peanut butter cup cupcakes
In honor of my favorite giant jars of peanut butter going BOGO at the store a couple weeks back.
Happy Thursday, peeps! Currently dreaming of fun treats and eats like these Peanut Butter Cup Cupcakes since I am currently carb loading for my marathon and all my food is boring as fuckall. It’s funny when I describe the carb load diet to non-runners and their typical response is “that all sounds SO good though!”
Trust me, it’s not. Cupcakes are out, Caesar dressing is out, whimsical lattes are out, everything I love is out for the duration.
Thankfully, it’s not forever, and I’ve a few of these cuties stashed in my freezer for when I return to the land of ordinary consumption. These fun and charming treats comprise of a dark chocolate cupcake base, a pop of peanut butter in the center, and a fluffy, rich peanut butter frosting. An apt homage to your neighborhood nut enthusiast. Your neighborhood nut nut.
Heh.
Not A Cup, Not Quite a Cake
This dark chocolate cupcake has appeared a couple times in my arsenal, most recently in my whimsical S’mores Cupcakes, by which my sister was utterly enamored. So yeah, they’re fabulous, and there’s a reason I keep utilizing the recipe for many a concept.
First, whip up vegetable oil, brown sugar, and sugar, then beat in three eggs, one at a time. Mix in vanilla and plain whole milk Greek yogurt. Then: flour, cocoa powder, black cocoa powder (all regular cocoa is fine if you can’t find black, but the color won’t be as deep nor will the flavor as intensely chocolate), baking powder and baking soda, and a touch of salt.
Stream in buttermilk as you slowly mix up the batter. The texture will be less thick than brownie batter, but shouldn’t be super runny either. The oil base makes a thinner finish than my butter-based vanilla batters.
Line two 12 slot muffin tins with paper liners. Scoop batter into each, filling 2/3 of the way to the top. These cupcakes rise like a mofo so do not be tempted to overfill. They will resemble muffins otherwise and will look awful goofy.
Bake 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees until set in the center and no longer jiggly wiggly. Cool a bit in the pans, then move onto wire racks to finish cooling.
Peanut Butter Frosting Time
The peanut butter filling is a fun little touch. I’ve found that a little surprise in the center of a cupcake is always a delightful element that people enjoy finding in a bite.
Spoon out about 1 teaspoon-sized amounts of cupcake from the center of each, then plop in a teaspoon of peanut butter. A little truly does go a long way! It’s okay if the butter is poking out above the horizon line in the hole you made. It’ll be covered by the frosting anyway.
Now, for that lovely buttercream. Whip up creamy peanut butter, softened butter, vanilla, and powdered sugar, as well as a bit of heavy cream. Add more heavy cream and, if needed, more sugar until the frosting is light and fluffy, but stiff enough to hold the shape of your piping tip. Test a sample if you’re not sure.
The piping style is totally up to you, or you can simply spread the frosting over each cupcake and call it a day. I love finishing each with mini peanut butter cups – these are from TJs, don’t tell Reese’s I cheated on them – for an extra little snack within a snack.
Undecorated cupcakes keep well for a couple days before you should get the filling and frosting squared away. Stored tightly in a container, decorated cupcakes will keep up to 5 days, and freeze up to 3 months. When the craving strikes, let the cupcake thaw on the countertop for about an hour before it’s good to eat.
Enjoy, have fun, and keep away if you’re allergic to peanut butter!
Tried this recipe out? Leave a rating and comment below with your thoughts, and don’t forget to come say hi on Instagram and show me what you made!
Peanut butter snacky time:
No Churn Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream
Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Cookie Bars
Chocolate Dipped Bourbon Peanut Butter Cookies
Baked Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Doughnuts
peanut butter cup cupcakes
Ingredients
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup plain whole milk Greek yogurt, at room temperature
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup black cocoa powder (or more regular cocoa)
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 1/3 cups buttermilk, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
- mini peanut butter cups, for garnish
peanut butter buttercream
- 1 stick butter, softened
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
- 4 1/2-5 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4-1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 12-cup muffin tins with parchment liners.
- In a large bowl, beat the oil, brown sugar, and sugar for 2-3 minutes until combined. Whip in the eggs, one at a time, then the vanilla and yogurt. Add the flour, cocoa powder, black cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer running, stream in the buttermilk until the batter is just combined. Do not overmix.
- Fill each cupcake tin 2/3 of the way with batter. Depending on what your heart says 2/3 of the way full is, you will get 22-24 cupcakes. Bake for 25-30 minutes until an inserted toothpick emerges with just a few moist crumbs. Cool 10 minutes in the pans, then transfer the cupcakes to wire racks. Cool completely.
- Scoop out about 1 teaspoon of the center of each cupcake. Dollop about 1 teaspoon of peanut butter into each.
- Make the frosting. Whip the butter, peanut butter, and vanilla until combined, then add 5 cups of the powdered sugar and 1/4 cup of cream. Crank the mixer to high, and beat until very light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. You may need an extra tablespoon of two of cream to achieve the desired texture. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula, as needed, to properly incorporate all the ingredients.
- Pipe or frost each cupcake with the buttercream. Garnish with a few mini peanut butter cups. How cute!
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