I’m guessing you figured that Peanut Butter Love Week wouldn’t be complete without at least one cupcake recipe. I’ve whipped up an insanely rich and delicious cupcake recipe that is bursting with the peanut buttery goodness we all adore.
You’ve heard me reminisce about my father and brother and our mutual love of candy in several posts. Jared and I prefer our candy on the fruity side of the spectrum; Starbursts, Gummi Bears, and Hi-Chews. My dad is definitely more of the chocolate lover with a list of favorites that most certainly contain Reese Peanut Butter Cups, especially of the Easter egg variety. He claims they’re better than the traditional cups, and I must say that happen to wholeheartedly agree. Along with Snickers, he was and still is quite fond of placing (hiding) his Reese Easter Eggs in the freezer. He says they’re better frozen, I think he’s sneaky…little does he know everyone has been on to his game for a very long time.
I have made Peanut Butter Cup Cupcakes before, but this time I they are so much better! The frosting had the perfect balance of sweet and salty and the baked in Mini Reese Cup was a little surprise of pure peanut butter bliss.
Just a fair warning to all you cake mix haters out there…I used my favorite doctored up cake mix for this recipe, but you can certainly use this as a framework and make adjustments according to whatever floats your boat.
Peanut Butter Cup Cupcakes
Yield: 24 Cupcakes
Ingredients:
For the Cupcakes
1 (18.25 ounce) package devil’s food cake mix
1 (5.9 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon instant espresso granules dissolved in 1/2 cup warm water
24 Reese’s Miniatures; frozen (this prevents them from disappearing into the batter)For the Peanut Butter Buttercream frosting
Ingredients
3 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 cup creamy peanut butter
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
1.5 pounds (24 ounces or about 5.5 cups) confectioners' sugar, sifted
6-8 tablespoons heavy cream (if using milk, amount will be less)Directions:
For the Cupcakes
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin tin with paper liners or spray with non-stick cooking spray.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat together the cake and pudding mixes, sour cream, oil, eggs, vanilla and espresso water mixture. Beat for about two minutes on medium speed until well combined.
3. Using a large cookie scoop, distribute the batter between 24 muffin wells; about 3 tablespoons of batter per well. Press one frozen Reese’s Miniature into the center of each cupcake.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 18-22 minutes or until the tops of the cakes spring back when lightly touched. There will be a small sink hole in the top of the cupcakes from the Reese’s Miniatures, that’s okay - you’ll cover that with frosting. Allow cupcakes to cool inside muffin tins for about 10 minutes.
5. Remove cupcakes from muffin tins and allow to fully cool on a wire rack. Once cupcakes are cool, prepare your frosting.
For the Peanut Butter Buttercream frosting
1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, cream butter and peanut butter on medium speed until fluffy. Turn your mixer down to low speed and slowly add in the confectioner’s sugar, and continue mixing until well blended.
2. Add vanilla and 4 tablespoons of heavy cream. Blend on low speed until moistened. Add an additional 1 to 4 tablespoons of heavy cream until you reach the desired consistency. Beat at high speed until frosting is smooth and fluffy
3. Pipe frosting onto cooled cupcakes and finish with chopped Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.
Notes:
- Frosting was piped onto cupcakes using the large round tip from Bake It Pretty.
- Cupcakes are best served the day they are made, but will store in a sealed container within the refrigerator for two days.
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{ 94 comments… read them below or add one }
No hate here on boxed mixes, sometimes you just got to work with what you’ve got and make it easy on yourself. Love adding the little reeses’ minis in there!
I’m with your Dad, Reese’s are WAY better frozen! I don’t think he was being sneaky.
You are killing me with your cupcake photos! I need! Must bake tomorrow…
OK so I am bookmarking this one as well. So far you are doing great posts
like all of them, you are trouble for me. If I make these I am going to eat all of them…….
Now this is what I’m talking about…I love peanut butter cups. Thanks, Jamie!
Oh my! These look awesome. Great looking cupcakes
I love PB cups and these look like the best cupcakes ever!
LOVE LOVE LOVE these. I have got to try your doctored up cake mix, sour cream and espresso, yum! PB & Chocolate are my favorite, I think you are a genius!
The Reese Cup Eggs are the best! The hearts, trees and pumpkins just don’t live up to the eggs! Can’t wait to whip these bad boys up! Delicious!!!
You have inspired us to create a recipe with chocolate and peanut butter! These look amazing!
LOVE IT!! I actually baked these last night and went by your snickers cupcake recipe, using frozen mini cups instead of the snickers- I love this chocolate cake recipe – yummy and easy!!!! I used your buttercream recipe from the snickers as well, and used peanut butter sauce instead of caramel sauce – but I must try your icing recipe above….sounds heavenly!!! Thanks for sharing your recipes and ideas – I love your blog!!!
That looks super delicious… Will make everyone who sees it to drool…
These look sooo amazing! I would love for you to add them to my Eats and Treats party!!
http://bargainhoot.com/2011/03/24/join-my-first-link-up-party-share-your-eats-treats/
WOW!!!! I love peanut butter! These cupcakes look amazing!!!!
I don’t eat espresso. Can I omit that and the water it soaks on without messing up the consistency of the batter?
These cupcakes look amazing! I love anything peanut butter and the addition of the peanut butter cupcakes makes these cupcakes even better. Yum!
Another sinful cupcake recipe and of course it has two of my favorite ingredients, chocolate and peanut butter! YUM.
Hola! He publicado la foto y el enlace a esta receta en Mis Favoritos de esta semana, si quieres verlo está en http://blocderecetas.blogspot.com/2011/03/mis-favoritas-semana-12-2011.html
Hasta pronto!
I could eat about 5 of these right now
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These look so yummy! Anything with cake mix and pudding mix has to be delicious!
)
I have tried frozen Snickers, Twix, 100 Grand bars and even Rolo’s and every time I make them the candy bars melt, sink to the bottom and make it impossible to remove the liner. Is there a secret to these recipes that I’m missing? Is there an allotted amount of time they need to freeze? Please help. I always get raving reviews for the cupcakes taste but I’m so embarrassed when they can’t get them out of the liner.
Did you try freezing the chocolate overnight? Unless it’s completely frozen they will sink, if that for some reason doesn’t work try sprinkling some flour on the bottom of the chocolate
I bake a PB surprise cupcake and sink the mini Reeces cup in the batter after they have been baking for about 9-10 minutes. They set right in the center and I’ve never needed to freeze them. I think this trick would work with any miniature candy bar.
These sound great! I made Peanut Butter Cupcakes with PB&J (peanut butter and jelly) flavored Buttercream for my post today!
It seems to be that everyone is thinking PB lately!
Yum! Peanut butter and chocolate is one of my favorite combinations… These cupcakes look incredible!
I made these over the weekend and my friends and family raved. I did not add the coffee mixture, I hate coffee realize that it is a chocolate flavor enhancer but wasnt going to take a chance of tasting it. In this case should I have added more liquid of some sort and if so what would it be? Love your site!
I never “got” the whole doctored up cake mix stuff until I tried your recipe! It was my first time giving it a shot, and I am sold. What a light and moist cupcake!
These look amazing – Reese’s…and anything with the pb and choc combo is my absolute weakness.
Oh my these look heavenly! Love peanut butter cups, and inside a cupcake, can’t go wrong there!
These cupcakes are gorgeous. Used to be a gummy bear girl, now a chocolate/PB person all the way. xo
Wow, those look so delicious and perfect! My favorite combo is peanut butter a chocolate, maybe I’ll try these out!
My daughter was sitting next to me as I was looking through Foodgawker, and she picked out your gorgeous cupcakes. She’s all about those PB cups!! These look fabulous!!
I’ve died and gone to heaven!
These look AMAZING!
Bought Reses on Sunday, made cupcakes today. They are sooooo good, and turned out as pretty as yours with the tip about how to frost them. Thanks so much. Making Snickers Cheesecake for Easter!
I made these this afternoon. Normally I don’t use boxed mixes unless I am doing a cake for my cake deocarting classes. I am a WMI, but I decided to go ahead and try this one and the cake was so moist and wonderful, instead of devils food I did with a dark chocolate, but it was really tasty. I then made the frosting, it was easy to make and made MORE then enough to frost the 24 cupcakes which was nice, so much of the time I have to worry about that. The last peanut butter frosting I had made was SOOOO rich that eating one cupcake was like a thick pb sammie, this is a fluffy, sweet but not to crazy sweet frosting. I loved having the cup inside the cupcake but I had kinda hoped it would cook out more so I may get a different filling, but all in all it was a big success with hubby. I am taking the rest to work tomorrow so we shall see how they go there. Thanks for the recipe.
Hi,
I made these cupcakes the other day, and they were delicious! But my batter was incredibly THICK and not pourable and still hard to spoon into each cup! Did this happen to anyone else?! Also, the frosting recipe made enough frosting for probably 36 cupcakes!
I did enjoy them though, and the office loved them!
Just finished making these – YUM! Didn’t use the expresso, but added a T of Starbucks Mocha powder with the water. Of course mine aren’t as pretty as yours but I’m getting there!
Made these this past weekend, they were great! The cupcakes were so moist and I was told the frosting was some of the best I ever made! Will be using that again and again!!
Made these over the weekend with dark chocolate Reese’s and they were a huge hit. I halved the icing recipe and it was just enough for a small schmear on each cupcake. Shredded frozen Reeses Cups for the garnish. Will make these again and again. Thank you!
Made these this morning! Yummm!!
I love how easy your recipes are but yet soo good if not better then others! Thanks for making things easy for me. Kinda hard with a 4 year old & a 10 week old!
This recipe was awesome! Everyone loved these cupcakes! I love taking a box cake mix and and doctoring it. It is just easier. Thanks so much for posting!!
I made these over the weekend. Very easy and no problems. I followed the cupcake recipe exactly. For the frosting, I used less sugar (only 1 1/2 lbs of sugar) and less vanilla (only 1tbsp) and I didn’t need any milk/cream. The icing was stiff enough to pipe onto the cupcakes. They are VERY rich and taste like you are eating a candy bar. Will make again for sure!
This peanut butter frosting was amazing!! I made the martha stewart recipe before and it was quite disgusting. i threw it all in the garbage. i used my own chocolate cake recipe but used the same technique of putting the peanut butter cup inside. YUM!! major hit with the neighbors and family
Jamie, when you say “miniature” cups are you referring to the small ones that you have to unwrap or the ones that are truly mini and come all unwrapped in a bag? Thanks for another great recipe!
Melony-
Thanks for stopping by. I used the mini wrapped ones for this recipe. Have a great weekend.
-Jamie
I made these cupcakes Friday to take to a couples get-together. Dinner progressed as usual with constant conversation until dessert time! Nobody said a word after biting into these heavenly morsels! Except for a lot of oohs, ahhs and hmmms….This is a perfect recipe! I don’t understand people wanting to alter this recipe in any way. The espresso powder is a MUST for bringing out the deliciousness of the chocolate. The whipping cream is also a MUST for adding a wonderful creaminess to the frosting! Please people…stop trying to think you can make it better! Make it just as it says and you will see the difference! Thank you, thank you for posting this!
I want to make these this weekend but was wondering if they would still work without using the sour cream? What does it do? I would also like to make mini cupcakes instead of the big ones. Would this work? I am making them for 2 Christmas parties.
Thanks!
OMG! This is pure heaven! I wish I could have one. I’d make a batch, but I’d eat them all!!
Can you tell me what tip you used for piping the frosting? Thanks!
Amy-
I used the Giant Round Tip from Bake It Pretty! Thanks for stopping by!
-Jamie
I made these for a birthday at work yesterday and they were absolutely decadent! The cake is extremely moist and flavorful (I used sugar-free pudding only because that’s all I had and it came out perfectly fine). The frosting was very ample, even when piped on. I have enough left in the freezer for a small cake. The pb cups did not sink at all. When I unwrapped them, I put them on a plate with flour on it and put them back in the freezer…just to be sure they didn’t sink. I used a half cup of strong coffee but you can’t really taste the coffee…just adds a dimension of flavor. Decorated with halved pb cups on some, Reese’s pieces or pb chips on others. They were the rage at work – thank you! We have a cupcake baker (side business) at work – these were way better than hers
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Re question about thick batter – it IS very think but fluffy and it doesn’t make a mess. It kind of comes away from the spoon/spatula/sides of cupcake papers easily.
I am so glad I found this site. I first tried a Reese’s cupcake at a bakery in Petersburg, Illinois. I stop there each time I visit my daughter just to indulge. I can’t wait to try your recipe. Thanks so much for sharing!
Sherrie-
Thanks so much for stopping by, I hope you love them!
-Jamie
Me and my sister in law made these for my nieces birthday. We omitted the espresso because it’s for kids, but we think they are sooooo delicious! Some of the best cupcakes I’ve ever had! Thanks for sharing.
Hi! Can I leave out the sour cream? I have a mild dairy allergy so I try to omit it when possible. I plan to use goat milk for cow’s milk. What could I sub for the sour cream to get the right consistency? Thanks! P.S. Love the tip about using ice cream scoop for uniform size cup cakes!
Jess-
I wouldn’t suggest leaving out the sour cream as that adds to the moisture of the cake. Maybe just try preparing the cake according to the package directions? Sorry I am not more of a help!
-Jamie
Amazing! … I found that the baking time was a bit longer — 25-30 minutes, otherwise the cupcakes would fall. Also, I used almost a full half pint of whipping cream to make the frosting really fluffy, and could have still halved the frosting recipe and covered all of the cupcakes. With all that frosting left over, I wound up making a simple chocolate cake just to use it all up! Instead of baking in Reeses cups, I topped with Reeses Pieces. Adorable! … Thanks so much for the post!
I am so excited to make these!!! I just have a question… when you talk about sticks of butter… It might be just here in Canada but we’ve got various different sizes of sticks of butter… are you referring to the small ones?
hi! i’m going to make these cupcakes this weekend for my son’s birthday. i looked for the devil’s food cake mix, but duncan heinz and betty crocker both were less than 18.25 ounces. (it’s 16.5) can i still use it, or should i get find one that’s 18.25 ounces?
Min-
Yep, you should be just fine. Have a great weekend!
-Jamie
Hi! These look amazing. I want to make them for my boss’ birthday. My question is, would the cupcakes be ok if I made them 1-2 days before and made the frosting the day of? I want them to taste great so just let me know if you wouldn’t recommend that. Thank you!
Sarah-
Personally speaking, I wouldn’t go 2 days prior – 1 day would be fine though. Definitely frost them the day of. Have fun and let me know how they turn out.
-Jamie
Hi, The 18.5 oz. devils food cake mix already has pudding in the mix. would i still add more pudding mix or is there a brand without pudding i should hunt for? Thank you, Jo
Jo-
Yes, I still add the pudding. Have a great day.
Jamie
I have to agree with your dad… Reese’s eggs are the BEST Reese’s product they produce. I love them for the sheer fact that they have more of the peanut buttery goodness than the normal Reese’s do.
I’m excited to try this recipe!!
Abby
I made these yesterday for a friend’s birthday party and they were a HUGE success! Everyone raved about them; one girl said she doesn’t even like cupcakes but she LOVED these (she ate 2 and took a 3rd for the road, so I believe her). I didn’t put the Reese’s in the cupcake itself, but rather just diced it up and put it on top of the frosting. Amazing!!!! Thanks!
Melissa-
So glad to hear you enjoyed these cupcakes! Thanks so much for taking the time to report back on your success with the recipe. Have a great day!
-Jamie
I’m going to make these this weekend for a work event! Wondering if you think it would be okay to sub plain Greek yogurt instead of sour cream. I usually use Greek yogurt in place of mayo and sour cream for just about everything.
FYI: I did it with Fage 0% yogurt and it turned out spectacular!
I should not be reading / lusting after these while I’m on a diet but …
made these today and i love them! although i added just some water and left out the coffee and i think that 2 pounds of powdered sugar was way too much. i ended up with way too much frosting and 1/2 lb of sugar to spare. but it was still yummy and delicious and everyone loved them! i will just add less sugar the next time i make the frosting.
Lucy-
I’m with ya on the sugar. I’ve decreased the amount that I use now to 1.5 pounds, I’ll update this recipe to reflect the change. Thanks so much.
-Jamie
I made these for my family reunion last weekend. I accidentally bought crunchy PB so I went ahead and used it for the frosting and I just cooled down 1/2 cup of that morning’s coffee instead of using the instant espresso. I had three different relatives tell me they were the best cupcakes they ever had in their lives! AND my mom asked if she could take a couple home AND my cousin’s teenaged daughter was delighted when told her she could take one home AND I saw my dad eat one and LICK HIS FINGERS.
I found the frosting recipe to be about twice as much as I needed – and I thought i was being VERY generous with it. Refrigerated the rest and will make another batch of these cupcakes for the office next week when our student worker returns.
Also – and the rest of you are probably smart enough to KNOW this already – the Reese’s miniatures are easier to unwrap BEFORE you freeze them. I would probably refrigerate them for 15 minutes first if the air is really warm and/or humid, then put them in a plastic bag and to freeze.
I’ve searching today for some peanut butter cupcakes and found these ones! Absolutely awesome! I will try these recipes! Photo is great also! Regards
IM MAKING THESE CUPCAKES TONIGHT FOR MY BOYFRIENDS BDAY PARTY TOMORROW BUT I BOUGHT SNACK PACK PUDDING… DOES IT WORK THE SAME OR SHOULD I EXCHANGE THEM?
LET ME KNOW ASAP!
Wendy-
The recipe calls for the pudding mix (powdered form), so you will definitely get a different outcome than the recipe pictured here.
-Jamie
I just made these and they’re wonderful! I put in 2 tablespoons of espresso instead of the one (just because I love the taste of coffee), and i also omitted the peanut butter cups. These go really well with a nice big glass of milk.
Here’s a picture of how mine turned out!
http://i1073.photobucket.com/albums/w388/johnhfortune/535945d0.jpg
These were so fun to make. the buttercream is amazing (hubby licked the bowl when I finished). I got rave reviews for them and a friend of mine from LA commented they were better than the bakery owned by a woman who won Cupcake Wars…
definitely going into my cupcake recipe book!
Has anyone added peanut butter to the recipe? I want to add about 1/2 cup to the cake mixture for an extra kick.
Let me know if you have!
Thanks
i have made these about 4 different times and each time they come out amazing! absolutly love them.
Darlene-
I am so happy to hear that you’ve enjoyed the cupcakes numerous times – they’re a family fave around here. Have a great weekend and thanks so much for reading My Baking Addiction.
-Jamie
Jamie, I made this for three different crowds now and each time, they have gotten rave reviews! In fact, the last time I made them, they were highly praised by a couple of friends that not only frequent gourmet restaurants, they also do their own gourmet cooking.
I garnish mine with one of those tiny Reese’s minis on top of the frosting instead of the chopped peanut butter cups.
Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for posting this recipe. I can’t wait to try some of your other offerings!
Cynthia-
I am so happy to hear the cupcakes turned out so well! Thanks for coming back and commenting on your experience with the recipe. Have a great day!
-Jamie
If you use BC cake mix it already has pudding. are you suppose to use box pudding mix also. Sorry, just a little confused.
Angie-
Hi! Yes, still use the pudding, but I typically just use the smaller box. I hope this helps!
-Jamie
Awesome recipe, I may overdose on this frosting!!:)
I made these tonight and they turned out amazing! I couldn’t find espresso powder so I just used regular instant coffee. My daughter promised to bring a cupcake to anyone at school who liked her Facebook status. One boy requested a cupcake with a peanut butter cup in the middle so these fit the bill perfectly. My family said these were better than any cupcake they had ever had I will definitely be making these again.
Can u tell me a replacement for cake mix and instant pudding?something which can be prepared at home
Humaira-
I would simply substitute your favorite chocolate cake recipe for the cupcakes, then top with the frosting from this recipe. Thanks for stopping by.
Jamie
looking forward to making these for my grandkids. hoping they love the pnut butter and choc. mixture!! thank you for posting, they look absolutely fabulous!
mary
I made these for my boyfriend’s birthday last year and am about to make them again this year. They were a hit! Thanks!
Aly-
I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe. Thanks for stopping by and providing your feedback – have a great day!
-Jamie
Oh My goodness!!! A-MAZING!! I cannot wait to try more of your recipes. Thank you!
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