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Peanut butter cupcakes on a cooling rack topped with a peanut butter cup.
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Peanut Butter Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

These tender cupcakes are made with peanut butter in the batter and are topped with creamy peanut butter frosting. They have a double dose of peanut butter for the perfect peanut butter cupcake recipe.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword Peanut Butter Cupcakes, Peanut Butter Frosting
Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 2 hours
Servings 16 cupcakes
Calories 486kcal
Author Fiona Dowling

Ingredients

Peanut Butter Cupcakes

  • ½ cup vegetable oil or canola
  • 1 cup light brown sugar*
  • 2 large eggs*
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • ½ cup peanut butter* do not use natural, homemade or whipped
  • 1 ⅓ cup all purpose flour AKA plain flour
  • ½ tsp baking soda
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • ½ cup milk*
  • ¼ cup sour cream*

Peanut Butter Frosting

  • 1 cup unsalted butter softened
  • ¾ cup peanut butter*
  • 3 cups powdered sugar sifted
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2-3 tablespoon cream or milk
  • peanut butter candies for decoration
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Peanut Butter Cupcakes

  • Preheat the oven to 350F degrees.
  • Line 2 muffin tins with muffin papers (you'll end up with about 16-18 cupcakes total).
  • In a large bowl beat together the oil, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Or whisk by hand
  • Beat (or whisk) in the peanut butter, ensuring that there are no lumps of brown sugar.
  • In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.
  • In a liquid measuring cup, gently whisk together the sour cream and milk with a fork.
  • Carefully whisk about ½ of the flour mixture into the peanut butter mixture, followed by about ½ of the sour cream and milk mixture. Repeat the process until everything is mixed together. Its important to do this step by hand to avoid over mixing the batter.
  • Spoon into the prepared cupcake liners filling each about ⅔ to ¾ full. You should end up with about 16 cupcakes total. If you only make 12 cupakes, then you've filled the liners too full.
  • Bake for 20-24 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Peanut Butter Frosting

  • In a large bowl beat the butter until fluffy.
  • Then beat in the peanut butter until smooth.
  • Add in the vanilla extract and 2 cups powdered sugar. Beat together on low speed until combined.
  • Beat in the rest of the powdered sugar about ½ cup at a time, alternating with 1 tablespoon of cream until the desired sweetness and consistency is reached.  
  • Frost with a knife or piping bag (I used a piping bag and 1M tip) and decorate with peanut butter candies. 

Notes

  1. 1 cup light brown sugar can be substituted with ½ cup granulated sugar and ½ cup brown sugar.
  2. Eggs, sour cream and milk should be at room temperature before getting started. 
  3. Use smooth, American-style peanut butter - such as Jiffy, Skip or Kraft - that's made with stabilizers for both the cupcakes and frosting. Do not use homemade, natural or whipped peanut butter because they can introduce too much oil into the batter and be too thick for the cupcakes to rise.
  4. If you only want a thin layer of frosting on each cupcake spread with a knife, use:
    • ½ cup unsalted butter
    • 6 tablespoons peanut butter
    • 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
    • 1-2 tablespoons milk or cream
  5. Leftovers store well in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days or in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. Unfrosted cupcakes can be frozen for up to 2 months, then thaw in the fridge. 
  6. Nutrition information is based on 1 cupcake with frosting and without peanut butter cups on top, assuming the recipe makes 16 cupcakes.

Nutrition

Calories: 486kcal | Carbohydrates: 49g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 31g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Cholesterol: 59mg | Sodium: 185mg | Potassium: 187mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 38g | Vitamin A: 451IU | Calcium: 42mg | Iron: 1mg