Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

 

I almost forgot about these cupcakes. We made so many for the bake sale that these nearly slipped by me.

I know...I know....how could I possibly forget about chocolate and peanut butter combined into a delicious treat?

That's just crazy.

These looked so cute with their peanut butter cookie-looking frosting on top. I call it frosting but it was more like the inside of a peanut butter cup.

It was very yummy.

Yes, I may have eaten all sampled some of the leftovers.

Don't judge me.

 

 

Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

 

Ingredients

Cake

1/2 cup baking cocoa

2 cups flour

2 tsp baking soda

pinch of salt

2 cups sugar

1 cup sour milk or cream

2 eggs

2 tsps vanilla

1/2 cup oil

1 cup boiling water (do not use hot tap water, use boiling water)

24 mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

 

Frosting

1 can chocolate Frosting (we used Betty Crocker)

3/4 cup butter, room temp

2 cups peanut butter

3 to 4 cups of icing sugar

 

Directions

Preheat oven to 350. Line 24 cupcake tins with paper liners. Set aside.

Mix together first 5 ingredients. Make a hollow in centre of bowl and add next 5 ingredients into centre.

Mix all together until blended. Pour into prepared muffin tins. Gently press a mini Reese's into each of the 24 cupcakes.

 

 

Bake 15 to 20 mins or until toothpick inserted in centre comes out clean. Remove from

oven to cool 5 minutes, then remove from tins and let completely cool on wire rack.

Frost a thin layer of the canned chocolate frosting on top of cooled cupcakes. (You can, of course, make your own chocolate frosting. We just choose to use store bought to save us a step.)

Peanut Butter Frosting - Combine the peanut butter and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat on medium for 1 minute. Turn off the mixer, add in 3 cups of the icing sugar and mix on low speed until fully incorporated. Increase the speed to medium and mix until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add a bit more icing sugar as needed to get the right consistency.  

Scoop about 1 tablespoon of the peanut butter mixture and use clean, dry hands to roll it into a ball. Use the tines of a fork to gently press the "cookie" flat and make the classic crisscross pattern on top. You may have to dip the fork in sugar to prevent the mixture from sticking to it. 

Repeat with the remaining peanut butter mixture.

Set a peanut butter "cookie" on top of each chocolate frosted cupcake.

 

 

I ended up having extra peanut butter frosting. I rolled it into balls, chilled it for several hours, then dipped the balls in melted chocolate to make my own, homemade peanut butter cups.

They were tasty. VERY VERY SWEET. But still a good way to use up the extra frosting.

This is a cute way to fancy up a classic chocolate cake recipe.

These also sold very well at the bake sale :)