Peanut Butter Cup Cupcakes |Cooking With Amanda

Not too long ago, my Lucy Goose spent the night at her Gram's house for the first time.

My husband happened to be out of town that night and my son went to Gram's with Lucy, so I was home all alone for the first time in I don't even know. I mean, I've spent many nights home without my husband, but I always have at least one kid with me.

At first it felt kind of awesome and free, but it turns out that when you're alone, you don't really do any of the awesome stuff you fantasize about when your kids are all up in your face driving you cray. I just sat around folding laundry, eating gummy bears, and watching Netflix, which is zero percent awesome.

As night started creeping in, I realized that I was going to be sleeping in the house all alone. I don't know why, but I suddenly felt like I was more likely to be murdered. In hindsight, that doesn't make much sense. I mean, my kids aren't exactly good with a ninja sword or anything like that.

I briefly considered setting up some of Lucy's baby dolls in front of the windows and making them dance by pulling on fishing line ( a la Kevin McAllister in Home Alone), but I finally decided that it would be easier to just find something to do to keep my mind off my inevitable pending murder.

So I baked cupcakes.

And not just any cupcakes – these are over the top decadent and perfect for any chocolate and peanut butter lover. I don't know why these cupcakes took so long to happen, honestly. They're amazing!

Rich chocolate cupcakes are stuffed with peanut butter cup filling, topped with creamy peanut butter frosting, and dunked in a soft chocolate shell. Perfection!!

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Peanut Butter Cup Cupcakes Recipe

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Ingredients

For the Cupcakes:

2 cups sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

For the Filling:

9 sheets graham crackers, crushed very finely
1 cup creamy peanut butter
6 tablespoons butter, softened to room temperature
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

For the Frosting:

2 sticks salted butter, slightly softened
1 cup creamy peanut butter
3 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
6 cups powdered sugar
1/3-1/2 cup heavy cream

For the Chocolate Shell:

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons vegetable shortening
24 miniature peanut butter cups, for garnish

Directions

For the Cupcakes:

Heat oven to 350°F. Line 24 cupcake tins with paper liners and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat for 2 minutes on medium speed. Stir in boiling water. Fill muffin tins 2/3 full.
Bake for about 15 minutes, until cupcakes are puffy and spring back when lightly touched in the center. Remove from oven and let cool in pans for 10 minutes. Remove to wire rack to cool completely.

For the Peanut Butter Cup Filling:

Combine graham cracker crumbs, peanut butter, butter, and powdered sugar in the bowl of your mixer. Beat on medium speed until smooth and combined.
Using a cupcake corer or a small paring knife, remove a circle of cake out of the top center of each cupcake (should be about 1/2" inch – 1" deep).
Fill hole with a scoop of peanut butter cup filling.

For the Frosting:

In the bowl of your mixer, beat butter, peanut butter, and vanilla on medium speed until smooth.
With the mixer on medium low, slowly add powdered sugar until just combined.
Add 1/3 cup heavy cream and slowly increase mixer speed to high. Beat at high for one minute. If frosting is too thick, add a bit more cream and beat until smooth.
Generously frost or pipe frosting on cupcakes. Chill cupcakes until frosting is cold and firm, a few hours.

For the Chocolate Shell:

In a microwave safe bowl, heat chocolate chips and shortening, stopping to stir every 20 seconds until smooth.
Dip tops of frosted cupcakes in chocolate shell, allowing excess to drip off.
Gently press a mini peanut butter cup into melted chocolate before it sets.