I learned from a friend- who was so hopeful for an opportunity to present scotcheroos (a peanut buttery chocolatey something I’m not sure I’d ever heard of) or something like that to him- that John’s birthday, happened to be 2 Fridays ago. I see John pretty regularly so I was kinda remiss, a lil “aw man” that I had missed his birthday and wanted to acknowledge it somehow with a bit more than “Oh hey, man. Happy bleated birthday.” I saw some peanut butter chocolate snack mix in the store but was in a rush and thought I’d just grab it later. And then confined to my work kitchen with limited resources, I figured I’d figure something out just unsure when- pretty busy lately.

                        So Friday, I told a chef buddy my plan to turn some muffins I’d seen into a birthday gift. He thought it was cruel and unfair to make John think I’d made him a cupcake and thought it’d be disappointing to bite into a muffin you thought was a cupcake. I assured fellow chef that he was wrong and that he is the one who used the word cupcake, not me, though the sugar loaded, fat laden muffin has very little difference from a cupcake.

                        So I proceeded. I snatched a muffin, softened some butter, and when it was ready I threw in some peanut butter, powdered sugar, a bit of vanilla and a drizzle of honey. (I tasted it without the honey and strangely thought it wasn’t sweet enough. I cut the center from the muffin and loaded it with the frosting before returning its core. Then I piped an ice cream swirl of peanut butter buttercream on top with a wild drizzle of chocolate syrup and some crushed peanuts for a bit of crunch. I packed it away and had it delivered ‘cuz John’s schedule wouldn’t allow him to stop by.

                        Our paths crossed this morning and he said, “Oh hey, Rob! Thanks for that cupcake, man. It was delicious.” The end…. Hahahaa.