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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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
*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!
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:
- German Chocolate Cupcakes
- Chocolate Cupcakes with Oreo Cream Frosting
- Caramel Filled Chocolate Cupcakes
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Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes
Ingredients
For the Chocolate Cupcakes*
- 1 box chocolate cake mix
- 3 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, , room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2-3 Tablespoons milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 regular muffin tins with cupcake liners.
- Mix together the cake mix, milk, eggs, oil and Greek yogurt until smooth. Spoon batter into cupcake pans, filling the liners ½ full.
- 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).
- Bake cupcakes for 16-20 minutes or until done. Allow to cool completely before frosting.
For the Peanut Butter Frosting
- Beat together butter, and peanut butter and mix until smooth.
- Add powdered sugar and vanilla and beat again until combined.
- Add milk and mix until light and fluffy. (Add more milk or powdered sugar if needed to make the frosting thicker or thinner).
- Frost cupcakes (I used a wilton 1M tip in the photos above).
- Chop up the remaining pieces of Reese's and gently press into frosting.
- Store leftover cupcakes, covered, in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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The material in this blog post references the trademarked brand “Reese's.” The use of this trademark is for informational and editorial purposes only and does not imply sponsorship or endorsement by The Hershey Company or any of its affiliates.
*I originally shared this recipe April 2015. Updated June 2018.
I made them last night and they were great I used your made from scratch cake recipe amazing cupcakes thank you for Sharing them
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
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.
Maybe I can heat it up…
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
Hi Sandy, I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed them! The only thing I could think that’s causing the frosting to slide is if the cupcakes are not completely cool.
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?
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 🙂
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.
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
Thanks Mary! I’m so happy the critic gave these a thumbs up 🙂 . Thanks for commenting.
Hi – can you bake this as a cake too instead of cupcakes? Thanks. Nicole
Sure! Bake in a 9×13” but adjust the baking time. Check it starting around 25 minutes. Enjoy!
Would you recommend freezing the reeses cups first, to help keep their shape while baking?
Hi Melissa,
It wouldn’t hut to freeze them but I don’t think it’s necessary. Hope they turn out great!
Would this recipe work as a 9×13 cake using regular sized reese’s peanut butter cups?
I think that would work great! I’d love to hear how it turns out!
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?
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.