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chocolate peanut butter pretzel cupcakes

(3 ratings)
AspieApril avatar
Blue Ribbon Recipe by
April McIver
@AspieApril
R, CA

I love chocolate-covered pretzels. That combo of sweet, salty, and different textures is so good! These cupcakes also add peanut butter which makes everything chocolate better. They're some effort to make, but so good! This recipe is inspired by Kellie's S'Mores Cupcakes and by Shawn's Peanut Butter Frosting to Die For - which are both incredible, and you should try them if you haven't yet! The pretzel on top does tend to get stale and soggy pretty quickly, so I'd wait to add that until right before serving.

Blue Ribbon Recipe

These chocolate cupcakes have a lot going on. They definitely have a few steps but are not hard to make. If you are a chocolate and peanut butter lover, you will love these. We loved the contrast in flavors. Sweet peanut butter, rich chocolate, and salty pretzels are a fabulous combination. The best part of these chocolate peanut butter pretzel cupcakes is when you bite into them there is a delicious sweet peanut butter filling.

— The Test Kitchen @kitchencrew
(3 ratings)
yield 30 serving(s)
prep time 1 Hr 30 Min
cook time 20 Min
method Bake

Ingredients For chocolate peanut butter pretzel cupcakes

  • PRETZEL CRUST:
  • 1 1/2 c
    pretzel crumbs
  • 1/4 c
    sugar
  • 6 Tbsp
    butter, melted
  • 1 tsp
    chocolate chips, per cupcake
  • FILLING:
  • 2/3 c
    peanut butter
  • 1/2 c
    powdered sugar
  • CAKE:
  • 2 c
    sugar
  • 1 3/4 c
    all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 c
    cocoa powder
  • 1 1/2 tsp
    baking powder
  • 1 1/2 tsp
    baking soda
  • 1 tsp
    salt
  • 2 lg
    eggs
  • 1 c
    whole milk
  • 1/2 c
    vegetable oil
  • 1 tsp
    vanilla extract
  • 1 c
    boiling water
  • FROSTING:
  • 1 c
    butter, softened
  • 2 c
    peanut butter
  • 5-6 c
    powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp
    vanilla extract
  • 1-2 Tbsp
    whole milk
  • TOPPING:
  • 30
    pretzels
  • 1/2 c
    chocolate chips
  • 2 Tbsp
    butter, melted

How To Make chocolate peanut butter pretzel cupcakes

  • Prepping cupcake tins while oven preheats.
    1
    Preheat oven to 350. Line 30 muffin tins with paper liners.
  • Pretzel crumbs, sugar, and melted butter in a bowl.
    2
    To make crust: Combine pretzel crumbs with sugar and melted butter.
  • Pretzel crust spooned into cupcake tins and chocolate chips on top.
    3
    Divide among cups and press down with the back of a spoon. Drop a heaping teaspoon of chocolate chips on top of the crust and bake 5-10 minutes to melt the chocolate.
  • Powdered sugar and peanut butter combined in a bowl.
    4
    To make filling: Scoop peanut butter into a small bowl. Add powdered sugar until the peanut butter has a doughy consistency, as little powdered sugar as you can to make it able to work with. It'll still be a bit sticky.
  • Balls of peanut butter mixture added to cupcake tins.
    5
    Form the peanut butter mixture into small balls and drop one into each muffin cup on top of the crust & chocolate.
  • Dry ingredients sifted together in a bowl.
    6
    For the cake: Sift together all dry ingredients and set aside.
  • Eggs, milk, vegetable oil, and vanilla in a bowl.
    7
    In a mixing bowl combine eggs, milk, vegetable oil, and vanilla. Beat just until combined.
  • Wet and dry ingredients combined in a bowl.
    8
    Add dry ingredients, mixing on low for 30 seconds, then medium for 2 minutes.
  • Adding boiling water to the batter.
    9
    Add boiling water and mix to combine making a thin batter.
  • Batter divided among muffin pans.
    10
    Divide batter between muffin pans - depending on how large your pans are and how much crust/peanut butter filling you have there may be extra batter. If so, make a couple of plain chocolate cupcakes out of it. :) Bake at 350 for 18-20 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from pans and cool completely on a wire rack.
  • Whipping frosting ingredients until fluffy.
    11
    For Frosting: Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and beat on medium until well combined. Then whip on high until fluffy. Add milk or more powdered sugar as needed to adjust the consistency.
  • Melted chocolate chips and butter in a bowl.
    12
    For topping: Melt chocolate chips and butter together until smooth and glossy.
  • Frosting piped onto the cupcakes with a pretzel and chocolate drizzle.
    13
    To assemble the tops: I used tip 1M to swirl the peanut butter frosting on, pressed a pretzel on top, then put the chocolate/butter mix into a Ziploc bag and snipped off a tiny corner and drizzled chocolate over.
  • Last Step: Don't forget to share! Make all your friends drool by posting a picture of your finished recipe on your favorite social network. And don't forget to tag Just A Pinch and include #justapinchrecipes so we can see it too!
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