These irresistible Reese’s Peanut Butter Cupcakes deliver pure chocolate-peanut butter bliss in every bite. The perfect marriage of rich chocolate cake and creamy peanut butter frosting creates a decadent treat that rivals your favorite candy. Made in just 45 minutes, these moist cupcakes pack 378 calories of pure indulgence. Whether you’re hosting a party or simply treating yourself, this recipe promises to satisfy even the most intense chocolate-peanut butter cravings.
Essential Ingredients
- Chocolate Cake Mix: Your foundation for moist, rich cupcakes
- Eggs (3 large): Ensures perfect structure and richness
- Milk (1 cup): Creates tender, moist texture
- Oil (1/4 cup): Keeps cupcakes incredibly soft
- Greek Yogurt (2 Tbsp): Secret ingredient for extra moistness
- Mini Reese’s Cups (30): Delightful surprise center and topping
- Butter (1/2 cup): Base for creamy frosting
- Peanut Butter (1.5 cups): Star of our heavenly frosting
- Powdered Sugar (2 cups): Sweetens and stabilizes frosting
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Prep Time: Heat oven to 350°F and line your muffin tins
- Mix Base: Blend cake mix, milk, eggs, oil, and yogurt until perfectly smooth
- Fill & Hide: Pour batter halfway in liners, nestle Reese’s cup in center
- Bake to Perfection: 16-20 minutes until springy to touch
- Create Frosting: Whip butter and peanut butter until silky smooth
- Finish Frosting: Add sugar, vanilla, milk until light and fluffy
- Final Touch: Pipe frosting and crown with chopped Reese’s pieces
- Storage Tip: Keep covered in fridge for 3-4 days of freshness
Baking Tips
Want to make these cupcakes turn out amazing? Here’s what I’ve learned from making these many times: room temperature ingredients work best, especially for the eggs and milk. When filling your cupcake liners, use an ice cream scoop – it makes the job super quick and keeps things neat. And don’t worry if your Reese’s cups peek out a bit above the batter – they’ll settle perfectly during baking!
Easy Substitutions
No Greek yogurt? Regular yogurt or sour cream work just as well! If you’re out of vanilla extract, try almond extract in the frosting for a fun twist. And while mini Reese’s cups are perfect for this recipe, you can also chop regular-sized ones into smaller pieces. For the frosting, any creamy nut butter can replace the peanut butter if you need a change.
Make It Pretty
Let’s talk about making these cupcakes look as good as they taste! The easiest way to get that pretty swirl on top is using a Wilton 1M piping tip – just start from the outside and work your way in. Don’t have piping tips? A plastic bag with the corner snipped off works too! Sprinkle those chopped Reese’s pieces on right after frosting so they stick better. For extra flair, drizzle some melted chocolate on top!
Storage and Make-Ahead
These cupcakes stay fresh in the fridge for 3-4 days in an airtight container. Want to make them ahead? You can bake the cupcakes and freeze them unfrosted for up to 2 months – just wrap them well! The frosting can be made 3 days ahead and kept in the fridge. Just bring it to room temperature and give it a quick whip before using.
Reese’s Peanut Butter Cupcakes
Equipment
- Muffin tins
- Cupcake liners
- Wilton 1M piping tip
Ingredients
For the Chocolate Cupcakes
- 1 box chocolate cake mix
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 1/4 cup oil vegetable or canola oil
- 2 Tablespoons plain Greek yogurt heaping
- 30 mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups divided
For the Peanut Butter Frosting
- 1/2 cup butter room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2-3 Tablespoons milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 regular muffin tins with cupcake liners.
- Mix together the cake mix, milk, eggs, oil and Greek yogurt until smooth.
- Spoon batter into cupcake pans, filling the liners ½ full.
- Place a Reese’s PB cup into the center of the batter in each cup (it’s okay if the the tops of the Reese’s are showing, like photo above).
- Bake cupcakes for 16-20 minutes or until done. Allow to cool completely before frosting.
- Beat together butter, and peanut butter and mix until smooth.
- Add powdered sugar and vanilla and beat again until combined.
- Add milk and mix until light and fluffy. (Add more milk or powdered sugar if needed to make the frosting thicker or thinner).
- Frost cupcakes (I used a wilton 1M tip in the photos above).
- Chop up the remaining pieces of Reese’s and gently press into frosting.
- Store leftover cupcakes, covered, in the fridge for 3-4 days.
