Brownie Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

My husband loves Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. It is his favorite treat. Sometimes when he needs something portable, he goes for Peanut butter M&M’s. Point being, chocolate and peanut butter is one of his favorite combinations. He has been gone to Brazil for two weeks now, so to celebrate his arrival, I thought I would whip up something new that he would enjoy. Sadly, his flight got cancelled because of strikes, so the earliest he will get in is Sunday. And I can’t promise these cupcakes will last that long!

I found a ‘base recipe’ on Epicurious that I was able to alter based on what I had and what I thought would work better for me and the Husband. In the comments section of Epicurious, people mentioned the cupcake sticks to the paper. Even with my changes, it still sticks some, but not to the point you are tearing the paper to get to the cupcake. Enjoy!

Ingredients for Cupcakes:

* 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
* 3/4 cups semisweet chocolate chips (divided into 1/2 cup and 1/4 cup)
* 2 ounces extra bittersweet chocolate, chopped (I used 70% – Scharfenberger)
* 1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
* 1/3 cup sugar
* 2 large eggs
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1/2 cup all purpose flour
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 cup cocoa powder
* 1/4 cup Reese’s premier baking pieces (or peanut butter chips)

Ingredients for Frosting:

* 1 cup powdered sugar
* 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter (do not use old-fashioned)
* 1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
* 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 4 teaspoons whipping cream

The Steps:

Cupcake Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners. (10 muffin cups will be rise to the tip, but 12 will rise slightly below, leaving plenty of room to pile on the icing!)
2. Combine butter, 1/2 cup chocolate chips, and unsweetened chocolate in top of double boiler set over simmering water. Stir until mixture is melted and smooth.
3. Remove from over water. Whisk both sugars into chocolate mixture, then whisk in eggs 1 at a time.
4. Whisk in vanilla, then flour, cocoa powder, salt, Reese’s baking pieces, and remaining 1/4 cup chocolate chips.
5. Divide batter among muffin cups. Bake about 17 minutes. Cool completely before frosting.

Frosting Steps:

1. Put everything except the whipping cream into a medium bowl and mix with an electric mixer.
2. Add whipping cream a tablespoon at a time until the frosting reaches your desired consistency.
3. Frost the cupcakes and top with an extra Reese’s baking piece.

Editor’s note: This was my first time trying to post with flickr. You might have seen formatting, tags, etc change while I tried to tweek the process. Thanks for your patience! ~Ash