Reese's Pieces® Cupcakes

Over the weekend, Josh and I went to the movies to see "Horton Hears a Who" (fyi, cute movie). While we were there he helped me rekindle my love for Reese's Pieces buy spending a zillion dollars for a bag of them! It takes me forever to eat candy, so I still had half the bag yesterday morning. I decided to use them in these chocolate peanut butter cupcakes. I don't use cake mix very often, but I had some just sitting in the cabinet getting dusty. I spruced up the yellow cake mix with some peanut butter. I frosted them with chocolate buttercream (to which I added a bit of peanut butter). I'm not typically a "frosting lover." I usually scrape most of it off (except SMBC of course!). However, I was literally eating this chocolate PB buttercream by the spoonful out of the bowl. It's so creamy and good!! These cupcakes are extreeemely delicious. I couldn't eat them quietly... if you know what I'm saying. And the Reese's Pieces on top are a perfect crunchy surprise.

ingredientsbefore...

...after

23 ready to be baked!

While the cupcakes were baking, I was reading the

ingredient label on the cake mix and noticed this startling fact...

I wonder what constitutes "excessive consumption."

cooling and smelling fabulous!

topped with Reese's Pieces

The final yummy product!

Who else is fed up with April showers making daylight too dull to get a good picture? I mean seriously, it has rained every single day since April 1. And my herb garden is dying because my seedlings need sunshine! :(

Recipe adapted from Cupcakes from the Cake Mix Doctor by Anne Byrn.

Peanut Butter Surprises
Makes 22-24 cupcakes

24 Hershey's Kisses (I omitted these)
1 package (18.25 ounces) plain yellow cake mix
1 1/3 cups water
1/3 cup smooth peanut butter
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
8 Reese's Peanut Butter Cups (.75 ounce each) (I omitted these)
Chocolate Buttercream (I changed this to Chocolate Peanut Butter Buttercream)

1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 24 cupcake cups with paper liners. Set the pans aside. Unwrap 24 Hershey's Kisses and set them aside.
2. Place the cake mix, water, peanut but­ter, oil, eggs, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed until blended, 30 seconds. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes longer, scraping down the sides again if necessary. The batter should be well blended. Spoon or scoop 1/4 cup batter into each lined cupcake cup, filling it two-thirds of the way full. (You will get between 22 and 24 cupcakes; remove the empty liners, if any.) Gently place 1 Kiss on top of each cupcake. Do not press the Kiss into the batter. Place the pans in the oven. Meanwhile, place the Peanut Butter Cups in the freezer for at least 30 minutes.
3. Bake the cupcakes until they are golden and spring back when lightly pressed with your finger, 18 to 20 min­utes. Remove the pans from the oven and place them on wire racks to cool for 5 minutes. Run a dinner knife around the edges of the cupcake liners, lift the cup­cakes up from the bottoms of the cups using the end of the knife, and pick them out of the cups carefully with your finger­tips. Place them on a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes before frosting.
4. Meanwhile, prepare the Chocolate Buttercream. Remove the Peanut Butter Cups from the freezer and coarsely chop them.
5. Place a heaping tablespoon of frosting on each cupcake and swirl to spread it out with a short metal spatula or metal spoon, taking care to cover the tops. Garnish with chopped Peanut Butter Cups. The cupcakes are ready to serve.

Store these cupcakes in a cake saver or under a glass dome at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Or freeze them wrapped in aluminum foil or in a cake saver for up to 6 months. Thaw the cupcakes overnight in the refrigerator before serving.

Chocolate Buttercream (My changes in orange make Chocolate PB Buttercream)

8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter; at room temperature
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3 cups confectioners' sugar; sifted
3 to 5 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Place the butter, peanut butter, and cocoa powder in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed until the mixture is soft and well combined, 30 seconds. Stop the machine and add the confectioners sugar (I just guestimated while adding sugar. It was probably more like 2 cups), 3 tablespoons of the milk, and the vanilla. Blend with the mixer on low speed until the sugar is incorporated, 1 minute. Increase the speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy, 1 minute more. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons more milk if the frost­ing is too stiff.

Overall rating on a scale of 1-5
Moistness: 5
Tenderness: 4
Frosting: 5