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Reese’s Peanut Butter Cupcakes

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These Reese’s Peanut Butter Cupcakes are always a crowd favorite! Chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter frosting and a Reese’s chocolate baked in the center.

Chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter frosting and chopped Reese's peanut butter cups on top.

It’s been really difficult writing this post, editing the pictures and getting it ready to share with you guys. It’s been a constant reminder that ALL I WANT is another one! Or two. Or three.

I’ve been dreaming of them ever since I made them.  Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting and a mini Reese’s chocolate baked in the center. BEST CUPCAKES EVER! You can never, ever go wrong with chocolate and peanut butter.

A cupcake pan with liners filled with chocolate cupcake batter and a mini Reese's chocolate in the center of each cupcake, ready to bake.

 

Use a standard muffin pan and place a muffin liner in each muffin cup. Fill with chocolate cupcake batter until each liner is half full. Place a Reese’s peanut butter cup in the center of each cup filled with batter. Now your cupcakes are ready to bake! Be sure to allow them to cool completely before frosting.

When your guests are ready to eat one they’ll find a happy suprise in the center: a Reese’s chocolate!

A chocolate cupcake with peanut butter frosting that has been cut in half to reveal a Reese's chocolate candy in the center of the cupcake.

The peanut butter frosting is the really winner with these cupcakes and it couldn’t be easier to make.

How to make peanut butter frosting:

My biggest tip for making peanut butter frosting is to use a commercial brand of peanut butter, NOT natural or homemade peanut butter! I recommend Skippy of Jif. If you use a different kind of peanut butter you may experience separating, oily or texture issues.

Start by using an electric mixer to mix together the butter and peanut butter until completely smooth.

A clear mixing bowl with two sticks of butter and one and a half cups of peanut butter, next to another photo of the same mixing bowl with the butter and peanut butter mixed together until smooth.

 

Add the powdered sugar, vanilla and milk and mix again until smooth. The butter/powdered sugar/milk ratio here always yields a perfect thick and smooth frosting for me. If you’d like it a little thicker add a bit more powdered sugar, or if you’d like it thinner, add an extra splash of milk.

Powdered sugar added to a clear mixing bowl with creamed butter and peanut butter next to another photo of the same mixing bowl with the powdered sugar mixed in to make peanut butter frosting.

Once the cupcakes have cooled, frost them with the peanut butter frosting.  I used a Wilton 1M decorating tip and an Ateco decorating bag to frost these cupcakes, but you could even use a plastic ziplock bag with a small hole snipped from the corner to pipe the frosting on.

Three side-by-side process photos for adding peanut butter frosting to a chocolate cupcake.

*Disclaimer….these cupcakes are made using a cake mix (gasp!). Here’s the honest truth. As much as I totally believe in cooking everything from scratch (here’s my favorite homemade chocolate cupcakes recipe) I believe there is a time and a place for boxed cake mixes. I “doctor” cake mixes all the time–I change the add-in’s so that the end result tastes like they’re from scratch!

Chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter frosting and a mini Reese's peanut butter cup placed on top, served on a white marble board.

Sometimes you only have 5 minutes to throw together a treat, and the batter for these cupcakes only takes that long! And the best part is no one will ever guess (or care) that you used a cake mix!

Try my other popular cupcake recipes:


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5 from 8 votes
Reese's Peanut Butter Cupcakes
Print Recipe
Prep Time
20 mins
Cook Time
20 mins
Total Time
45 mins
 

These Reese's Peanut Butter Cupcakes are always a crowd favorite! Chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter frosting and a Reese's chocolate baked in the center. 

Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: chocolate cupcakes, peanut butter frosting
Unit: box, cup, heaping Tablespoon, large, teaspoon
Servings: 24
Calories: 378 kcal
Author: Lauren Allen
Ingredients
For the Chocolate Cupcakes*
  • 1 box chocolate cake mix
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1/4 cup oil (vegetable or canola oil)
  • 2 heaping Tablespoons plain Greek yogurts
  • 30 mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cups , divided
For the Peanut Butter Frosting:
  • 1/2 cup butter (1 stick), room temperature
  • 1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2-3 Tablespoons milk
Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 regular muffin tins with cupcake liners. 

  2. Mix together the cake mix, milk, eggs, oil and Greek yogurt until smooth. Spoon batter into cupcake pans, filling the liners 1/2 full. 

  3. Place a Reese's PB cup into the center of the batter in each cup (it's okay if the the tops of the Reese's are showing, like photo above). 

  4. Bake cupcakes for 16-20 minutes or until done. Allow to cool completely before frosting.

For the Peanut Butter Frosting

  1. Beat together butter, and peanut butter and mix until smooth. 

  2. Add powdered sugar and vanilla and beat again until combined. 

  3. Add milk and mix until light and fluffy. (Add more milk or powdered sugar if needed to make the frosting thicker or thinner). 

  4. Frost cupcakes (I used a wilton 1M tip in the photos above). 

  5. Chop up the remaining pieces of Reese's and gently press into frosting. 


  6. Store leftover cupcakes, covered, in the fridge for 3-4 days.

Recipe Video

Recipe Notes

*For a completely "from scratch" chocolate cupcake recipe, here's my favorite

 

To make ahead:

Bake and cool cupcakes 1 day in advance. Keep them covered tightly at room temperature and frost the day of serving.

Unfrosted cupcakes can also be frozen up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before frosting and serving.

Have you tried this recipe?!

RATE and COMMENT below! I would love to hear your experience.

 

*I originally shared this recipe April 2015. Updated June 2018.

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Comments

    • Hi Sylvia, They would do well, covered, in the fridge, before you serve them. Let them sit at room temp for at least 10 minutes or so to allow the frosting to soften before you serve them 🙂 Hope you love them!

      Reply

  6. These look sooo good! Question though….why is your site called “tastes better from scratch” when these are clearly not made from scratch. A box cake? Really? Not really from scratch but if you say so…

    Reply

    • Hi Jennifer, you must have missed my “disclaimer” right above the recipe. I address why I’m using a doctored cake mix, AND I have a link to my favorite homemade chocolate cupcakes recipe if you want to make them from scratch.

      Reply

  8. These look so good and i’m so excited to make them!!!
    Question: How long do these last?? And the frosting?? Like if I put frosted cupcakes in a box how long will the last? Or would they last longer if I had them kept seperately from the frosting?
    Thanks!

    Reply

    • Hi Natalia, If you put the cupcakes in a box and they were well covered (like a bakery cupcake box) you could refrigerate them and they’d be great for about 1-3 days. If you have to store them at room temperature they would really be best the same day, possibly the next day. Another option would be to make the frosting and store it in the fridge for several days in an airtight container. Then make the cupcakes and store them in a ziplock freezer bag for several days. On the day you are ready to serve them, remove the frosting from the fridge a few hours in advance to let it come to room temperature. Then frost them. 🙂 Hope that helps!

      Reply

  9. I am pretty upset with myself for using this recipe right now. They are for my sons Valentines Day party today, and the cake part is AWFUL. Cardboard dry. I followed this recipe to a T. I am a dessert caterer, I KNOW better than to follow a recipe, but was pimched for time. Will not ever use this “cake” recipe again. Grrrrr….

    Reply

    • Hi Erin, I’m really sorry you had a bad experience with the cake recipe. I really don’t know how they could turn out dry–this recipe is just a “doctored” cake mix. Do boxed cake mixes usually turn out dry for you? What altitude are you?

      Reply

  10. These look so yummy!! I want to make them for my sons birthday party, which is tonight. Can I substitute the Greek yogurt with sour cream?

    Reply

  11. I tried these and the candy sunk to the bottom and when taking the cupcake out of the paper the candy stuck to the paper. Not good. Will not make again!

    Reply

    • I greased my cupcake liners and before placing the peanut butter cup into the batter I dipped the bottom in a bit of flour. This keeps the candy from sinking completely to the bottom.

      Reply

  12. If I make these the day before do I need to refrigerate them or can they stay loosely covered at room temperature overnight?

    Reply

    • Either way is fine! I usually refrigerate mine, but room temperature is fine to. You could place a big tupperware or bowl over them so that the frosting doesn’t get smashed. Good luck!

      Reply

    • Hi Lola, I’m so sorry, my site had a some technical problems this morning for a short window of time. It should be fixed now! Let me know if you need anything else! Hope you enjoy the cupcakes!

      Reply

  15. I made the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cupcakes and had a problem with the frosting. It was entirely too oily from the 1 1/2 cups of smooth peanut butter and the 1 stick of butter. I did use evaporated milk. It actually never got a light and creamy consistency to it like in the picture. I added more powdered sugar and continued to whip it but it still was separated. I finally patted it between my hands to apply it to a cupcake, like I would fondant. My hands were very oily. It did have a great taste. Please advise. Thank you.

    Reply

    • I had exactly the same problem. I am using homemade peanut butter (just peanuts in my Blendtec) without sugar added, followed the recipe amounts for the powdered sugar and the evaporated milk but had exactly the same experience. Help!

      Reply

      • I also had the exact same issue – made two batches and both were terribly oily and unusable. Ended up googling a peanut butter frosting recipe and using that instead

        Reply

        • Hi Catie, what type of peanut butter did you use? If it was natural peanut butter or a homemade peanut butter like the comments above then it wont turn out the same.

          Reply

  17. My wife made these for a family party and they were a huge hit. Everyone asked for the recipe. Thank you!

    Reply

  21. How many cupcakes can you frost with the frosting recipe? It looks like the recipe makes 24 cupcakes. Should I double the frosting recipe to be able to frost them all?

    Reply

    • Hi Anna,
      The recipe makes about 20-24 cupcakes and the frosting does not need to be doubled! It should be enough to frost all of them! I hope you enjoyed them.

      Reply

  25. Made these for the first time. I used your chocolate cupcake recipe. My daughter gave it 2 thumbs up and she is an honest critic. The recipe is easy to follow and the final result is beautiful

    Reply

  26. OMG I am in love! I made these for a work potluck and they were the gone in the first 10 minutes. They are so good and a perfect combination of peanut butter and chocolate! Will definitely be making again.

    Reply

  27. I made the scratch recipe and will say absolutely delicious. My cupcakes were amazing and the frosting is out of this world. My only problem I had is when I took the wrapped off the cupcake, the reeses peanut butter cup tended to stick to the paper and as you pull it away would tear the cupcake. Is there a trick at adding the peanut butter cup and not having it stick?

    Reply

    • Hi Sage, I’m so glad you liked them! Next time you could lightly spray the bottom of your liners. Or you could toss the peanut butter cups in a little bit of flour to try and help them not sink to the bottom. Hopefully one of those would help 🙂

      Reply

  28. I make these chocolate peanut butter cupcakes alot..but I have problems with the frosting sliding off the cupcakes.What can I do different to keep the frosting on the cupcakes..I’m making some for a wedding so need to know what I’m doing wrong?.thank you

    Reply

  29. Hey there. I JUST made these! Wonderful recipe! But I have a problem.. I’m not a baker… More of a cook? Baking is more like a science. So I had all the ingredients except with the frosting. I also did the mixing out of order! I mix all the ingredients at the same time with a mixer. Not one at a time. One: I searched a few recommend alternatives for powder suger;, everyone said cornstarch with granulated sugar. Followed that. Also, I didn’t have an vanilla extract. If it’s anything like cooking, a teaspoon off won’t matter. wrong?! Also, I only had half a stick of butter. (Lol) ALSO, The milk I used was Silk Almond Milk. I’ve substitute many recipes with that milk and I know it will taste different, but my outcome in this particular recipe is the texture. I mixed and mixed and there’s still little pieces of sugar!!!! It’s like eating sand, it’s sandy! Any idea what to do?? Is it because I mixed it all together instead of separate? How do I fix it? It’s covered in the fridge for now. Thanks for your help….

    Monica

    Reply

    • Hi Monica, I would definitely recommend sticking to the recipe next time and I know you’ll have better results 🙂 Granulated sugar in place of powdered sugar in the frosting wont work–that’s were you’re getting that sandy texture from.

      Reply

  30. I made them last night and they were great I used your made from scratch cake recipe amazing cupcakes thank you for Sharing them

    Reply

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