Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes
With a mom that lives states away, Mother’s Day means putting together a thoughtful care package that will help bring a smile to my mom. One that is thoughtful, has a homemade element, and travels well. The travels well part is key. My go to, which I have my husband to thank for the idea, is mason jar cupcakes. Cupcakes baked right in the glass, and then iced & topped before screwing on the lid. Boxed in a pillow of tissue paper & surrounded by other small car package goodies, they’re perfectly packable and just look so cute in the box. & it’s a perfect serving for one that requires only a fork to dig right in.
My mom is a chocolate lover, so I’m going the Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcake route this go around. Plus that’s a favored combo in our house, so any extras will happily get eaten! These cupcake are so good, and perfect to fulfill my Reese’s peanut butter chip addiction. Y’all - if you’ve never baked with these things or eaten them in a cookie, there’s a void in your life. They’re such a good peanut butter-y bite, and they’re baked right into these cupcakes so you’re sure to get the peanut butter - chocolate bite every time.
Mason jars takes a good amount of batter to fill them up. Even just filling a 12 oz mason jar half way is like the equivalent of 2 cupcakes (maybe a little more). So whoever is getting your mason jar cake is getting a nice healthy serving, and it makes your batter go quick! Which is kind of perfect in my world because cupcakes are one of those things that you can bake with the intention of giving away, or enjoying for like one night, but end up with dozens at your house that either go bad or make you fat. So this recipe is the perfect amount in my book! My recipe made 3 mason jar cakes (I baked mine in 12 ounce mason jars) and 3 regular cupcakes. So just the right amount for at home consumption + sending out goodies to a couple mamas I love so much. If you forego the regular cupcakes, you’ll probably get 4 mason jars cakes, or more if you opt for a smaller jar. Again, filling up the jar halfway with your batter is the only requirement.
They’re easy and they’re fun, and they’re a cute way to show a little love in pretty packaging.
For the Cupcakes & Frosting
3/4 c. almond milk
1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. canola oil
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 c. flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 c. Reese’s peanut butter chips (plus a little extra for sprinkling)
1 stick of butter
2 c. powdered sugar
2 tbsp peanut butter (I used crunchy)
1 tbsp almond milk
Heat your oven to 350.
Start by getting your milk and chocolate combined. Used a double bowler (or by placing a glass bowl over a sauce-pot of simmering water), heat your milk over medium heat until it warm to the touch. No need for it to be screaming hot. Whisk in the cocoa powder until it combined and the mixture looks like melted chocolate. Remove the bowl from the heat and set it on your kitchen counter.
Add in the granulated sugar and the oil, stirring until it’s mixed together. This part may take a a little elbow grease, but trust that the oil WILL mix in. Just takes about 3 solid minutes of whisking to get that bad boy emulsified. Once the oil is no longer pooling at the top of the bowl, add in the egg and vanilla, whisking for another minute or so. Next add in the all of the dry indregients - the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, whisking all of the ingredients with your liquified chocolate until you have a smooth batter. The final step is to stir in those peanut butter chips.
Now it’s time to get baking! Fill all of your mason jars halfway full, and all cupcake liners (if using them) three-quarters full. Bake them in the over for 25 minutes - the cupakes tops will be perfectly crisp and springy. Be sure to test your mason jar cakes - if they’re not springy and the middle doesn’t look quite set, bake them for an additional 3-5 minutes. Once they’re all baked, let them cool at room temperature for about an hours, and then place in the fridge for another hour. Those mason jars stay hot, so letting them hang in the fridge for even two hours is totally fine.
Once the cupcakes have cooled, get out your electric mixer. Place the butter, powdered sugar, and peanut butter in the mixer, turn it to medium speed, and let it mix until well combined and no lumps in your frosting. Let it whip up for 2 minutes or so, and then add in the milk. Even if it looks perfectly mixed and frosting like, still add in the almond milk because it will make it easy to pipe and help make sure the frosting sticks to the cupcake. I made the mistake first go around and skipped the milk, and it was no good.
Either pipe the frosting right onto the cakes (my preferred method), or spread it on with a spatula. For the mason jar cakes, you can either pipe on the icing or dollop it on with a spoon. Finish off each cake with a couple extra peanut butter chips right on top. Done and you’re ready to dig in.
