Peanut Butter Cup Cupcakes with Allergy-Friendly and Nut-FREE Alternatives

These peanut butter cup cupcakes are a crowd favorite! Peanut butter cupcakes with chocolate mousse frosting and a chocolate peanut butter cup baked in the center.

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These peanut butter cup cupcakes made their first debut in 2018 for Joe's birthday. I returned to this recipe in 2021 for Joe's 30th birthday. I love revisiting old recipes and updating them with new techniques or cooking tricks I learned over the years. Everything from here on out is all the changes and updates made to this recipe.

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Ingredient alternatives

Instead of Reese's peanut butter cups, try these: 

• Justin's Mini Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

• Free 2b's Mini Dark Chocolate Sun Cups

• Homemade Enjoy Life Sunbutter Cups

Instead of peanut butter, try these nut butter spreads: 

• Justin's Almond Butter

• Justin's Cashew Butter

• Sunflower Seed Butter - Sunbutter

Instead of frosting, try:

• Chocolate ganache using Enjoy Life Chocolates

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Peanut Butter Cup Cupcakes

with Allergy-Friendly and Nut-FREE Alternatives

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Ingredients

For the Cupcakes:

• 1 egg

• ½ cup (1 stick) of butter, room temperature

• 1 cup of sugar

• ½ cup milk of choice

• 2 + ¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1 tablespoon of oil - we used sunflower oil

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• ½ cup peanut butter or nut butter of your choice

• Mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, unwrapped

For the Frosting:

• 1 ½ cup heavy cream

• ⅓ cup cocoa powder

• ½ cup powdered sugar

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

For the Cupcakes:

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a 12-cupcake pan with cupcake papers and set aside.

2. In a medium-sized mixing bowl with an electric mixer or stand mixer with a paddle attachment, lightly beat the egg, butter, and sugar together until light and fluffy.

3. Add in the milk, flour, vanilla, oil, and baking soda and beat for about 2 minutes, or until you have a smooth batter.

4. Add the peanut butter or nut butter you are using and mix again until combined into the batter.

5. Divide the batter among the 12 liners in your prepared pan, filling each cup 3/4 of the way.

6. Of each cupcake, insert a mini peanut butter cup at the center. Use a spoon to make sure the batter is covering the top of it. Add extra batter if needed.

7. Bake for 22 minutes, or until it passes the toothpick test (insert a toothpick in the center and it comes out clean). Remove from the oven and allow cooling for a few minutes. Then transfer the cupcakes to a wire cooling rack. Let the cupcakes cool fully before decorating!

For the Frosting:

1. Add all the ingredients into a bowl and beat with an electric hand mixer or stand mixer with the whisk attachment until it gets light and fluffy - about 5 minutes at medium-high speed.

2. Fill your piping bag. Top the cupcakes, starting at the center and swirling around the cupcake until covered. For a video tutorial, watch here!

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