Peanut Butter Cupcakes are soft, tender, and loaded with peanut butter flavor. They are A perfect treat for peanut butter lovers!
Creamy peanut butter frosting makes these cupcakes irresistible. Peanut butter cupcakes are fluffy and delicious! For more peanut butter goodness try Peanut Butter Cup Cookies, Peanut Butter Chews, and Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies.
A PB Lover’s Dream
This recipe will thrill peanut butter lovers everywhere. Peanut butter cupcakes with peanut butter frosting is a peanut butter lovers dream! Made from scratch with simple ingredients you already have in your pantry, these cupcakes are easy and scrumptious!
One challenge with baking with peanut butter is that it tends to make baked goods dry. I made several tweaks to this recipe to avoid that. I used oil instead of butter, brown sugar instead of regular sugar, and used cake flour.
When the cupcakes are done, they will have crinkly tops. They don’t raise up much, they stay flat (unless you overfill the liners). Perfect for adding frosting!
How to make Peanut butter cupcakes
DRY INGREDIENTS. In a small bowl, whisk together the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
WET INGREDIENTS. In a large mixing bowl, whisk the oil, peanut butter, and brown sugar till smooth. Add the eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla and whisk till well blended.
COMBINE. Stir in the dry ingredients just till combined. Don’t over-mix.
BAKE. Spoon batter into paper lined muffin pans, filling just over half full. Bake at 350° for about 15 minutes or till a toothpick comes out clean. Cool cupcakes completely, then frost.
The Peanut Butter Frosting
The creamy peanut butter frosting makes these cupcakes purely decadent. Honestly, I could have just eaten the frosting by the spoonful. It is so good! Just mix together 5 ingredients to make this amazing frosting:
- creamy peanut butter
- butter
- powdered sugar
- vanilla
- milk (or heavy whipping cream)
Note: Make sure that you use regular processed creamy peanut butter such as Jif. The natural peanut butter has a different consistency that will alter the texture of the cupcakes.
variations + storage
Make your own buttermilk: Add 2 tbsp lemon juice OR vinegar to the bottom of a measuring cup. Add milk until you reach 1 cup. Allow the mixture to sit for 8-10 minutes before using.
Make your own cake flour by measuring out a cup of flour, removing a tablespoon, and replacing it with a tablespoon of cornstarch. That’s what I did.
If you love peanut butter these are your treat. To make peanut butter overload cupcakes there are so many additions you can use:
- Diced peanut butter cups to the top
- Sprinkle on peanut butter chips
- Add regular or mini Reeses Pieces
- Chopped peanuts
The peanut butter cupcake pairs well with other frostings such as:
- Chocolate buttercream
- Vanilla buttercream
- Cream Cheese Frosting
Cupcakes can be made ahead of time and stored in an airtight container.
To make them further ahead of time store the frosting and cupcakes in separate containers.
- STORE frosting in the fridge for up to two weeks or FREEZE for up to 3 months.
- STORE cupcakes at room temperature for 1-2 days or FREEZE for up to 3 months.
Leftover cupcakes can be STORED in a container for 3-4 days or FREEZE up to 3 months.
For more cupcake recipes, check out:
- Banana Cupcakes
- Cookies and Cream Cupcakes
- Vanilla Cupcakes with Berry Buttercream Frosting
- Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cupcakes
- Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes
Peanut Butter Cupcake Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups cake flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 6 Tbsp vegetable oil I used canola
- 6 Tbsp creamy peanut butter
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 whole eggs
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Peanut Butter Frosting
- 2/3 cup creamy peanut butter
- 6 Tbsp butter, softened
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 4-5 Tbsp cream or milk
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk the oil, peanut butter, and brown sugar till smooth. Add the eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla and whisk till well blended.
- Stir in the dry ingredients just till combined. Don't over-mix.
- Spoon batter into paper lined muffin pans, filling just over half full. Bake at 350° for about 15 minutes or till a toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool cupcakes completely, then frost.
Peanut Butter Frosting
- Combine peanut butter, butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and 4 tablespoons of the cream in a mixing bowl. Beat till smooth and creamy, adding cream as needed.
was wondering if you could make this into a cake pan and frost it to and what size pan just wondering. making these for church dessert
I haven’t used this recipe as a cake, but you should be able to! I’d say probably 2 8X8 round pans or 9X9 round pans (for a thinner cake). You could probably even do a 9×13 or a bundt cake. You’ll have to let us know what you try and how it turns out! I’d love to know!