Newton Citizen

Peanut butter icing and Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Mini candies make great toppings for cupcakes.

I have evolved into a much better cook since I began this writing this column two years ago. I've also prepared a few dishes I was afraid to cook, such as pot roast.But this week's featured recipe -- peanut butter frosting -- happens to be one of those recipes I've not gotten up the nerve to try yet. However, my mother-in-law, the seasoned chef in our family, isn't afraid to whip up some of the homemade icing.

I've tasted homemade icing before, or should I say homemade gritty icing before, and that is why I am afraid to make it, for fear the texture will not be right.

Janie, my mother-in-law, knows how well her son, my husband Kevin, loves peanut butter. So she made him a cake and whipped up this delicious icing to go on top of his cake. She also added Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Minis as decorations. Because he loves cars, she added a toy car to it as well.

It was the best homemade icing I've ever put in my mouth. So much so that I went ahead and put my order in for the same kind of cake for my birthday.

Janie has put the peanut butter icing on both a yellow cake and a French vanilla cake, both of which have been great. She said she bet a chocolate cake mix would be good too.

My birthday isn't until July and because Janie is the sweet lady that she is, she went over and beyond making sure my first Mother's Day was awesome. She made me cupcakes with the melt-in-your-mouth peanut butter frosting. She also topped each cupcake with a Reese's Mini.

She most recently made a cake with the peanut butter frosting for my sister-in-law Stacy Ingram's birthday too.

Janie has the recipe down pat.

She also found another use for the peanut butter frosting. When she made the cupcakes she had some left over frosting and she froze it. She then cut it into bite-size pieces and made some knock-your-socks-off peanut butter fudge.

A two-for-one recipe -- who could as for more?

If you've got a peanut butter lover in your family, I highly suggest making this frosting, and have a glass of milk ready, too.

Peanut butter frosting

One stick of butter, room temperature

1 cup of creamy peanut butter

One box of confectioner’s sugar

1/4 cup of milk

2 teaspoons of vanilla flavoring

Mix the butter and peanut butter together until creamy.

Add the powdered sugar, milk and vanilla flavoring.

Mix until it becomes a good spreading consistency.

The frosting is enough to make a two-layer cake, 24 cupcakes or a 13-by-9-inch sheet cake.

Tip: If there is frosting left over, wrap it in wax paper, refrigerate or freeze, and cut into bite-size pieces for peanut butter fudge.

If you have recipe ideas, email Julie Wells at julie.wells@rockdalecitizen.com.