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Soft and fluffy Peanut Butter Cupcakes are topped with a creamy homemade peanut butter frosting in this delicious recipe! It’s a peanut butter lover’s dream dessert!
Fluffy Peanut Butter Cupcakes
You know that feeling of sinking your teeth into an ultra moist and tender cupcake with pillowy soft buttercream on top? It’s heavenly! Now imagine both the cupcake and the frosting are filled with nutty peanut butter flavor. Mmmm. My kids can’t get enough peanut butter right now, so this is their dream cupcake!
These cupcakes are packed with peanut butter without being dense, which seems like it’s too good to be true! They are actually an update of an old peanut butter cupcake recipe, which was more dense. It can be hard to work with peanut butter because it’s quite dry. You actually need more liquid in a peanut buttercream than others because it can be dry. So I made a few extra adjustments to these cupcakes to make sure they had plenty of peanut butter flavor and weren’t too dense or too dry.
This recipe just gets it right. I didn’t stop adjusting the ingredients until both the cupcakes and the buttercream were perfectly textured and flavored. Needless to say, it was well worth the effort. This is hands-down my new favorite peanut butter dessert!
What You’ll Need
First, we’ll focus on the cupcakes, then we’ll get into our lovely buttercream. Here are the ingredients you’ll need for each:
For the Peanut Butter Cupcakes
- All-Purpose Flour: For structure.
- Baking Powder: To help the cupcakes rise.
- Baking Soda: This works with the baking powder to ensure fluffy, beautifully risen cupcakes!
- Salt: For flavor.
- Unsalted Butter: Brought to room temperature.
- Sugar: You don’t need much!
- Brown Sugar: Packed.
- Creamy Peanut Butter: I have not tested these cupcakes with crunchy peanut butter, so use it at your discretion.
- Sour Cream: For extra moisture.
- Vanilla Extract: For flavor.
- Eggs: You’ll need one egg plus an additional yolk.
- Milk: Half a cup of milk will make your cupcakes moist and fluffy.
For the Peanut Butter Buttercream
- Unsalted Butter: Room temperature.
- Peanut Butter: Creamy.
- Powdered Sugar: For volume and consistency.
- Vanilla Extract
- Salt: Just a dash, for flavor.
- Milk: Or water.
- Crushed Peanut Butter Chips (Optional): These add a unique touch on top and even more peanut butter flavor!
How to Make Peanut Butter Cupcakes
Perfect peanut butter cupcakes are just a few mixing bowls and an oven timer away. There are no special steps or tricky techniques involved in this recipe!
Make the Cupcakes
- Prep for Baking: Preheat the oven to 350Ā°F and prepare a cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
- Combine Dry Ingredients: Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium-sized bowl and set the mixture aside.
- Beat Butter, Sugars & Peanut Butter: Add the butter, sugars and peanut butter to a large mixer bowl and beat together until light in color and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.
- Add Sour Cream & Vanilla: Add the sour cream and vanilla extract and beat until well combined.
- Add Egg and Extra Yolk: Add the egg and additional egg yolk one at a time, mixing until mostly combined after each. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to be sure all ingredients are well incorporated.
- Start Adding Dry Ingredients: Add half of the dry ingredients to the batter and mix until mostly combined.
- Slowly Add Milk: Slowly add the milk and mix until well combined. The batter may look a little curdled, but thatās ok.
- Finish Adding Dry Ingredients: Add the remaining dry ingredients and mix until the batter is well combined and smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to be sure all the ingredients are well incorporated. Don’t over-mix the batter.
- Bake: Fill the cupcake liners only about halfway full. Bake them for 13-17 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Let Cool: Remove the cupcakes from the oven and place them on a cooling rack to cool.
Make the Buttercream
- Beat Butter: Beat the butter in a large mixer bowl until smooth.
- Add Peanut Butter: Add the peanut butter and mix until well combined.
- Start Adding Powdered Sugar: Add about half of the powdered sugar and mix until well combined.
- Add Vanilla, Salt & Milk: Add the vanilla extract, salt and 3 tablespoons of milk or water and mix until well combined.
- Finish Adding Powdered Sugar: Add the remaining powdered sugar and mix until well combined.
- Adjust Consistency: Add additional water or milk, as needed, until your desired frosting consistency is reached.
- Pipe Onto Cupcakes: Pipe the frosting onto the cooled cupcakes. I used Ateco tip 847.
- Add Peanut Butter Chips: Sprinkle some crushed peanut butter chips onto the frosting, if desired.
Tips for Success
The process for preparing these peanut butter delights isn’t much different from that of your average cupcakes. Here are some tips to help you knock them out of the park!
- Use Room Temperature Ingredients: Bringing your butter and eggs to room temperature will help everything combine more easily.
- Do Not Skimp on the Creaming Time: Be sure to cream the butter, sugars and peanut butter for your batter until the mixture becomes fluffy and lightens in color.
- Avoid Over-Mixing the Batter: Stop mixing the batter once all of the ingredients are well incorporated. Over-mixing it can mess up the texture of your cupcakes.
- Don’t Overfill the Cupcake Liners: These cupcakes rise a good bit. Because of this, you should only fill the liners up to the halfway point. You don’t want the tops of the cupcakes baking up into each other.
How to Store Leftovers
These cupcakes should be kept in an airtight container at room temperature. They’ll stay fresh for 2-3 days, if stored properly.
Can I Freeze These?
Yes! These cupcakes can be frozen for 1-2 months, frosting and all! Just freeze them on a baking sheet or freezer-safe plate for one hour. Once the frosting has completely hardened, wrap each cupcake in a layer of plastic wrap followed by a layer of heavy-duty foil.
Freeze the wrapped cupcakes in a freezer-safe container. The night before you plan to enjoy them, remove them from the freezer and gently unwrap each one. Place the unwrapped cupcakes back in the container and thaw them out in the fridge. Bring them to room temperature before enjoying, if desired.
PrintPeanut Butter Cupcakes
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 12
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
Soft and fluffy Peanut Butter Cupcakes are topped with a creamy homemade peanut butter frosting in this heavenly recipe! It’s a peanut butter lover’s dream dessert!
Ingredients
For the Peanut Butter Cupcakes
- 1 1/4 cupsĀ (163g) all-purpose flour
- 1 tspĀ baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tspĀ salt
- 1/4 cupĀ (56g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 6 tbspĀ (78g) sugar
- 6 tbspĀ (84g) packed brown sugar
- 6 tbspĀ (105g) creamy peanut butter
- 1/4 cupĀ (58g) sour cream
- 1 tspĀ vanilla extract
- 1Ā large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1/2 cup (118ml) milk
For the Peanut Butter Buttercream
- 1 cupĀ (224g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3/4 cupĀ (210g) peanut butter
- 4 1/2 cupsĀ (575g) powdered sugar
- 3/4 tspĀ vanilla extract
- 1/4 tspĀ salt
- 4ā5Ā tbsp (60-75ml) milk or water
- Peanut butter chips, crushed, optional
Instructions
Make the Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350Ā°F (176Ā°C) and prepare a cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
- Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium sized bowl and set aside.
- Add the butter, sugars and peanut butter to a large mixer bowl and beat together until light in color and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Do not skimp on the creaming time.
- Add the sour cream and vanilla extract and beat until well combined.
- Add the egg and egg yolk one at a time, mixing until mostly combined after each. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to be sure all ingredients are well incorporated.
- Add half of the dry ingredients to the batter and mix until mostly combined.
- Slowly add the milk and mix until well combined. The batter may look a little curdled, but thatās ok.
- Add the remaining dry ingredients and mix until well combined and smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to be sure all ingredients are well incorporated. Do not over mix the batter.
- Fill the cupcake liners only about 1/2 full. The cupcakes rise a good bit. Bake for 13-17 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Remove cupcakes from the oven and place on a cooling rack to cool.
Make the Buttercream
- Beat the butter in a large mixer bowl until smooth.
- Add the peanut butter and mix until well combined.
- Add about half of the powdered sugar and mix until well combined.
- Add the vanilla extract, salt and 3 tablespoons of milk or water and mix until well combined.
- Add the remaining powdered sugar and mix until well combined.
- Add additional water or milk, as needed, to get the right consistency of frosting.
- Pipe the frosting onto the cooled cupcakes. I used Ateco tip 847.
- Sprinkle some crushed peanut butter chips onto the frosting, if desired.
Notes
Cupcakes are best when stored well-covered for 2-3 days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 605
- Sugar: 58.1 g
- Sodium: 274.4 mg
- Fat: 33.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 72.6 g
- Protein: 8.5 g
- Cholesterol: 83.7 mg
Categories
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I followed the recipe step by step and they came out very dry and hard , the butter cream frosting was great. Any suggestions?
The cupcakes turned out delicious, but I’m not sure about the sugar proportion in the frosting… I put half of the sugar in my cream but it is still difficult to eat. It is too sweet, even for me! I put 3 spoons of sugar in my tea, but i can barely eat that cream…
Glad you enjoyed the cupcake! Everyone has different preferences as far as the amount of powdered sugar in buttercream. The standard for American buttercream is 4 cups of powdered sugar per everyone cup of butter. You can certainly reduce that, but you do end up with less frosting and a thinner consistency. If you are used to something like canned frosting, thin frosting might be what youāre used to. For frosting stable decorated cakes/cupcakes, you need something thicker. Feel free to adjust it to your liking. However, only three spoons of powdered sugar is going to leave you with a mouth full of butter.
I have never heard of peanut butter chips! I could imagine just eating them with chocolate buttercream. Or is it just peanut butter baking chips crushed? I never browse around when grocery shopping so I never know if there is something new in this big world. These look so scrumptious.
Thank you.
Yes, the baking chips. Like chocolate chips, not like potato chips, lol.
Thank you. I knew soon as I hit send that it was such a dumb question! But if they made a peanut butter flavored chip, I would eat it with chocolate. Lol!
Lol! It does sound delicious!
Was these made with normal cupcake cases or were they made as mini cupcakes? Iām going to be making them and I wanted to do mini ones. How many would this make as minis?
Thanks for the recipe ????
These are regular sized cupcakes. You could do minis and just reduce the baking time to around 8 minutes.
Oh my gosh! Just finished making these and I can’t believe the flavor and how soft and fluffy these came out! This is now my favorite cupcake recipe. Thank you so much for this recipe. 10 stars all around to you.
I loved the recipe …. what other ingredient do I substitute for egg in this recipe., as my daughter is allergic to eggs.
I havenāt worked with egg substitutes, so Iām not sure.
Ok, I just made this frosting and it is absolutely delicious!!! I topped chocolate cupcakes with it. SOOO GOOD! (:
Do i store these in the refrigerator after they are frosted? I want to make them the night before they’re eaten.
I don’t usually refrigerate them.
Do you use the paddle attachment for the frosting?
Yes, you do.
I just made these peanut butter Reese cupcakes and they came out very dense, tastes like flour and they sunk once they cooled. š
Any reason why? Was I suppose to shift flour first? I was so excited to make these, bummed they tasted like flour
They do shrink down a bit as they cool, but the should still have a little dome on top. I’m not sure what you mean about tasting like flour. They have quite a bit of peanut butter and should have that flavor.
Your cupcakes look awesome!! Going to try them out right now. That restraunt sounds very interesting
I hope you enjoy them Savannah! š
These look amazing. I’m on a mission to find those mini Reese’s Pieces!!
Hubba hubba I want one of these cupcakes!!
That was a great night… And speaking of great: these cupcakes were To. Die. For.
I am definitely what you would call a peanut butter lover and don’t even get me started on Reese’s pieces… everything about these cupcakes is amazing. I can totally see why they disappeared at your small group š
So I have to admit, I am not the hugest fan of peanut butter, but I have tons of friends who are (because I’m weird lol) and they would DIE if I made these gorgeous PB cupcakes for them! Who knows, they look so good I may even have one when I make them for my friends. š
Oh gosh girl these look unreal! I need these!!