White Chocolate Reese’s Cups are the inspiration for these White Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting! This recipe puts a delicious spin on the chocolate-peanut butter combo everyone loves.
Love peanut butter? Try our 3 ingredient peanut butter cookies. Or use more white chocolate reeses like we did in these peanut butter cookie cups!
The Best Peanut Butter Cupcakes
Move over, jelly. Step aside, milk chocolate. White Chocolate is peanut butter’s new perfect match!
The star of this cupcake (and, let’s be honest, most cupcakes) is the frosting. Creamy peanut butter whipped with powdered sugar and real butter to fluffy buttercream perfection. It’s so delicious that you’ll be tempted to skip the cupcakes and just eat a bowl of peanut butter frosting for dessert.
You do NOT want to skip the cupcakes though, folks, no matter how good that frosting sugar rush sounds. Made with real bars of chocolate melted into the batter, this is a White Chocolate Cupcake like you’ve never tasted.
As if that weren’t decadent enough, I also mixed up some classic white chocolate buttercream to pipe onto the cupcakes along with the peanut butter version. I mean, why just have ONE kind of frosting when you can have two?
Life is short. Eat more frosting.
Ingredient Notes
- Egg Whites – Separate them from the yolks a few minutes ahead of time so they can come to room temperature before you make the cupcakes.
- Cake flour – This flour is processed to remove more of the gluten than all-purpose, creating a light and airy cupcake.
- White Chocolate Bar – Use a good quality white chocolate for best taste. I used Green & Black’s. You’ll need some for the cupcake batter and more for the frosting.
- Peanut Butter – Regular, shelf stable creamy peanut butter (like Jif or Skippy) work best.
Step by Step Instructions
STEP 1. Make the cupcake batter
Whisk the egg whites and milk together. In a separate mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar together, then add in the dry ingredients and the egg white mixture.
After the other ingredients are combined, fold in a melted white chocolate bar and a little more milk.
STEP 2. Bake the cupcakes
Divide the batter into a lined cupcake tin and bake for about 15 minutes. Let the baked cupcakes cool while you make the frostings.
STEP 3. White Chocolate Frosting
Beat butter in your mixer, then add in the powdered sugar, melted white chocolate and a drizzle of milk. Keep beating until fluffy and fully combined, then transfer to a frosting bag.
STEP 4. Peanut Butter Frosting
Make the peanut butter frosting the same way as the white chocolate frosting, adding peanut butter in lieu of white chocolate. Transfer this to another frosting bag and get ready to pipe!
STEP 5. Frost the cupcakes
Put both smaller pastry bags inside of an extra large pastry bag. Swirl the frostings onto the cupcakes however tall you like. I like a LOT of frosting on mine so I pipe it on extra high.
Tips & Tricks
- Use a 6S tip to make the frosting look like the cupcakes in these pictures.
- The peanut butter frosting is light so you won’t see the swirl. That’s okay–you’ll taste it in each bite!
- To get the perfect sized cupcake, fill the liners only half full. This ensures even baking and a flat top perfect for holding all of that extra delicious frosting.
- Garnish with a mini white chocolate peanut butter cup for a pretty (and tasty) finishing touch!
Recipe FAQs
I do not recommend substituting all purpose flour for the cake flour in this recipe. The cake flour has a lower gluten content giving the cupcakes an irresistible light consistency.
You can make the cupcakes and frosting even without a pastry bag. Use a ziploc bag and cut the corner
Shelf stable creamy peanut butters work best in frosting. The oils don’t separate like most natural peanut butters which helps the frosting stay smooth well combined. The plain ol’ jar of Skippy in your cupboard is perfectu, no need to get fancy!
The best way to store frosted cupcakes is in an airtight container. Use a bigger container to leave plenty of room between the cupcake frosting and the lid. The beautiful swirls of frosting will stay in tact and your cupcakes will stay good for 3 or 4 days.
More Peanut Butter Recipes
- Peanut Butter Bars: peanut butter cookie crust topped with a peanut butter ganache (yeah, there is such a thing) then topped with Reese’s pieces and PB cups!
- Peanut Butter Cup Cookies: big PB cookies made in my muffin top (whoopie pie) pan. Filled with more Reese’s cups!
- Peanut Butter Granola Bars
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge: A rich, soft chocolate fudge topped with peanut butter ganache. Perfect any time of year!
- Peanut Butter Cake
- No Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies
Easy Cupcake Recipes
See all Cupcake recipes
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White Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes:
- 5 egg whites room temperature
- ¾ cup whole milk divided
- ¾ cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 3.5 oz white chocolate bar melted (I used Green & Blacks)
- 2 ½ cup cake flour
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
For the White Chocolate Frosting:
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 3.5 ounce white chocolate bar melted
- 1 ½ Tablespoons whole milk
For the Peanut butter Frosting:
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- ⅓ cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 ½ Tablespoons whole milk
Instructions
- For the cake, whisk together the egg whites, and 1/4 cup of the milk in small bowl until slightly combined. Set aside.
- In mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar for 2 minutes on medium. Add in dry ingredients and mix until combined. Slowly in a steady stream add in the egg white mixture. Beat in remaining milk and melted white chocolate bar.
- Fill cupcake liners half full with batter and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes. Remove and cool in pan 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack. Cool completely before frosting.
- For the frosting, beat butter 5 minutes until it becomes pale in color. Add sugar, melted white chocolate and whole milk. Beat an additional 5 minutes until fluffy. Fill a disposable pastry bag with frosting (no tip on the end). Set aside.
- For PB frosing, beat butter 5 minutes until pale in color. Add sugar, peanut butter and whole milk. Beat an additional 3-5 minutes until fluffy. Fill a disposable pastry bag with frosting (no tip on end).
- Take a LARGE pastry bag and add both types of frosting, making sure the ends of each bag go down to the bottom. Using a 6S tip, pipe onto cupcakes. The peanut butter frosting is very light, so it’s hard to see the swirl. That’s okay, you will taste it!!
Notes
Nutrition
It’s the scrumptious marriage of white chocolate and peanut butter makes these cupcakes so wonderful! White Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting are a must try dessert for peanut butter lovers.
Yum! I LOVE peanut butter AND white chocolate so these sound amazing to me. I’ve never swirled frosting together when piping but you’re inspired me to try! 🙂
Oh Audra, it’s so easy!! You can do a chocolate vanilla swirl, which is impressive looking! Strawberry Chocolate Swirl. So many possibilities!!
These sound pretty close to perfect. PB and white chocolate are basically the only two things my boyfriend and I can agree on regularly 🙂
It’s good to find common ground. it’s better to find it in cupcakes 🙂
Oh no, now I will have to copy the vanilla bean cupcake recipe too!!! YUM!!! I can’t wait to get baking!!!! 🙂 Thank you so much ~ keep the great recipes coming!
Thank YOU Kathy. Here’s the recipe link for the Vanilla bean Cupcakes: https://www.shugarysweets.com/vanilla-bean-cupcakes-and-a-baby-shower
The very best white cake recipe I’ve ever made. It’s the base I use for all my variations (almond, lemon, confetti, etc). ENJOY!
Hi Aimee! First, I LOVE your site ~ all the recipes are to die for! I am getting ready to make your White Chocolate Cupcakes with P.B. Frosting – my hubby LOVES P.B. – but the instructions state “to whisk egg whites, vanilla paste, etc.,” I have almond paste, but vanilla paste? These look fab and I can’t wait to make them! 🙂
Kathy, I just fixed it. The vanilla paste was for the Vanilla bean cupcake version, and it referred to vanilla bean paste. These cupcakes don’t call for it!! ENJOY!!
These cupcakes are killing me!! White chocolate is my most favorite thing in the world! Mix that together with my other favorite thing…peanut butter and I am in heaven! Seriously! I need to make these immediately…or not, because that would be a bad thing for me to consume so many cupcakes and I know I wouldn’t be able to stop! I pinned this!
No you definitely need to make them immediately. And share 🙂
My husband says these are his favorite cupcakes I ever made. = that is saying something b/c you make more than anyone I know!
Aimee, I am a huge huge huge PB fan (wrote a book on it) and white chocolate! And this is a match made in heaven! Pinning!!!
What tip do you use to decorate and do you have any secrets for not wasting frosting and creating a huge mess..when I use a pastry bag, I swear, I make more of a mess than anything else! lol
Haha, I do make a lot of cupcakes! I used a large 6S tip. Make sure you use a 16inch bag, it will hold much more! Also, I take a chip clip (the kind that snaps close) and twist the end of my bag and clip it so that none leaks out the back end. I tend to use reusable pastry bags for frosting, I think they hold up better and are more flexible. I use the disposables when making royal icing for cookies. Hope that helps!!!
So helpful and thank you! I need to invest in some resealables I guess…the last thing I want to do though is clean them out…Lol
Cleaning them isn’t too bad. Just don’t let them sit and dry out with icing in them. Run hot water through them right away, Then a little dish soap and air them out (inside out) to dry.
These cupcakes are incredible! I love peanut butter, so these amazing looking cupcakes are right up my alley!
YES! All peanut butter lovers and non PB lovers can unite in this recipe!
I am one of those people who eat peanut butter out of the jar so these cupcakes are right up my ally. They look incredibly good! Pinning now.
You sound like my oldest daughter 🙂 And she loved these cupcakes 🙂
These look soo good! I didn’t even know there are white chocolate Reese’s cups.
Oh yes, they are delicious Regina! You must look for them 🙂
These look so yummy! I am loving the peanut butter icing! I love anything with peanut butter!
Then you will surely love these cupcakes!!!
I am not a huge PB fan either but these cupcakes woah! I love white chocolate so this might just convince me to try peanut butter frosting again.
I think you should definitely try it!
These look perfect and I love the white chocolate addition, especially with the peanut butter!
Thanks Liz, Those Reese’s cups were my inspiration, I love ’em!
Okay, I think these are going to be MY favorite cupcakes too. OMG Aimee!!!
Thanks Dorothy! I think they will be!
These cupcakes sound and look divine! Like cute soft clouds melting in the mouth!
Exactly right!
That frosting will be the reason I will never be ready to wear a bikini this summer. It looks so freakin’ delicious! I could skip the cupcake and just eat the frosting!!
Oh you’re so gorgeous wear that bikini with pride! and eat a cupcake while wearing it 🙂
Oh YUM! These are so delicious looking, I know they must taste out of this world!! And you’ve frosted them so beautifully!
Thank you 🙂
I LOVE peanut butter goodness, so I know how much I would love that frosting!!! I’m thinking a spoon and the bowl of frosting…oh, and that extra bowl of pb cups is what I need to satisfy that pb craving now!!! I love how silky your frosting looks!!!
Thanks girl, wish I could have shared one with you 🙂
I love love love white chocolate Reese’s. Totally digging these
I’m in love with the White chocolate PB cups too! thanks for stopping by Erin 🙂
I am DYING over that PB frosting. It looks so fluffy. I could eat it with a spoon I’m sure!
Yeah, it’s pretty tasty on a spoon. Or finger. Or spatula. Oh, and on a cupcake 🙂
These look heavenly. I have a huge love of peanut butter, so I would not be able to stay away from these at all!
If you love peanut butter than I am confident this frosting will make you sing 🙂