Peanut Butter Cupcakes

Peanut Butter Cupcakes are packed with delicious peanut butter flavor. Once you try one, you’ll gobble up the whole batch!

These cupcakes are one of our family’s favorite special occasion snacks. I love to top them with chocolate frosting or, for true peanut butter lovers, go all-in with peanut butter buttercream frosting! They are fast and easy to whip up and bake up in just 15 minutes!

Why I love this recipe

• This is an easy recipe that pairs well with many of your favorite frosting recipes – chocolate, pb frosting, cream cheese frosting are all great options
• unlike many other peanut butter cake or peanut butter cupcake recipes I’ve tried, thiese tender cupcakes have a moist crumb

How to keep these cupcakes from turning out dry

The key to baking with peanut butter is to make sure they turn out moist. Peanut butter is a drying ingredient so many recipes I’ve tried in the past turn out hard and crumbly.

To fix this, in this recipe we use oil instead of butter and add in some applesauce for even more moisture.  Do not use natural peanut butter. You can use creamy or chunky peanut butter, whichever texture you prefer, they taste good either way!

Ingredients

First, gather your simple ingredients:

• brown sugar
• vegetable oil
• applesauce
• peanut butter
• eggs
• milk
• vanilla extract
• flour
• baking soda
• cream of tartar
• salt
• frosting of your choice

Step by step

Now it’s time to bake! (Full recipe card below)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a muffin pan with cupcake liners.
2. In a stand mixer (affiliate link) or a large bowl with an electric hand mixer, mix together the brown sugar, oil, applesauce, and peanut butter on medium speed until light and fluffy.
3. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla.
4. Combine the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt; stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients alternately with the milk, scraping the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.
5. Spoon into the prepared muffin cups, almost to the top, these cupcakes don’t rise much!
6. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean.
7. Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for ten minutes before removing to a wire rack. Let them cool completely before frosting them with chocolate frosting or creamy peanut butter frosting.

Is your mouth watering yet?

Variations

• make peanut butter cup cupcakes by adding a Reese’s peanut butter cup to the center of the cupcake before baking
• stir in mini chocolate chips
• top with frosting and mini peanut butter cups

Storage

Store leftover cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2-3 days. If using a buttercream or cream cheese frosting store in the refrigerator.

Freeze cupcakes without frosting in a freezer bag for up to 3 months.

You might also like to try my Peanut Butter Pie, Peanut Butter Blossoms, and Peanut Butter Cookies!

If you try this recipe, please comment and rate it below, I love hearing from you!