Peanut Butter Chocolate Cupcakes with Fluffy Peanut Butter Frosting

Each month in my office we do a “birthday celebration” and a cake, cupcakes or some other treat is brought in (sometimes homemade, sometimes store-bought, all depends whose turn it is that month for planning the party). With our summer staff leaving at the end of August, my name mysteriously was added to the planning list for August!

Along with my name on the list came the request for my chocolate peanut butter cake. I made this earlier this year and it was absolutely devoured by everyone in the office.

As you may know, starting in April, I began the Quest for the Perfect Cupcake. So far I have made Dr Pepper Cupcakes, Red Velvet Cupcakes with Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting, Turtle Cupcakes – my personal favourite, Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Buttercream, and Pink Lemonade Cupcakes.

Recipe

So far, the Turtle Cupcake is as close to perfection as I can imagine, with salty and sweet melted into ooooey goooey perfection. But you never know if you have had the best until you try the rest! So, time to make my famous Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup cake into cupcakes for my friends to rate and decide how they fare on my quest!

Notice that there are a LOT more wrappers than peanut butter cups....
had to taste test, you know, for "quality control"

The best part of these cupcakes is the slightly melty Reese Peanut Butter Cup baked into the middle of the cupcake. When you bite into the cupcake it’s like an extra burst of deliciousness to bring it all together. Topped with fluffy peanut butter frosting and chopped Reese Peanut Butter Cups, and paired with a BIG glass of milk, they are absolutely heavenly!
This recipe made 24 regular and 24 mini cupcakes. You could scale it back to make fewer, or just enjoy the fact that this recipe will make you the most popular girl on the block, in your office and in your entire family!

Melt in your Mouth, Eat Them with a Glass of Milk, Peanut Butter Chocolate Cupcakes with Fluffy Peanut Butter Frosting

Recipe adapted from here 

Ingredients
3 cups of all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
2 cups white sugar
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp baking soda
10 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp white vinegar
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups cold water
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
24 – 36 Reese Peanut Butter Cup Miniatures
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line cupcake pans with paper liners. This recipe made 24 regular and 24 mini cupcakes.

In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, sugar, cocoa powder, and baking soda. Mix well with a fork, then stir in oil, vinegar, and vanilla extract. When dry ingredients are thoroughly moistened, pour in cold water and stir until batter is smooth. Stir in chocolate chips and pour batter into prepared cupcake liners, filled no more than 2/3 full.

Bake in preheated oven for 6 minutes. Remove from the oven and place one unwrapped Reese Peanut Butter Cup Miniature top down into the batter. Put the cupcakes back into the oven for another 12 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the edge of the cupcake comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack.
**I didn’t put any Reese cups into the mini cupcakes. I didn’t think there would be room, and at the end of it all, once they were iced, they didn’t need the extra peanut butter.
Fluffy Peanut Butter Frosting 
Recipe adapted from here 

Ingredients
1/2 cup butter, softened
2.5 cup creamy peanut butter
6 tablespoons milk, or as needed
6 cups confectioners' sugar
Instructions
Place the butter and peanut butter into a medium bowl, and beat with an electric mixer. Gradually mix in the sugar, and when it starts to get thick, incorporate milk one tablespoon at a time until all of the sugar is mixed in and the frosting is thick and spreadable. Beat for at least 3 minutes for it to get good and fluffy.

I'm sure you could pipe this icing with your favorite icing tip, but I started baking late and by the time it came to ice the cupcakes, I used my mini cookie scoop to plop the icing on and just spread it around a little.  Then, sprinkle with chopped Reese Peanut Butter Cups, and serve!