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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.
We really enjoyed this recipe, but my Reese’s sank to the bottom of the cupcake and stuck to the paper. How can I fix this???
How do you keep the Reese’s miniature cup to stay in the middle of the cupcake instead of on the bottom?
Thank you.
Not sure if this will work for this recipe but in the past, I’ve tossed chocolate chips in a flour before adding them so they don’t sink to the bottom of the cake. Maybe this may work here?
Delicious cupcakes! They have a great peanut butter/chocolate flavor. Very easy to make and sp tasty! I will be making these again and again! Thanks for a great recipe!
The website is called TASTES BETTER FROM SCRATCH but this includes a box mix?
I’m aware! 🙂 . See the “note” in the recipe with a link to my from-scratch chocolate cupcakes.
I have made the homemade version but it’s so thin would it really work with the peanut butter cups… wouldn’t they sent to the bottom?
Yes, they do sink to the bottom (but no one seems to mind 🙂 ).
How far in advance can you make the icing and how long will they keep in the refrigerator
It will keep for 1-2 weeks in the fridge, or longer in the freezer.
The groom’s cake at my wedding (one year ago today) was a decadent Reece’s peanut butter cake. We moved recently and weren’t able to bring the cake top layer for our anniversary so I used your recipe for our anniversary celebration, complete with the chocolate cake from scratch. We couldn’t wait to try it so we each ate one warm with peanut butter frosting on top. Absolutely delicious! I will definitely make these again!!!
They tasted great but my frosting didn’t look as creamy and fluffy as this. Did I not mix it long enough?
Only made the frosting for my mayo chocolate cake instead of the usual chocolate fudge frosting.
My grandson loves peanut butter so this was perfect flavors together. The frosting is light and fluffy not too sweet and is perfect with chocolate.
I can’t seem to get the frosting to be light a fluffy like the picture. I used creamy jiff and done it completely the way the instructions stated. The texture is more grainy not fluffy. What am I doing wrong? Any suggestions??
Did you use powdered sugar? (not granulated) Be sure to mix it well for several minutes.
I’m going to make these for a Halloween event at work. Just wondering – what role does the Greek yogurt play in the cake mix? Is it necessary and are there any substitutes? Thanks!
You can leave it out or substitute sour cream. It just makes the cake more moist.
Mini cupcakes: good idea or bad idea with this recipe? Will the peanut butter cups burn?
Sure! I would use the mini-reese’s cups–maybe even cut in half– and it should work great