Ah….Reese’s Pieces are like a distant cousin to the far more popular M&M. They have been around a while, but never really seemed to catch on. That is all the more reason to have a cupcake just for these yummy peanut butter bits with a crunchy coating. I just have one question for Your Cup of Cake – how can something as epic as chocolate peanut butter ganache be optional. There is no option here, you must make the ganache!
Reese’s Pieces Cupcakes
Ingredients
Cake:
1 Box white cake mix
3 eggs
1/3 C. oil or melted butter
1/2 C. milk or buttermilk
3/4 C. sour cream or plain yogurt
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 C. Reese’s Pieces
Peanut Butter Frosting:
1/2 C. butter, softened
1/2 C. smooth peanut butter
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 C. milk, more if needed
2-3 C. powdered sugar
Peanut Butter Chocolate Ganache: (optional)
1/4 C. chocolate chips
1/2 C. smooth peanut butter
Extra Reese’s Pieces for decoration
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line pans with cupcake liners.
2. Sift cake mix into a large bowl to remove any lumps and add eggs, oil, milk, sour cream and vanilla extract. Stir until smooth.
3. Stir in Reese’s Pieces and fill cupcake liners 3/4 full and bake for 15-20 minutes or until an inserted knife comes out clean.
4. Let cool.
5. Peanut Butter Frosting: Beat butter and peanut butter until smooth. Add vanilla extract, milk and 1 cup powdered sugar. Beat again. Slowly add in more powdered sugar until you reach your desired consistency. Add more milk if frosting becomes too thick.
6. Peanut Butter Chocolate Ganache: In a microwave safe bowl, melt chocolate chips and peanut butter together and stir until smooth.
7. Pipe buttercream onto cooled cupcakes, drizzle over ganache (I made a mini piping bag with a plastic sandwich bag and snipped off the tip) then top with Reese’s Pieces.