Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Cupcakes

Do you know what I really like?

Cupcakes that are easy to make. I enjoy a challenge and all, and occasionally if I have some time to spend in the kitchen, I’ll tackle a crazy cupcake recipe, but mostly I favor the recipes that are doctored-up cake mixes. Who knew you didn’t have to follow the directions on the package? I’m a rules girl, so I was skeptical the first time I tried.

Turns out, making small changes to your cake mix directions, like adding sour cream or pudding mix or buttermilk (which makes EVERYTHING awesome), can improve what Betty and Duncan (we’re on a first-name basis at this point) supposedly perfected.

Case in point: Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Cupcakes. I made these for a coworker of mine who just had a birthday and requested some cupcakes with a chocolate/peanut butter combo. Well, duh. I knew right away these had to be the ones, obvi. Who doesn’t like Reese’s?!

These babies are to die for, if you like chocolate and peanut butter. And I do.

A couple of quick suggested changes: The recipe says to cook them for 18-22 minutes. I cooked mine for 18, and they were a little dry. I know ovens vary, but what I’d suggest is setting the timer for 17 minutes and checking them. If they still aren’t done, cook them for 2 minutes at a time until they are.
Change number 2: Though the swirled frosting is amazingly gorgeous and always gets a “wow” from people, you don’t necessarily need both flavors, in my opinion. Because the cake already has peanut butter in it, the pb component is already there. I thought it overshadowed the chocolate flavor to have a peanut butter cake and half peanut butter frosting.

Your call.  They’re going to be awesome regardless. Those are just my thoughts. I’ve included the recipe as-is. If you leave out the peanut butter frosting and just use the chocolate, just double the chocolate recipe so you’ll have enough to go around. Also, if you need a tutorial on how to pipe multiple frostings, check out my post here.

Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Cupcakes
makes 24 cupcakes
recipe from Our Best Bites

Cupcake Ingredients:
1 box yellow or white cake mix
1 cup sour cream (not fat-free)
3 eggs
1/4 cup canola oil
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
24 unwrapped Reese’s Mini Peanut Butter Cups

Chocolate Frosting Ingredients:
1/4 cup melted butter
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/2 pound powdered sugar (I used my kitchen scale to measure. If you don’t have one, you can simply add powdered sugar a cup at a time until you’ve reached desired consistency. If it becomes too thick, add a little milk or water.)
3 tablespoons evaporated milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Peanut Butter Frosting Ingredients:
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2-3 tablespoons evaporated milk

Directions:
To make the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line 2 cupcake tins with liners and set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine all the cupcake ingredients except peanut butter cups and mix on medium-low speed for 30 seconds, stopping frequently to scrape the sides. Increase the speed to high and beat for another 3 minutes.
Fill each muffin cup about 1/2 full with batter. Top with an unwrapped Reese’s cup and place a little more batter on top of that. (You want the candy covered up, but you don’t want so much batter that the cupcakes overflow, so be careful.)
Bake for 18-22 minutes or until the tops are golden. Remove from the oven and let cool for a few minutes in the pans. Remove to wire racks to cool completely.

To make the chocolate frosting: Combine all the ingredients into a bowl and whip until light and fluffy, adding additional milk or water as needed.

To make the peanut butter frosting: Combine all the ingredients into a bowl and whip until light and fluffy, adding additional milk or water as needed.

Pipe onto cooled cupcakes and enjoy!