Peanut Butter Filled Cupcakes

These easy cupakes have a surprise inside…peanut butter filling! This filling tastes like the filling in Reeses Peanut Butter Cups!

I like to make the filling in advance and put it in the fridge overnight or the freezer for a bit to harden. It scoops much easier! You can use a small Tablespoon cookie scoop. Or I have a little melon-ball scoop that works perfectly! If you don’t have one of these, use a teaspoon and mound it over the spoon to make it a rounded shape.

Truth be told, I sometimes use the fudge frosting recipe below, but I sometimes use Pillsbury Fudge ready-made frosting, and it turns out great either way!

Peanut Butter Filled Cupcakes

These easy cupakes have a surprise inside...peanut butter filling! If you like Reeses Peanut Butter Cups, you'll love these cupcakes!

Prep Time

30

Cook Time

15

Servings

Ingredients

Cupcake Batter

• 1 Devil’s Food Cake Mix
• 1 15 oz ounce can applesauce

Filling

• 3 oz cream cheese softened
• 1/2 c creamy peanut butter
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp milk
• 1/8 tsp coarse salt or to taste

Frosting

• 2 c powdered sugar
• 1/3 baking cocoa
• 1/3 c. butter
• 2 Tbsp milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Drizzle:

• 3 Tbsp peanut butter

Prep Time 30 Cook Time 15 Servings Ingredients Cupcake Batter 1 Devil’s Food Cake Mix 1 15 oz ounce can applesauce Filling 3 oz cream cheese softened 1/2 c creamy peanut butter 2 Tbsp brown sugar 1 Tbsp milk 1/8 tsp coarse salt or to taste Frosting 2 c powdered sugar 1/3 baking cocoa 1/3 c. butter 2 Tbsp milk 1 tsp. vanilla Drizzle: 3 Tbsp peanut butter

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350*.
2. Mix filling ingredients with electric mixer until well blended. Refrigerate while making cupcake batter. If you have time, make filling ahead of time and refrigerate or freeze so filling is easy to work with.
3. Mix cake mix and applesauce until well blended. Let batter rest for 10 minutes at room temperature to rise. Fill 20 muffin cups 1/3 full (about 1/8 c per cupcake). Add about 1 Tbsp. of filling to the center of each cup on top of the batter. Cover filling with remaining batter (about 1 Tbsp for each cupcake).
4. Bake according to package on cake mix or until top springs back when touched lightly with finger. Remove from pan 5 minutes after coming out of the oven. Cool completely.
5. Stir together powdered sugar and baking cocoa in a small mixing bowl. Warm milk, vanilla and butter in a mug or bowl in microwave until butter is melted. Add to sugar/cocoa mixture and stir with wire whisk or mix with beater until smooth. Frost cupcakes.
6. Place 3 Tbsp. peanut butter in a small Ziploc bag. Warm in microwave for 15 seconds or until texture is much thinner. Cut corner of bag at the bottom and drizzle peanut butter on top of frosted cupcakes by squeezing peanut butter through opening.

Recipe Notes

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*Baked, but unfrosted cupcakes can be frozen in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks. Allow time to defrost, then frost and drizzle with peanut butter as directed.

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