Baking is not my favorite thing to do.  I would much rather eat a cookie you made than make them myself.  I don’t really like to measure and when you do bake you can’t accidentally forget an ingredient.  Funny story….  One time when Natalie and I were kids she made peanut butter cookies from a box and managed to forget the peanut butter.  Mind you it was from a box so the peanut butter package was totally sitting right there the whole time.  Shhh don’t tell her I told you she doesn’t like this story.  :)

Truthfully she is a much better baker than I am so she has redeemend herself.  She is more of the technical one.  I tend to throw everything in a bowl and hope for the best!  So you see, these cupcakes are right up my alley.  Just enough homemade and just enough “from a box” not to make me lose my patience.

For the cupcake part I can thank Betty Crocker for her beautiful baking skills.  My chocolate cake box mixes always come out just like she says they will. 

I take one box and follow the directions to the T.  Then I put the batter into each cupcake paper about 3/4 of the way full.  I unwrapped a Reeses peanut butter cup mini and shoved the little sucker in each cupcake batter until all you can see is the tippity top of the cup.  Then I popped a mini reeses cup into my mouth!  Pop those suckers in the oven and then you can start on the from scratch peanut butter icing!  This recipe is courtesy of Paula Dean and apparently she got the recipe from Kathleen.  Whoever she is I love her!  This icing rocks!

Kathleen’s Peanut Butter Icing

1 cup confectioners’ sugar

1 cup creamy peanut butter

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/3 cup heavy cream

Place the confectioners’ sugar, peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on medium-low speed until creamy, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as you work. Add the cream and beat on high speed until the mixture is light and smooth.

Ice each cupcake once they have cooled and try not to eat them all at once.  I’m not going to lie to you, I ate 6 of them this weekend.  Yes 6.  Which is why I am now off to the gym…  Maybe….

9 Responses to “Easy Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes”