Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes | Food Blog

I love Peanut Butter! I mean, who doesn't? I guess with the exception of those who are allergic, and those who are crazy! Peanut butter has a long standing place in my heart. I can still remember spending a lot of time with my grandparents as a little girl. During the week, it was just my grandma & I because my grandpa drove truck during the week. So, for lunches we usually had Peanut Butter & Jelly sandwiches. It was almost a ritual with us, and my grandma knew I could eat pb & j pretty much every meal and be happy. I still remember the brand she used: Peter Pan and she always bought the big, gigantic 64 ounce containers that as a child I thought was amazing! In my mind, I can still hear the jingle of the commercial: "Peter Paaaaaan Peanut Buttah!!" so silly! I think it's where the other jingle "Peanut, Peanut butter, & JELLY!" came from. A little steal from the Peanut butter that was popular in the 80's. You can still buy Peter Pan brand, but unfortunately it just doesn't have the taste I like as an adult.

Now I buy Smucker's Natural Creamy with Honey. Sure, I have to stir it and it can be a pain but oh is it worth all the extra effort! I highly recommend using it in the Peanut Butter frosting that this recipe calls for.

I am obsessed with cupcakes, I think it's just a thing we're all going through right now but honestly, I have always loved cupcakes. As a kid, I remember these plastic toys I had and one was a plain cupcake then you could top it with frosting and a cherry, kind of Mr. Potato Head gone girly toy. I wish I could remember what they were called, but a Google search didn't help. Let me know if you know what I am talking about! Anyway, I'm known to do these completely homemade and then sometimes I play it easy and use store-bought for some things and homemade for others so it's half & half. I debated on giving you guys a chocolate cake recipe and all that but honestly, I did not do a homemade cake with my version. I bought a Duncan Hines cake mix and I used that instead so that's what I would recommend here. So, enjoy these cupcakes! They were a HUGE hit and I have had a ton of requests for them since. The peanut butter frosting truly is the best I have ever had!


Cupcake:
1 Duncan Hines Devil's Food Cake Mix

Follow directions on the box with one exception! Pull the cupcakes out of the oven 3-4 minutes before the recommended time. The cakes will continue to cook for a couple minutes once outside the oven and this makes for a more moist & springy cake. I do this with every cake I make, foolproof results every time and people always want to know how I got them so moist. This is how!

Let cupcakes cool. In the meantime, get started on frosting.

Peanut Butter Frosting Recipe (yields 24 cupcakes)

1/2 C. unsalted butter

1 C. creamy peanut butter (use Smuckers! I promise you won't regret it!)

4 C. Confectioner's sugar

1/3 C. cream or milk

In a large bowl, combine butter & peanut butter and beat with electric mixer until light & fluffy. Slowly add confectioner's (powdered) sugar. Add enough of the cream or milk for frosting to reach a good spreading or piping consistency. Makes enough for one 13x9, 2 layer 9", or 24 cupcakes.

Once my cupcakes were cooled, I piped the frosting on. A really cool trick: spoon frosting into a plastic ziplock bag, close it. Snip a corner off the tip and squeeze. I start in the middle of my cupcakes and circle outward to make a clean looking frosted top. Once all the tiny cakes were frosted, I gave them a finishing touch with a tiny Reese's Peanut Butter cup mini. These are nothing short of incredible, they make your cupcakes look adorable & finished. I love Reese's for coming out with these! Just a heads up, usually the King Size bag will not have enough to top 24 cupcakes.

Voila! Easy, beautiful cupcakes for the next occasion that calls for them! Let me know what you think!