out of the ordinary! LOL!
Well, that is it. I am totally swiping that out of my brain and making these. I could care less if they are classy (but I mean seriously they are pretty darn cute). All I care about is the the banana, the peanut butter, the bacon and that bourbon drizzle!
You had me at bacon and bourbon. Just saying.
These pictures are incredible!
Holy crap I must have this
Great post and gorgeous photos! Trashed up elegance! The best kind!
Bacon = Always appropriate. Being “lovely” is overrated–why stress about getting bourbon drizzle all over your white gloves when you can chow down on one of these puppies instead?
Provocative indeed! These looks fabulous, and far from trashy! Yum!
The cupcake holders totally make these classy — fyi. ;)
When you call it bourbon and not just Jack or Jim, doesn’t that make it classier? These look fabulous! I’ve made chocolate bacon cupcakes with maple frosting, but those had little bits of bacon in the cake that I didn’t care for. Bacon only on top is perfect!
You are so bad!!!! These are totally mindblowing! Cant wait to try them
Loveliness is so overrated. One of the reasons I love your site is because you write and cook like YOU want to in real life. And it’s not too precious or lovely or delicate. I actually gravitate away from food blogs that are overly styled and look unreal. It doesn’t look like I can make that in my kitchen. So why would I read it? But you and all my other favorites make it look real and doable. So keep doing you!
You are the best! Though beautiful, I’ve never wanted to plant my face in anything from a “classy” cookbook. I have to wipe the drool off my keyboard after seeing your amazing {insert awesome recipe/beautiful pictures from howsweet blog} every morning. Keep those trashed up recipes coming!
Mercy girl, I think you covered all the bases. Excellent.
Can I just tell you again (getting a bit repetitive, but I don’t care) how much I love YOU and the food you create every day. I just get so freaking excited to pop over every morning and get lost in your words and photos. You are the queen of food porn :)
And yeah, totally with you on the whole lack of patience when it comes to taking classy photos. The other day I was trying to balance a foam board reflector in one hand while holding and taking a picture with the other–curse words were flying!
Making these this weekend for sure.
Why can’t we be neighbors? ♥
I love that I can come to your blog when I want a ‘new’ ‘trashed’ up recipe! Classy is sooo overrated!
lol, I hate those moments when you just aren’t sure what you’ve already made. I’ve totally reposted one of my recipes. OOpps!
Omg…I die! These look awesome!
I’m sorry, but WHAT?? “Lovely is not dense and gooey brown sugar banana cupcakes with a fat, fluffy peanut butter hat and shards of freshly fried, crispy bacon.” YES IT IS!! and darn tasty too!! Don’t stop being you- we all love it!
I was frantically trying to figure out what occasion I could bake these for and the conclusion I came to is I’m going to bake them for myself. My birthday is this month, and this is the perfect present.
Oh my god. I’ve stuck to cookies for the past couple of years because I have perfected them and every time I make cupcakes it’s a DISASTER, but this recipe may need to be my comeback.
I too have stood on things and stacked things that were probably not the smartest decisions in order to get the perfect shot. Lucky for me I haven’t fallen off of anything, yet haha. Great looking cupcakes. My husband has just fallen in love with maple bacon cupcakes so I know he’ll love these !
how you distinguish “snack” vs “dessert” really makes me better about how I distinguish a “morning” beverage (prosecco + OJ) with an “evening” beverage (prosecco + St germain)… no gluttons or lushes here!
I’m a vegetarian and even I adore all your bacon recipes.
I assume they are delicious. I make them for my man friend, and he freaks out every time.
Keep it up with the delicious treats covered in bacon and bourbon.
NOTHING WRONG WITH ANY OF IT.
And I think it’s super classy.
You crack me up… I do the same thing, and as always , I can’t seem to just stick to classic pretty cool recipes, its the odd, weird wonderful combination I’m always drawn to… probably why I follow your site… YOU ROCK
Bacon cupcakes are VERY west coast! Trust me. ; )
Oh.My.Word!! Can I just face plant right into this, right NOW! Do you deliver?! LOL! Yum!
Holy smokes. And I am glad you linked to that bread because I am totally making it this weekend.
you had me at fluffy fat peanut butter hat.
I need these in my life right now. Can you overnight them? Seriously though, these look to die for!
Ok I don’t eat bacon but I do eat and want every other element in these – the frosting especially! And how soft and fluffy the cupcakes look. And bourbon drizzle..cannot go wrong! You outdid yourself!!! Beautiful!
Even classy girls aren’t classy all the time and have moments their moments. Being classy all the time I imagine is exhausting. I’d rather have fun. These cupcakes look like fun – screw being classy if these aren’t included in that description.
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Yep, you’ve lost your dang mind with this one, and it is a beautiful thing!
What an interesting flavor combo — please don’t ever stop dreaming them up! :)
Have a great weekend!
Oh my! How decadent!! Sounds wonderful! Thanks for sharing, have a terrific weekend!
I’ll take one of these cupcakes over classy aaaannnnnyyy day. Keep it real, girl.
These cupcakes are definitely edgy and deserve to be one their own runway!!! The drizzle….the bacon…peanut butter. Oh lawd!!
Even embellished winter white sweater wearing and tomato salad with perfect drizzles of balsamic eating beautiful Europeans have American diner food cravings, trust me. And your however trashed up recipes still look classy to me. A different kind of classy, sure. But still.