mini chocolate & peanut butter cupcakes
I know I inherited my love of chocolate from my dad, but more recently, I’ve come to realize my infatuation with peanut butter must be genetic as well. Aren’t dads the best? They teach us things we’d never know otherwise, like how satisfying a toasted peanut butter and honey sandwich can be, or that a sense of humor is absolutely essential to navigating life.
These mini chocolate and peanut butter cupcakes are dedicated to my dad. Stuffed with a mini peanut butter cup and topped with creamy peanut butter frosting, they make a dream dessert for peanut butter lovers. (More Father’s Day ideas: chocolate pound cake, malt ball bark, or peanut butter swirl brownies.)
Happy Father’s Day, Dad! You are truly the best!
Mini Chocolate & Peanut Butter Cupcakes
1 1/2 cups boiling water
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/4 tsp instant espresso
1 2/3 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
6 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
48 mini peanut butter cups
Peanut Butter Frosting
6 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese, softened
pinch of salt
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 Tbsp low-fat milk
48 mini peanut butter cups
Preheat oven to 350°F and line two 12-cup mini muffin pans with baking cups. Whisk together boiling water, cocoa, and espresso, then cool completely. Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Beat butter, sugar, and vanilla extract in a large mixer bowl at medium speed until well blended (about 3 minutes). Add eggs one at a time and beat well. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with cooled cocoa mixture (begin and end with flour mixture).
Fill each baking cup half full of batter; add a mini peanut butter cup plus just enough batter to cover the cup completely. Bake for 13 minutes, until tops spring back to the touch. Cool cupcakes for 2 minutes in pans on a wire rack, then carefully remove from pans and place on wire rack to cool completely.
For the frosting, beat butter, cream cheese, and salt in a large mixer bowl on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add peanut butter and vanilla. Reduce speed to low; add powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time and beat well, scraping down bowl as needed. Add milk and beat on medium-high speed until light and airy. Fit a pastry bag with a large round tip and pipe frosting onto each cupcake; top with a mini peanut butter cup. Store leftover cupcakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 3 days. Bring to room temperature before serving.
Yield – 48 mini cupcakes
Calories – 160 (per cupcake)
Carbs – 23
57 comments
These are pure perfection!! Yummy!!
Peanut butter love truly must come from our dads! (I know mine did!)
These cupcakes look like the perfect balance of healthy chocolate and even healthier p.b.! 😀
This post is so sweet! From the cupcakes to your story about your Dad! Pinning!
Those are adorable and look amazing. What a nice treat to celebrate your Dad for Father’s Day!
So cute Laura and happy Father’s Day to your dad, he sounds like a gem!
Fabulous and totally irresistible!
Cheers,
Rosa
Wow, that looks amazing! I can gobble up the entire batch. Love chocolate and peanut butter cups, yum! 🙂
You are so sweet to dedicate this to your father. And dude, they look like absolutely sinful perfection.
I can see your dad finishing up all these cupcakes in the next few days… 😀 He’s so lucky to have a great baker in the family! These cupcakes are so cute – love the abundant peanut butter frosting! Happy Father’s Day to your dad!
These cupcakes look incredible. I love the flavors of chocolate and peanut butter together.
Aw, I love that this is for your dad. Ironically enough, I think the PB/chocolate combo is the best combo out there and my dad HATES it. Looks like I’ll just have to make these for myself and get him a six-pack of beer instead. 😉
My absolute favorite combo of flavors. I’m loving the idea of a mini peanut butter cup stuffed and baked into the cupcakes!
The mini cupcakes look gorgeous and your Dad will be so proud you dedicated the post to him. My Dad used to love when I baked him fruit cakes and apple tarts. 🙂
STUNNING! And as yummy are beautiful! Perfect for your dad!!!
The Mini Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes are a compelling reason to celebrate-everyday! I hope you get to share them with your dad, I know he would be charmed!
These are beautiful! Stunning photos.
Awwwwww I love it!! Fathers are the bestest! 🙂
Gorgeous photo with a very clean muffin pan. Got to love our dads for what we learn from them.
I have a thing for PB (and chocolate!) and even after writing a cookbook full of PB and eating tons of it, I love it as much as ever. Perfect cupcakes & pinned!
So cute! Love your thoughts on your Dad.
Those look delicious Laura and my chocoholics and peanutholics in the house would finish those yummy cupcakes in minutes 😀 Have a wonderful weekend ahead, and happy father’s day to your Dad!
My Husband will appreciate these!
How lucky is your dad to have these gorgeous cupcakes! We are peanut butter lovers here so the batch size is just perfect for us!
These are absolutely incredible, Laura! I love the little PB cup on top…perfection!
These are so cute, Laura! Definitely worth the indulgence. Love your recipe!
Precious…these darling cupcakes as well as the sweet dedication to your dad!
These are so adorable, Laura! What could be better than chocolate and peanut butter in a lovely mini cupcake? Simply stunning and delicious 🙂 And happy father’s day to your Dad!
Happy Father’s Day Laura! These cupcakes are the perfect way to celebrate Dad’s special day 😉
Chocolate and peanut butter is my dad’s favorite. He would love these. Heck, I would love these.
So sweet – I think of my dad when I think of my chocolate sweet tooth, too. These are positively scrumptious.
I have a dad and a daughter who would go crazy for these! And I would gladly inhale a few myself 🙂
They look incredible! Did you use the mini peanut butter cups that are individually wrapped? Or the really small ones that come in a resealable pouch?
Hi Gail, I used the mini PB cups from a resealable pouch. Not sure where you are located, but Trader Joe’s also carries plastic tubs of mini PB cups, though those are slightly smaller than the ones pictured here. Hope that helps! 🙂
Yes, that absolutely helps! I have an order for mini pb cupcakes for next weekend and I’ve been searching for a perfect recipe! I’ve found it! Thank you so much for your quick response!
These are so pretty and look delicious! Best combination ever 🙂
PB and chocolate are perfect together and my hubby would love these as well as my Dad. PB must be a guy thing my hubby eats tons of it and so does my dad 🙂
Laura – these are simply the cutest cupcakes! Love, love, love! I bet they did not last long in your house!!! Hope you have a wonderful weekend!
anything with peanut butter cups and im sold!
Such a sweet post for your papa!!! And omg, these cupcakes are to-die-for!!!
These cupcakes are definitely a favorite for me! I am obsessed with anything pb and chocolate! Strangely enough, I get my chocolate obsession from my dad as well, but he HATES peanut butter!
this is gorgeous! Peanut butter certainly makes the world brighter!
I always love you images! hey are just so beautiful… I really should pop over more often. These cupcakes look amazing! Dads are great, mine didnt cook often, but when he did he made great food. Fried cheese sandwiches YUM!
My American sweet tooth is swooning for one of these 🙂
Such a sweet post…I should make these cupcakes for my dad too – pb and chocolate is his favorite candy combo!! They are gorgeous, Laura!
A festive cupcakes for Father’s Day! Yum!
My hubby would seriously devour these gorgeous cupcakes…..he is a peanut butter addict! Yum, Hugs, Terra
What perfect mini cupcakes! I love how you decorated them and I could eat that frosting with a spoon!
Do you know that it looks almost too good to eat? I would dry it and keep on a shelf between books.
Can this recipe be used to make regular sized cupcakes as well?
Hi Nicole, yes it can – the recipe should make 24 full-sized cupcakes. For full-sized, you can use a cupcake corer to make a hole in the center of the baked cupcakes and fill the holes with the mini peanut butter cups. Then just top with the peanut butter frosting. Hope that helps!
I just made these as full sized cupcakes and they are definitely my favorite cupcake recipe ever! The only thing I changed was that I used real vanilla bean caviar instead of vanilla extract. Both the cupcake and the frosting came out magnificently — thanks for the brilliant recipe of peanut butter joy!
Thanks for your comment, Dominique! So glad you liked them :).
Can you leave out the Espresso? I’m guessing that is like adding coffee to make the chocolate flavor come out more.
Yes, you can. The espresso just brings out the chocolate flavor.
Alright, thank you!
I previously made these minis and they were great! Just made them as full sized cupcakes (but left out the peanut butter cup). Filled 3/4 full and baked ~20 minutes @350. They came out perfect and delicious! Definitely my new go to chocolate cupcake recipe both with or without the peanut butter cups and for mini or regular! Thank you!
Thanks so much for letting me know, Rachael! Glad these worked for you, have a great weekend! 🙂