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Peanut butter cupcakes with fluffy chocolate frosting make for the best reese’s cupcakes! Add chopped reese’s into the batter or in the frosting for a stand out peanut butter chocolate cupcake.
These Peanut Butter Cupcakes Are:
- Full of peanut butter flavor
- Made with basic baking ingredients
- Tender with soft crumb
Total Time Required
- 10 minutes to prep the batter
- 20 minutes to bake the cupcakes
- 1 hour+ to cool the cupcakes
- 20 minutes to make the frosting and frost the cupcakes
How to Properly Measure Flour
- Fluff the flour with a fork.
- Use a spoon to scoop the flour into your measuring cup.
- Use a butter knife to level off the excess flour in the measuring cup.
Sticking the measuring cup straight into the bag of flour will result in too much flour to be packed into the cup, which can result in dry cake.
Frosting To Pair with Peanut Butter Cupcakes
Some of our favorite frosting options for peanut butter cupcakes are..
Frosting Piping Supplies
- Piping bags – I love these bulk piping bags
- Piping tips – Larger piping tips are better for frosting cupcakes. My go-to tips are the Wilton 1M, 2D, 12 and 199 and Ateco 844.
How to Pipe Frosting onto Cupcakes
I used an Ateco 844 piping tip to pipe the frosting on these cupcakes. It’s kind of a ruffled frosting technique.
Start in the center of the cupcake, applying pressure to the frosting bag. Squeeze with the piping tip straight on top of the cupcake until the first layer of frosting reaches the edges of the cupcake. Rotate the cupcake a quarter turn, then repeat, stacking on another layer of frosting. Rotate the cupcake a quarter turn, then repeat, stacking the final layer on top. The 2nd and 3rd layers of frosting get consecutively smaller to create a tiered look.
How to Freeze Unfrosted Cupcakes
Allow the cupcakes to cool completely. Wrap each cupcake in plastic wrap, then place inside a freezer ziplock bag or freezer storage container.
To thaw: place bag or container of cupcakes on the counter overnight.
Tips for Making Cupcakes
- Properly measure the all purpose flour using the spoon and sweep method.
- Combine the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients just until they are combined. Over mixing could lead to dry, dense cake.
- I used an Ateco 844 piping tip on these cupcakes. A wilton 2D and 1M are both very similar to the 844.
- Store these cupcakes covered on the counter.
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Peanut Butter Cupcakes
Equipment
Ingredients
Peanut Butter Cupcakes
- 2 ¼ cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- ⅔ cup creamy peanut butter
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup buttermilk
Chocolate Frosting
- 4 sticks unsalted butter (2 cups), room temperature
- 1 cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder
- 4 to 5 cups powdered sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 to 4 tbsp heavy whipping cream, can substitute milk
Instructions
Peanut Butter Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line 2 muffin pans with 24 liners.
- In a mixing bowl combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aide.
- In a separate larger mixing bowl, combine the peanut butter, oil, and brown sugar, beat together using an electric mixer. Add in the eggs and vanilla extract, beat again. Add the flour mixture and buttermilk, alternating between the two and mixing on low speed until everything is incorporated.
- Fill the liners 1/2 full with batter. Bake one pan at a time in the center of your oven for 17-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow the cupcakes to cool completely in the pan before frosting.
Chocolate Frosting
- Place room temperature unsalted butter in a mixing bowl. Use an electric mixer on high and beat the butter for 3 minutes, until whipped and fluffy. Whipping the butter for 3 minutes will create a delicious fluffy frosting.
- Add in the cocoa powder, 3 cups powdered sugar, salt and vanilla extract, beat again on low for 1-2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl, until everything is incorporated. Add in 1 to 2 additional cups of powdered sugar (taste the frosting to determine how much you want to add) and 3 tbsp of heavy cream, beat again.
- If the frosting is too thick, add an additional tablespoon of heavy cream, and beat until creamy.
Assemble
- I used an Ateco 844 piping tip to pipe the frosting on these cupcakes. It’s kind of a ruffled frosting technique.
- Start in the center of the cupcake, applying pressure to the frosting bag. Squeeze with the piping tip straight on top of the cupcake until the first layer of frosting reaches the edges of the cupcake. Rotate the cupcake a quarter turn, then repeat, stacking on another layer of frosting. Rotate the cupcake a quarter turn, then repeat, stacking the final layer on top. The 2nd and 3rd layers of frosting get consecutively smaller to create a tiered look. Add chopped peanut butter cup pieces to each cupcake.
These are gorgeous!!! Everything you bake always looks so perfect!