Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie Cupcakes

"These peanut butter-filled chocolate cupcakes have the perfect balance of salty and sweet. They’re tender, moist, and absolutely delicious!"

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie Cupcakes

Servings – 12 Prep Time – 15 Minutes Cook Time – 18 Minutes

Ingredients:

Chocolate Cupcakes

• 3/4 cup water, warm

• 1 1/2 tsp instant espresso or coffee

• 1/3 cup milk or dark chocolate chips, melted

• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

• 2 large eggs, room temperature

• 1/3 cup vegetable oil

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

• 3/4 cup granulated sugar

• 1/2 tsp baking soda

If you are not comfortable making the cake from scratch, or you need to cut time, you can always use your favorite boxed cake mix recipe by following the directions and using the ingredients listed.

Peanut Butter Buttercream Frosting

• 1 cup or 2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 1/4 tsp fine salt

• 4 cups powdered sugar

• 1/4 cup heavy cream or whipping cream

  
  

Cupcake Filling and Garnish

• 1 cup peanut butter

• 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips

• 1/3 cup heavy cream

• Chopped peanuts, optional

• 6 nutter butter cookies, cut in half

Directions:

Chocolate Cupcake Recipe

Preheat the oven to 350°. Line a muffin pan with 12 cupcake liners and set aside.

Pour 3/4 cup of warm water into a large bowl. Mix in 1 1/2 tsp of coffee or espresso powder and stir until dissolved.

Add 1/3 cup melted chocolate chips and 1/3 cup of cocoa powder. Whisk together until the ingredients are fully combined.

Whisk 2 large eggs, 1/3 cup vegetable oil, and 1 tsp vanilla extract, into the cocoa mixture.

Add 3/4 cup flour, 3/4 cup sugar, and 1/2 tsp baking soda into the chocolate espresso mixture and whisk until just combined. The batter will be thin, but that’s how it’s supposed to be.

Fill the cupcake liners 3/4 full and bake for about 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs. Remove the pan from the oven.

Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then place them on a wire rack to finish cooling. If you're in a rush, place the whole pan in the freezer for 30 minutes to accelerate the cooling process.

Peanut Butter Buttercream

While the cupcakes bake and cool, make the peanut butter buttercream. In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, beat 1 cup of room-temperature butter and 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter on a medium speed for 30 seconds with a hand mixer or paddle attachment until smooth.

Mix in 1 tsp vanilla extract and 1/4 tsp salt on a low speed.

Slowly mix in 4 cups of powdered sugar and 1/4 cup of heavy cream on a low speed. Mix on low until the ingredients are fully incorporated and the desired consistency is reached. If the frosting seems too thick, add an extra Tbsp of heavy cream. If it's too thin, add another 1/4 cup of powdered sugar.

Stir by hand with a rubber spatula for a couple of minutes to make the frosting SUPER smooth. Place the frosting in a large piping bag fitted with a large round piping tip and seal the top of the bag with a rubber band or clip. Set aside.

Chocolate Ganache

Place 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips in a heatproof bowl and set aside.

Heat 1/3 cup heavy cream in a heatproof bowl in the microwave for 45 seconds to 1 minute, until it's steaming and just starting to bubble. If you don’t have a microwave or prefer to use the stovetop, you can heat the cream over medium heat in a pan until it begins to simmer. Remove from heat.

Gently pour the heavy cream over the chocolate. Make sure the chocolate is fully covered by the cream. Let the mixture sit for 1-2 minutes.

Stir the mixture together until the cream and chocolate are fully combined and the mixture is smooth. 

Set aside to cool for about 10 minutes, until the mixture is just slightly warm to the touch.

Decorating

Use the wide opening of a large frosting tip or a small knife to remove the center from each cooled cupcake.

Fill each cupcake with a little less than a tablespoon of your favorite peanut butter.

Pipe a dollop of peanut butter frosting on top of each cupcake. Chill the cupcakes in the fridge for 15 minutes or the freezer for 5 minutes to help the frosting firm up.

Remove the cupcakes from the fridge or freezer and drizzle or make a small pool on the center top of frosting with warm chocolate ganache. Add a half of a nutter butter cookie into chocolate. Sprinkle of chopped peanuts if desired.

Notes:

Mini Cupcakes: If you want to make mini chocolate cupcakes, this recipe can be baked in mini muffin tins! It makes about 40 mini cupcakes, and they only need to bake for 10-12 minutes at 350.

Nutrition:

Calories 700 | Total Fat44g | Saturated Fat 16g | Unsaturated Fat 23g | Cholesterol 82mg | Sodium 396mg | Carbohydrates 71g | Fiber 3g| Sugar 56g | Protein 11g

"These cupcakes and they were absolutely amazing!!!! I took them to work and they were gone with a blink of an eye... I promise I will bring more!"

CWT is not a certified dietician or nutritionist. Any nutritional information shared on this site is an estimate counted through measurements and package nutritional information used in each recipe. If calorie, macro counting and other nutritional values are important to you, I recommend running the ingredients through your choice of nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary depending on national brands used per recipe.