Peanut Butter Cup Brownie Cups |Cooking With Amanda

These peanut butter cup brownie cups were supposed to be a gift to my neighbors as a thank you for the fresh eggs they regularly drop off. They didn't make it.

They had no chance of lasting that long. Look at them though. It's plain to see why.

I really believed that I was going to take these to the neighbors', and I had every intention of doing so, but I got greedy and selfish, and I didn't want to share.

Would YOU want to share?

Even though the recipe makes three dozen of these brownie cups, and they're very rich and decadent – it's hard to eat a bunch of them, I still couldn't find it within myself to give any away. Totally selfish.

I could tell you that I feel badly about it, but I'd be lying.

My idea for these peanut butter cup brownie cups was inspired by my recipe for strawberry cookie cups with white chocolate buttercream. I love those little cookie cups, and they start with a cake mix. You can use any flavor cake mix, and fill them with whatever you want.

The way my mind works with EVERY recipe is that I start to think about the ways that I can "peanut butter-ify" it. How can I make this a peanut butter dessert?

I decided on brownie mix for the cups instead of chocolate cake mix, thinking they would be a little sturdier for holding a mini Reese's cup. When the brownie bites were hot straight from the oven, I stuffed them with a mini Reese's cup in the center.

My favorite peanut butter buttercream, an intensely tried-and-true, oft-used recipe, that I've gotten a TON of mileage out of, was my go-to frosting to top these brownie cups.

With a few Reese's pieces for color and garnish, these are perfect bites of chocolate and peanut butter heaven! These would make you very popular at parties and among friends, but I've warned you that you won't want to share!

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Peanut Butter Cup Brownie Cups Recipe

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Ingredients

1 box brownie mix
1/4 cup water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
36 miniature reese's peanut butter cups, unwrapped

For the Frosting:

3/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/4 cups creamy peanut butter
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
3 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons heavy cream, or milk

For Garnish:

1 cup reese's pieces

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F.
In a large bowl, combine brownie mix, water, oil, and egg.
Lightly grease a mini muffin pan.
Fill each muffin cup 2/3-full with brownie batter.
Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until edges appear crispy, and centers are mostly set.
Remove from heat, and immediately press a mini Reese's cup in the center of each brownie.
Use a small knife to carefully lift out the brownie cups to a wire rack. They will still be warm, and they will be soft, but you don't want them to cool in the pan, or they'll stick and will become difficult to remove. The Reese's cups will start to melt a bit, but this is fine – they will get covered with buttercream, so they don't need to look perfect.
Cool brownie cups completely.
For the buttercream, in a large mixing bowl, combine butter, peanut butter, vanilla, powdered sugar, and heavy cream.
Beat until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
Pipe the buttercream frosting onto the top of each brownie cup.
Sprinkle with Reese's pieces. Enjoy!