Peanut Butter Cup Cupcakes

I made  these cupcakes a few days ago for a birthday celebration. Linn, the birthday boy, loves peanut butter and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. I found the perfect recipe to make over at Hoosier Homemade. I made my icing a little thicker than Liz’s recipe so I could just scoop it on the cupcakes. Are these ever good! They are very rich, oozing with chocolate and peanut butter! This is one of my new cupcake favorites! The recipe is supposed to make 12-18 cupcakes; I filled my cupcake liners a little more than 3/4 full, and if you do that, you’ll end up with 13-14 cupcakes. I also had to bake them slightly longer, probably because I had filled the cupcake liners with more batter. If you like chocolate and peanut butter, you will love these!

BATTER INGREDIENTS:

3/4 cup cocoa powder
3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup sour cream
4 large Reese?s Peanut Butter Cups, cut into small pieces

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin cups with paper cupcake liners. In large bowl, combine cocoa, flour, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Blend in the vanilla and then add the dry ingredients, alternating with the sour cream, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Gently fold in the peanut butter cup pieces. Spoon batter into cupcake liners, a little over 3/4 full. Bake for 16-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cupcakes cool about 5 minutes; remove from pan and let cool completely. Then add the frosting…

PEANUT BUTTER FROSTING:

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup peanut butter
2 to 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar (I used 2 cups)
NOTE: the above ingredients make a stiffer frosting, which is what I used. If you want a creamier frosting, add 2-3 Tbsp. milk to get the consistency you want.
Mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, for garnish

Cream butter and peanut butter until well blended, then gradually add in the powdered sugar and blend well. (If creamier consistency is desired, add in some milk.)

Place a scoop of frosting on each cupcake?the scoop can be however large or small you want; you will have plenty of frosting to work with. Place a mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup in the center of each scoop and press down slightly. Of course, when you’re done, you’ll have to taste-test one just to make sure they turned out OK!

Linked to Hodgepodge Friday, Favorite Things Saturday.

Filed under: Cupcakes, Food and Recipes Tagged: chocolate, cupcakes, peanut butter, recipe