Mini Reese's Peanut Butter Brownie Cupcakes

Spoon University|March 18, 2014 10:43 am EST

We all need a little extra happiness around this time of year. The second semester depression has officially set in and winter is somehow still hanging around to terrorize us. Instead of dropping out of school, hopping on the first flight to Florida, and making a living selling drift wood (at least it's down warm there, right?), try making these super easy Reese's peanut butter brownie cupcakes instead. These cupcakes will bring you out of the dark abyss that is midterms and show you the beautiful peanut buttery light.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 8-10 minutes
Total Time: About 25 minutes

Servings: About 28 cupcakes

Ingredients:

Photo by Molly Doroba

1 box of brownie mix
1 egg
¼ cup of water
¼ of vegetable oil
28 Reese's cup minis
2 cups of powdered sugar
½ cup of butter, softened
½ cup of creamy peanut butter
2 tablespoon of milk
¼ teaspoon of vanilla

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. Line mini cupcake pan with paper liners or grease each cup with vegetable oil.

3. Prepare brownie batter as directed on the box. (If your box calls for different amounts of eggs, water, and oil, use those measurements instead. I'm certainly not going to contradict Miss Betty Crocker.)

Photo by Molly Doroba

4. Scoop brownie batter into the cupcake pan.

Photo by Molly Doroba

5. Press one Reese's mini into the center of each unbaked cupcake. If you have the miniature Reese's cups that still have the wrapper on them, unwrap them and cut them into fourths. Then place each small piece into the cupcakes.

Photo by Molly Doroba

6. Place the cupcakes in the oven and bake for 8-10 minutes or until tops of cupcakes look set. (Hint: An inserted toothpick should come out almost clean.)

Photo by Molly Doroba

7. While the cupcakes are baking, cream butter and peanut butter together with an electric mixer. Add milk and vanilla. Slowly add in the powdered sugar ½ cup at a time to avoid spraying frosting all over the counter.

Photo by Molly Doroba

8. When the cupcakes are out of the oven and completely cooled, frost them. Eat, smile, repeat.

Photo by Molly Doroba

Tip: To produce uniformly sized cupcakes, use a mini ice-scream scooper to scoop the batter into the cupcake pan.

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