Reese's Peanut Butter Cupcakes

4.67 from 6 votes

Reese's Peanut Butter Cupcakes have a rich brownie base with a candy cup baked below the batter. An easy-to-make from scratch frosting sits in a sweet swirl on top of this treat.

Prep Time20

Cook Time20

Total Time40

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: cupcakes

Calories: 456kcal

Author: Jennifer Fishkind

Ingredients

Cupcake Base

18.3 ounce box chewy fudge brownie mix
½ cup vegetable oil
¼ cup water
2 large eggs room temperature and beaten
24 Full size Reese’s peanut butter cups unwrapped -or- 24 miniature Reese’s peanut butter cups

Peanut Butter Frosting

1¼ cup creamy peanut butter
¾ cup salted sweet cream butter softened
1½ tsp pure vanilla extract
2¼ cup powdered sugar
3-5 tablespoons whole milk
1½ cups Reese’s minis unwrapped (optional garnish)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350*. Line 2 normal size muffin pans with cupcake liners. Light spray the liners with nonstick spray. Set them aside.
Add the brownie mix to a medium size mixing bowl.
Add in the oil, water and the beaten eggs. Stir just until combined. Do not over mix.
Place 1 peanut butter cup in the bottom of the cupcake liner.
Spoon 1 ½ tablespoons of the brownie mix on top of the peanut butter cup.
Bake for 20 minutes. Allow the cupcakes to completely cool before frosting.
Using either a stand mixer, or a medium size mixing bowl and a handheld mixer on medium-high speed, beat together the butter, peanut butter and vanilla extract for 1 ½ - 2 minutes, until smooth.
Add the powdered sugar, ½ cup at a time, alternating with the milk until completely incorporated and smooth.
Once the cupcakes are completely cooled, fill a decorator’s bag fitted with an open star tip or a gallon size ziploc with a corner snipped off.
To frost the cupcakes, hold the decorator’s bag about ½ inch from the center surface of the cupcake. Use even pressure, squeeze to form the center of the star-swirl. Keeping the tip elevated and using the same pressure, follow the outer line of the star-swirl. (Making a kind of a C around the star-swirl until the outer swirl lines connect) Repeat for the remaining cupcakes.
Sprinkle a few of the Reese’s mini unwrapped candies over the frosted cupcakes.

Notes

Storage:

To Store: Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
To Freeze: You can freeze the unfrosted cupcakes for up to 1 month. Allow the cupcakes to thaw overnight in the refrigerator before frosting.

Tips:

You can freeze the peanut butter cups prior to baking. This helps keep their shape intact so that they form a nice bottom layer instead of melting into the batter.
Make sure the cupcakes are completely cooled before frosting them.
The mini cups can be cut in half when decorating the frosted cupcakes.
You can substitute chopped full size or miniature peanut butter cups for the mini unwrapped peanut butter cups.

Nutrition