Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes
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Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes are soft and tender inside with a surprising filling in the middle! The peanut butter frosting steals the show, along with a peanut butter cup and chocolate drizzle on top!
Crazy about peanut butter desserts? Try my Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Pie, or these delicious Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls for the holidays.
Why You'll Love This Dessert
- Layers of Flavor: there's a little cake, a secret filling, and frosting!
- Great Party Treat: easy to hold in one hand and eat at parties.
- Perfect for Gift Giving: who wouldn't want one of these delicious treats as a gift?
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Ingredient Notes
Find quantities in the recipe card below.
- Dry Ingredients: all-purpose flour, white sugar, brown sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt
- Wet Ingredients: milk, large egg, white vinegar, vegetable oil
- Filling: creamy peanut butter
- Peanut Butter Frosting: unsalted butter, creamy peanut butter, powdered sugar, milk, salt
- Optional Toppings: Reese's cups, chocolate syrup
Instructions
STEP 1: Preheat oven to 350℉ and line a muffin tin with liners. In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients for the cupcakes.
STEP 2: Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and add all of the wet ingredients. Stir with a whisk until combined.
STEP 3: Add the batter to each lined muffin tin. Fill each liner about ⅔ full (about ¼ cup). Bake for 20 minutes, then set aside to cool completely.
STEP 4: Once cooled, gently scoop out the middle with a round teaspoon. There should be about a teaspoon missing from the center, but don't scoop all the way to the bottom or it will leak.
STEP 5: Melt peanut butter in the microwave for about 15-20 seconds, or long enough to drizzle. Using a teaspoon, fill the holes in the cupcakes until the filling is even with the top of the cupcakes.
STEP 6: In a separate bowl, make frosting by beating together the butter and peanut butter until smooth with a hand mixer or stand mixer. Add the rest of the frosting ingredients and beat with mixer for at least 5 minutes to make smooth, fluffy frosting.
STEP 7: Add the frosting to a piping bag and frost cupcakes as desired. Add half a Reese's cup to one side and drizzle some chocolate syrup on top to make a decadent dessert!
Variations
- Add chopped peanuts on top of each cupcake for a little crunch.
- Use mini Reese's cups as a topping instead of a peanut butter cup.
- Insert a small dollop of jelly into filling to make peanut butter and jelly cupcakes.
Serving Suggestions
Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes go great with a cup of coffee or hot cocoa. You can also serve them with other desserts for special occasions like baby showers, wedding receptions or birthday parties.
Here's the perfect combination of sweet treats for your next gathering that pair well with cupcakes:
Recipe FAQs
You can, but I’d still recommend beating the store bought frosting with your mixer to make it a bit fluffier and help it go further. Chocolate frosting would also go well with this cupcake.
To prevent issues, make sure the cupcakes are completely cool to the touch and very gently make the holes in the top of the cupcakes, with plenty of cupcake top all around the hole. Using a metal teaspoon works great for this, but you could also carefully use a small knife or tiny spoon if you don’t have a metal teaspoon.
If you’re having the cupcakes stick to the wrappers, try spraying the liners with a cooking spray prior to filling them with batter.
Storing Leftovers
For best results, store these little cakes in the refrigerator for up to 5 days in an airtight container.
You can also freeze these cupcakes for later. Wrap them in plastic wrap and store in the freezer in an airtight container up to 3 months.
Tips for Success
The cupcakes should be done baking at 20 minutes, if you’re unsure if they are done, use a toothpick to test.
Stick the toothpick all the into the middle of the cupcake and when you pull it out, if there is nothing on it but crumbs, then it’s done. If it has wet batter on it, then bake for another 2 minutes and test again.
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Recipe Card
Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes
*See notes in blog post for detailed tips, photos and instructions.
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- ¾ cup milk
- ½ Tablespoon white vinegar
- 1 ¼ cup flour
- ¾ cup white sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup vegetable oil
Peanut Butter Filling
- ¾ cup creamy peanut butter
Frosting
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup peanut butter creamy
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 3 Tablespoons milk
- 1 pinch salt
Optional Toppings
- 12 Reese's peanut butter cups
- chocolate syrup drizzle
Instructions
- STEP 1: Preheat oven to 350℉ and line a muffin tin with liners. In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients for the cupcakes.
- STEP 2: Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and add all of the wet ingredients. Stir with a whisk until combined.
- STEP 3: Add the batter to each lined muffin tin. Fill each liner about ⅔ full (about ¼ cup). Bake for 20 minutes, then set aside to cool completely.
- STEP 4: Once cooled, gently scoop out the middle with a round teaspoon. There should be about a teaspoon missing from the center, but don't scoop all the way to the bottom or it will leak.
- STEP 5: Melt peanut butter in the microwave for about 15-20 seconds, or long enough to drizzle. Using a spoon, fill the holes in the cupcakes until the filling is even with the top of the cupcakes.
- STEP 6: In a separate bowl, make frosting by beating together the butter and peanut butter until smooth. Using a hand mixer or stand mixer works best. Add the rest of the frosting ingredients and beat with mixer for at least 5 minutes to make smooth, fluffy frosting.
- STEP 7: Add the frosting to a piping bag and frost cupcakes as desired. Add half a Reese's cup to one side and drizzle some chocolate syrup on top to make a decadent dessert!
Notes
- It helps to refrigerate these cupcakes for about an hour before serving so the peanut butter can set, but it's not mandatory.
- Store leftover cupcakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Nutrition
Nutrition info is an auto generated estimate.
These peanut butter cupcakes are over the top delicious!