Did you know that yesterday was a holiday?

Yup, May 6th is Hanson Day! Let’s just get the answers to all the usual questions out of the way –

Yes, Hanson as in MMMBop.

Yes, Hanson is still my favorite band.

Yes, Hanson is still making music. Check out newer songs here, here, and here.

No, I’m not the only Hanson fan left. In fact, you can see in the links above that really cool people like Weird Al and Kat Dennings are Hanson fans.

Anyway, to celebrate Hanson Day, I decided to make cupcakes. I thought about making Twinkie cupcakes (if you’re a Hanson fan that makes sense to you), but decided to work with ingredients I had on hand. I also decided to make a one bowl, no mixer required recipe. So now I’ve given you some music education and a great new recipe. You’re welcome!

Starting off with the dry ingredients, add flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a large bowl.

Then whisk in the sugar.

And the cocoa powder. I decided to use my dark cocoa powder, but regular cocoa powder would work just as well.

You’ll know that everything has been whisked together well when the mixture turns this less-than-appealing grey color. But that will disappear momentarily!

The wet ingredients go in next – eggs, buttermilk, oil and vanilla.

Next is the peanut butter. You can see that the mixture looks a lot like brownie batter at this point, rather than cupcake batter. That will be fixed in the next step.

Some water will thin things out and create a better consistency. Be careful stirring it in so that it doesn’t splash or dump everywhere. I’ve learned the hard way.

Here’s what it looks like about halfway through the process. I tried to make a time lapse video, but it didn’t come out well. Maybe next time!

Now it’s all done! Look how beautiful and shiny it is. It’s now the perfect consistency for scooping into your cupcake tins.

Fill the cups about 2/3 full. The recipe makes 18 cupcakes.

And 18 minutes later, they’re done! I love when they come out so perfectly domed on top.

I used peanut butter frosting for these cupcakes but of course chocolate would work, too! Vanilla might even be ok if you want to dial down the chocolate a little bit. My favorite peanut butter frosting is from Sally’s Baking Addiction, and that link will take you directly to the post. I topped these off with some peanut butter M&Ms!

Did anyone check out those Hanson videos? Let me know what you think!

One Bowl Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes
Adapted from Martha Stewart

1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup dark cocoa powder
2 eggs
3/4 cup buttermilk
3 tbsp oil
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup peanut butter
3/4 cup warm water

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add in the sugar, then the cocoa powder.

Stir in eggs, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla. Add the peanut butter, then the water. Mix together until blended.

Scoop batter into lined cupcake tins about 2/3 full, then bake 18-20 minutes at 350, rotating trays halfway through.

Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for a few minutes, then move to cooling racks to cool completely. Finish with your favorite frosting!