Brownie Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

A recipe for Brownie Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting! Top with chocolate spiderwebs for a fun Halloween treat!

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Brownie Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

I wanted to make chocolate spiderwebs for Halloween this year and just needed the right recipe to showcase them. They were perfect paired with these Brownie Cupcakes topped with a rich and creamy Peanut Butter Frosting!

I love the chocolate peanut butter combination and the peanut butter gave the frosting an orange hue for Halloween which paired perfectly with the chocolate brownie cupcake base. 

A Few Tips

For the most recent updated photos, I used a dark chocolate cocoa powder to help bring an even bigger contrast to the colors.  Dark cocoa powder can be found in the baking section of some larger grocery stores or on Amazon: Black Cocoa Powder.

Do not over-mix the batter. Add in the flour mixture just until combined with no streaks.

Fill each muffin tin about 2/3-3/4 full. I like to use a standard ice cream scoop for a consistent size in each cupcake. 

Bake the cupcakes just until barely cooked through. You want them to still be a bit fudgy and moist in the center. They will continue to set a little further as they cool. Over-baking will cause them to become dry.

Allow the cupcakes to cool completely to room temperature before topping with the frosting and spiderwebs. Otherwise, the peanut butter frosting will melt and soak into the cake.

Make sure the butter is softened at room temperature before blending into the frosting. This will help create a smooth and creamy texture.

The addition of peanut butter adds some extra richness to the buttercream frosting. I usually have to add a bit more milk (closer to 1/4 cup, 60 milliliters) than usual to help make the frosting light enough to pipe.

Chocolate Spiderwebs 

I made a mixture of dark chocolate and white chocolate spiderwebs for a bit of variety.

For the little spiders, I used plastic molds. I have been able to find them during Halloween/Fall in the baking section of craft stores or on Amazon: Spiders Chocolate Candy Mold. If unavailable, you can also pipe small spiders with the chocolate.

To make the chocolate spider webs:

• Melt white, semi-sweet, or dark chocolate on the stove in a double boiler or for short intervals in the microwave until smooth. Pour into a piping bag fitted with a small round tip or a ziploc bag with a very small piece of the corner cut off.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment.
• On the parchment, draw a “plus sign +” with the melted chocolate. Draw an “X” over the plus sign. Starting near the center, connect the x and plus sign with slightly concave lines in a circular pattern. Repeat with the end points of the x and plus sign.
• Place the baking sheet in the freezer for about 5 minutes to allow the webs to harden.

Make the spider webs as small or large as you need for cupcakes or other decorations.

Looking for more cupcake recipes?

Try my:

• White Chocolate Cupcakes
• Snickerdoodle Cupcakes
• Orange Almond Cupcakes

This recipe was updated in August 2021 to add metric measurements, more chocolate, and adjusted instructions.

Brownie Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

Adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction

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5 from 5 votes

Brownie Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

A recipe for Brownie Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting. Top with chocolate spider webs for a fun Halloween treat!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword brownie, cake, chocolate, cupcake, halloween, peanut, peanut butter, spider

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Resting Time: 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 15 minutes minutes

Servings 8 -10 Cupcakes

Ingredients

Brownie Cupcakes:

• 8 tablespoons (113 grams) unsalted butter softened at room temperature
• 3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated sugar
• 4 ounces (113 grams) dark chocolate melted and slightly cooled
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon (5 milliliters) vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup (85 grams) all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup (25 grams) cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Peanut Butter Frosting:

• 1 cup (260 grams) creamy peanut butter
• 2 cups (250 grams) powdered sugar
• 8 tablespoons (113 grams) unsalted butter softened at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2-4 tablespoons (30-60 milliliters) milk

Chocolate spider webs:

• Melted white or dark chocolate

Instructions

To make the cupcakes:

• Preheat oven to 350˚F (180˚C) and line 8-10 muffin tins with cupcake liners.
• In a large bowl, beat together the softened butter and granulated sugar. Beat in the melted dark chocolate.
• Add the eggs, one at a time, followed by the vanilla extract.
• In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Slowly mix into the butter mixture until just combined. Do not overmix.
• Transfer the mixture to the prepared muffin tins, filling them 2/3 full (I used an ice cream scoop). Bake in preheated oven just until set and a toothpick inserted in the center is almost clean, 15-20 minutes.
• Allow to rest in the pan for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack. Cool to room temperature before covering with frosting.

To make the peanut butter frosting:

• In a large bowl, beat together peanut butter, powdered sugar, butter, and vanilla until smooth. Beat in milk until light and fluffy. Add more powdered sugar or more milk as needed to achieve desired consistency.
• Spread or pipe onto completely cooled cupcakes.

To make the chocolate spider webs:

• Pour the melted chocolate into a piping bag fitted with a small round tip or a ziploc bag with a very small piece of the corner cut off.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment.
• On the parchment, draw a “plus sign +” with the melted chocolate. Draw an “X” over the plus sign. Starting near the center, connect the x and plus sign with slightly concave lines in a circular pattern. Repeat with the end points of the x and plus sign. Make the spider webs as small or large as you need for cupcakes or other decorations.
• Put the baking sheet in the freezer for about 5 minutes to allow the chocolate to harden, then place each web on top of the frosting-covered cupcakes.