Chocolate Peanut Butter Reese’s Cupcakes-Cupcake of the Month

Well its early in the month, but I am so excited about these cupcakes! I am starting something new for each month and doing a cupcake of the month. I’ve made these last month, actually two months ago for the March Birthdays at my job. It’s also a special month because I turn 21…again lol. Not that I am much older than that, but 21 is a good age because I am able to have a nice beverage. 

I know I normally preach about eating healthy, but I always say everything in moderation. These might go a little over the top, but these are really good, and I hope you guys try these. I took an element from a lot of my favorite blogs and made them into one. These are my Chocolate Peanut Butter Reese’s Cupcakes. These are a doctored up chocolate cake mix, with a Reese’s cup inside and a swirled chocolate and peanut butter frosting. 

If you do not have frosting tips to swirl the frosting, this is what I would do:  Frost the cupcakes with the peanut butter frosting and then make a chocolate ganache. 

Here’s how to do it.

Ingredients/Recipe

Adapted from A Bitchin' Kitchen

Reese's cup inside inspired by Our Best Bites

 

1 box cake mix (I use Devil's Food Cake)

1 box (3.5 ounces) instant chocolate pudding

2 cups sour cream

3 large eggs

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup water

24 Mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups plus about 12 extra for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put cupcake liners in two cupcake pans. 

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine cake mix, pudding, sour cream, eggs, oil and water on medium speed, until well combined. Fill each cupcake liner about 1/3 full with cupcake batter. Top with an unwrapped mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup and top  with batter making sure the Reese's cup is covered (I but my Reese's cup upside down) and bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick cups out clean.

While the cupcakes are baking, make the frosting. 

When the cupcakes our cool, frost the cupcakes and garnish with the left over Mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.

Frosting recipes follow.

 

Peanut Butter Frosting 

From Ina Garten

1 cup confectioners' sugar

1 cup creamy peanut butter

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/3 cup heavy cream

Place the confectioners' sugar, peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on medium-low speed until creamy, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as you work. Add the cream and beat on high speed until the mixture is light and smooth. 

Chocolate frosting

From Our Best Bites

1/2 c. melted butter
1/3 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 c. evaporated milk
1 lb. powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Beat together the frosting ingredients on high speed until light and fluffy

I also learned how to swirl the cupcakes from Our Best Bites and they have a great tutorial here. I had a little problem with the swirling of the frosting, but that was my fault.

Thank you to my favorite blogs that inspired this cupcake. I hope you guys try these they are so good.

 

Enjoy!

Keeping with the healthy trend...Yum Yum Brownie Muffins

I am not sure how many times I have said I LOVE sweets. I think I could really eat them everyday and every meal. I especially love frosting. When eating cake or cupcakes I always tend to eat the cake part first than the frosting. It is so sugary and sweet...yum!

Hopefully I didn't make you run out and buy a tub of frosting to eat out of the tub, not that I ever would...

Since I am health conscious and I know that I cannot eat sweets all the time, I really do try to find ways to have my cake and eat it to. For today's recipe I turned to Hungry Girl for her Yum Yum Brownie Muffins. First it is super simple, second there is only two ingredients and third when I heard about these I wanted to try them because I really wanted a cupcake.

The only two ingredients that you need are a chocolate cake mix and a can of pumpkin NOT canned pumpkin pie.  Now you make think that this is going to taste like pumpkin, but nope, no pumpkin taste at all. Please keep in mind that there is sugar in the cake mix so there will be sugar in the cupcakes themselves. I believe Betty Crocker has a Sugar Free cake mix, but I have not tried this recipe with that so I am not sure if that will work or not.

The only thing I would have done different is maybe added some mini chocolate chips in it because I felt like it needed something a little more. You can also get fat free cool whip and put a dollop on top which would be really good also.these do come out super moist and have a texture mix between a cake and muffin. While still these might not be as healthy as a chicken breast, its a nice way to enjoy a cupcake/muffin with a little guilt.

Recipe from Hungry Girl

Ingredients/recipe 
1 (18 1/4-ounce) box devil's food cake mix 
1 (15-ounce) can 100-percent pure pumpkin

Preheat the oven to 400.

Mix the cake mix with the can of pumpkin, whisking to remove any lumps. The batter will be thick. Pour into 12 foil cupcake liners and bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick is inserted in the center and comes out clean.

Let cool and enjoy!

these are the stats from Hungry Girl:  PER SERVING (1 muffin): 181 calories, 3.5g fat, 357mg sodium, 37g carbs, 2g fiber, 20g sugars, 2g protein