Swirls of chocolate and peanut butter frosting and a hidden peanut butter cup make these Reese's Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes disappear in a hurry.

(photos updated June 2018)
Today I'm bringing you an "oldie but goodie" recipe. This post was originally published eight years ago when I was a new blogger. The photos desperately needed an update, and I was craving chocolate and peanut butter goodness. So here we are with the same great recipe, but better looking pictures.
A few years ago I made a batch of chocolate cupcakes for our oldest son's class to celebrate his birthday.
Man, what a birthday he had! First he fell at recess and got a huge bump above his eye. Then after school we were rear ended hard. It was a 4 car accident all caused by the guy behind me.
Then my back hatch wouldn't even open. Praise the Lord no one was hurt, and we all had insurance. That was definitely a birthday for the kiddo to remember.

After making chocolate cupcakes for the kids, I was totally craving a decadent cupcake. Then the Reese's peanut butter cups in the pantry started calling out to me, so I had to hit the kitchen.
It's true. I really do hear voices when it comes to sugar. I am thinking it might become a problem in the back end department.
Maybe hitting the gym hard core instead of the kitchen should be my priority...

But instead I headed to the kitchen and baked an entire peanut butter cup in the bottom of each of these easy peanut butter cup cupcakes.
Chocolate and peanut butter is one of the best combinations. Everyone in our family loves it which means I'm not left to finish off a batch of cupcakes on my own.
To finish off the best chocolate cupcakes ever, I swirled Dark Chocolate Buttercream Frosting and the Best Honey Peanut Butter Frosting together. I love how it looks like swirled soft serve ice cream.
A small miniature peanut butter cup cut in half added a fun decoration to the top.

How to make these Reese's Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes:
Preheat your oven. Line a cupcake pan with 24 liners. I like to find ones that go with the theme of whatever cupcake I'm making.
Unwrap your Reese's peanut butter cups and drop one into each cupcake liner.
Mix your cake batter using a dark chocolate cake mix and a box of chocolate pudding. Do not follow the box directions though. Make sure you follow the ingredients I have listed below. It's important because of the added pudding mix.
Spoon the cake batter evenly into the cupcake lines. Bake and cool the cupcakes.
Make both kinds of frosting. Now I like a huge swirl of frosting on top of my cupcakes, so I used two full batches, and we had some leftover for sneaking bites with a spoon. If you do not want that much frosting, go ahead and only make half a batch of each frosting.
Spoon a small amount of each frosting into two clear piping bags. Do not over fill them because you will be putting both into one large bag.
Cut the tips off each one. Drop both bags into a large piping bag that has icing tip 1M attached to it. Close the top of the bag tightly with the palm of your hand. Gently swirl the frosting on top of the Reese's Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes.
You will need to remove the individual frosting bags from time to time to refill them. This can be messy, but the end results are so worth the mess.
Cut 12 miniature peanut butter cups in half and place on top of the cupcakes for a fun decoration.

More fun cupcakes to make for parties:
- Banana Caramel Cupcakes - caramel drizzles, candies, and frosting give these a delicious sweet and salty taste.
- Cherry Chocolate Chip Cupcakes - cherries and chocolate chips add a fun surprise inside these easy to make cupcakes.
- Peanut Butter Oreo Cupcakes - a hidden cookie in the bottom of these homemade peanut butter cupcakes is a fun surprise to find.
- Unicorn Cupcakes - a hidden pocket of sprinkles and swirled frosting makes these so pretty
- Circus Animal Cookie Cupcakes - cheesecake centers, frosting, and cookies make these cupcakes so delicious and pretty
Reese's Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes recipe:
Swirls of chocolate and peanut butter frosting and a hidden peanut butter cup make these Reese's Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes disappear in a hurry. *If you do not want a large swirl of frosting on the cupcakes, make ½ a batch of each kind of frosting instead of the full batch. As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases. Nutrition facts are an estimate and are not guaranteed to be accurate. If you need special diet advice, please see a registered dietician.Recipe
Reese's Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes
Ingredients
Instructions
Notes
Recommended Products
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 24
Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving:
Calories: 286Total Fat: 19gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 38mgSodium: 167mgCarbohydrates: 27gFiber: 1gSugar: 22gProtein: 5g


Carissa Nelson | Spoonful of Easy
Dang, poor guy, what a birthday! I was in a fender bender last year on my birthday, and I firmly believe it's a once in a lifetime thing -- so all future birthdays will be smooth sailing (or driving 🙂 -- love this swirled frosting and can't wait to try these!
Jocelyn
It was a pretty rough day. Although, it was years ago and I think he has totally forgotten about it. I hope you get a chance to try the cupcakes. They are one of my absolute favorites! It was fun to give them a facelift!
booturtle
These look amazing! Do you share your frosting recipes? I make a peanut buttercream but I'm always looking for ways to improve or make alternates. I've also never found a chocolate buttercream I'm truly happy with. I'd love to see how you do yours, if you're up to passing it along. Also, regarding the candy bat, is that the peanutbutter frosting you put inside the mold? resa (at) booturtle (dot) com
Andrea C
wow that does look good x
carissa @ lowercase letters
so sorry about the accident! happy belated birthday to your sweet boy! the cupcakes look superb, as always. i'm convinced that you NEED to open a cupcakery.
Mindy
Those bat pics are so cute! I recently tried a peanut butter frosting topped chocolate cupcake. Will be posting soon.
Kimberly and Ashley @ Everyday Expressions
That cupcake looks delish!!!! Mmmm.... I'm craving one already 🙂
Creative Cupcake Recipes
What a great combination. These cupcakes look delicious. Your buttercream looks light and fluffy. Thanks for sharing.
Katie
those look delicious and professional! found you on the blog hop. stop by if you get a chance.
Joann
That is so cute! New follower from Wandering Wednesday!
Jami
LOL I eat mine for breakfast too. This looks DIVINE!
Miranda
Are you kidding me with the multiple chocolate + peanut butter layers of that cupcake? I love it! And you made the PB filled bat? Okay. Am seriously inspired by your skills.
Kristin
These look amazing! Hard to resist as a huge peanut butter and chocolate fan. Great Blog! Stopping by from the Welcome Wednesday Blog Hop. Following you now.
Kristin
cheryl@scrapaddict4sure
Hey cute project thanks for linking up with me!
Nikki
OH EM GEE....Those look soooooooooooooooo good! Thanks so much for linking these up to gettin' crafty on hump day! 🙂
Melinda
These look so yummy! I am a new follower from Blog Hop Skip and Jump.
Mommies 2 Cents
YUMMMMMMMY! Great blog! I'm following from Wandering Wednesday. I hope you'll stop by soon!
Jess
Mommies 2 Cents
YUMMMMMMMY! Great blog! I'm following from Wandering Wednesday. I hope you'll stop by soon!
Jess
Heather
Sorry to hear about his day! I hope that it got better ~ LOVE this cupcake though! I'm throwing a peanut butter cup into my next batch! YUM!
Sherry @ Lamp Unto My Feet
Oh, my! My favorite combination! These sound delish! 🙂 Great to meet you!
Visting from iFellowship today!
Have a great day!
Sherry
Julie
Everything here looks SO good! Glad I found you. I'm your newest follower from the Wednesday blog hops. Hope you stop by and say hi too. :)