Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

Name: Chocolate Cupcakes With Peanut Butter Frosting
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 40 min
Ingredients: 1 box chocolate fudge cake mix; 1 box Chocolate Fudge Jello Pudding (3.9 ounce size); 3 eggs; 1 cup water; 1/3 cup vegetable oil; 1/2 cup peanut butter chips (divided); 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter (softened); 3-4 cups powdered sugar; 3 tablespoons milk (or heavy cream); 1/3 cup peanut butter; 1/3 cup Nestle Toll House Chocolate Peanut Caramel Morsels & More (see notes)

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These chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter frosting, with the delicious combination of chocolate and peanut butter, is both decadent and delicious! It’s an easy dessert that tastes just like your favorite candy bar in cupcake form!

Chocolate Cupcakes With Peanut Butter Frosting on cooling rack

Just about everyone loves the combination of dark, sweet chocolate and rich, creamy, peanut butter! These chocolate peanut butter cupcakes use this combination to make a delicious baked treat that looks as good as it tastes.

Chocolate fudge cake and pudding mixes are the secret ingredients that give these cupcakes their rich chocolate flavor. Then add the delicious homemade buttercream frosting recipe, made even better with the addition of creamy peanut butter. Top it all off with a crunchy nut and candy mixture and you’ve got a dessert that’s sure to impress chocolate and peanut butter lovers everywhere.

Chocolate and peanut butter cupcake on blue and white plate

Why We Love This Recipe

It’s Versatile – With their popular flavor combination and a fun yet sophisticated appearance, these peanut butter chocolate cupcakes will be enjoyed by kids and adults alike. They’d be equally at home at a summer family picnic, children’s birthday celebration, or a fancy dinner party.

It’s Satisfying – The richness of the moist chocolate cupcakes and the creamy peanut butter frosting ensure that a little goes a long away. This is a great recipe for satisfying all your dessert cravings!

It Makes a Great Gift – The pretty appearance and decadent taste of this chocolate cupcake recipe makes them a perfect new recipe for gift giving. Bake a batch as a special treat for your sweetheart, or give some to a great teacher, friend, or neighbor.

Ingredients

Cupcake Ingredients:

chocolate fudge cake mix
water
cooking oil
eggs
chocolate fudge Jello pudding mix
peanut butter chips, divided
cupcake liners

Frosting Ingredients:

room temperature unsalted butter
peanut butter
confectioners’ sugar
milk or cream
Nestle Toll House Chocolate Peanut Caramel Morsels & More (I got mine at Kroger)

How to Make Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

For The Cupcakes

Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners.

Step 2: In a large bowl, whisk the chocolate cake and pudding mixes together. Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or a hand mixer, mix the eggs, water, and oil into the dry ingredients on medium speed for 1 minute or until thoroughly combined.

Step 3: Use a rubber spatula to fold the peanut butter chips into the cupcake batter.

Step 4: Spoon the chocolate cupcake batter into the paper liners until each cup is about 2/3 full. Sprinkle with the remining ¼ cup peanut butter chips. (You can use a cookie scoop or a standard ice cream scoop to make this step easier.)

Step 5: Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Place on a wire rack and allow to cool completely before frosting.

For The Frosting

Step 1: To make the frosting, place the butter in a separate bowl, Beat on high speed for 2 minutes, or until light and fluffy.

Step 2: Add in the powdered sugar, alternating with the milk or cream until it forms small stiff peaks.

Step 3: Add the peanut butter and mix until thoroughly blended.

Butter and peanut butter mixed together in bowl

Step 4: Place frosting in a piping bag and use your favorite piping tip to frost the cupcakes.

Chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter icing in pastry bag

Step 5: Sprinkle the Nestle Toll House Chocolate Peanut Caramel Morsels & More on top of the cupcakes. Enjoy!

Tip & Tricks

For best results, use a commercial brand smooth peanut butter rather than chunky or natural peanut butter for the frosting. This will ensure that you get a nice creamy frosting that’s easy to pipe.

If you can’t find the Nestle Chocolate Peanut Caramel Morsels & More, you can top the cupcakes with some chocolate chips and chopped honey roasted peanuts. But feel free to get creative – there are lots of possibilities including toffee chips, pretzel pieces, and chopped peanut butter cups. You can also top with a mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup for the perfect finishing touch.

Be sure to let your butter warm up to room temperature before starting the frosting. This will make it easier to blend in all the powdered sugar and peanut butter and ensure that your delicious peanut butter frosting is creamy and doesn’t contain any lumps.

How Long Will These Keep?

These are best eaten the same day, but you can store them in the refrigerator for about 3 days. Be sure to store them in an airtight container or keep them well-covered with plastic wrap so they don’t dry out.

Can I Freeze Them?

Yes – store them in an airtight container and they should keep for about three months in your freezer.

More Chocolate Peanut Butter Desserts

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