A recipe for Brownie Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting! Top with chocolate spiderwebs for a fun halloween treat!
Disclosure: This post contains Amazon affiliate links. If you purchase something through the link, I may receive a small commission at no extra charge to you.
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. For the most recent updated photos, I used a dark chocolate cocoa powder to help bring an even bigger contrast to the colors.
Fill each muffin tin about 2/3-3/4 full. I like to use an ice cream scoop for a consistent size in each cupcake. Bake the cupcakes just until cooked through. You want them to still be a bit fudgy and moist in the center. They will continue to set further as they cool.
Allow the cupcakes to cool completely to room temperature before topping with the frosting and chocolate spiderwebs.
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) 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. I have plastic molds to make little spiders. These molds are also available on Amazon: Spiders Chocolate Candy Mold.
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.
Make the spider webs as small or large as you need for cupcakes or other decorations. Place the baking sheet in the freezer for about 5 minutes to allow the webs to harden.
Looking for more cupcake recipes?
Try my Blood Orange Chardonnay Cupcakes, Gingerbread Cupcakes with Eggnog Buttercream, and Chocolate Covered Pretzel Cupcakes.
Brownie Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting
Adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction
Brownie Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter melted
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 2/3 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Peanut Butter Frosting:
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter softened at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2-4 tablespoons milk
Chocolate spider webs:
- Melted white or dark chocolate
Instructions
To make the cupcakes:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line 8 muffin tins with cupcake liners.
- In a large bowl, beat together the melted butter and granulated sugar. Beat in the vanilla extract and eggs.
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Slowly mix into the butter mixture until just combined.
- Fill each prepared muffin tin with batter, 2/3-3/4 full. Bake in preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in center comes out 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.
Irina
CHOCOLATE SPIDERWEBS are so cute! Thanks for your tutorial:) These cupcakes look amazingly delicious!
Neha
Omg yum! Pretty and spooky at the same time! 😉 I can’t wait to try this creamy and nutty frosting.
Jere Cassidy
What’s not to like about these cupcakes, chocolate and peanut butter. The star is absolutely those cute spider webs.
Erica Schwarz
These look SO cute and tasty for Halloween – that cake looks decadently perfect.
Laura | Wandercooks
I love how effective the little spiderweb shapes are – and it looks much easier than I expected. What a great idea, thanks so much!
Adriana
wow, these cupcakes are beautiful and the flavor combination is fantastic, a perfect idea for Halloween!
Paula
Just made these amazing brownie cupcakes. Since it is May I did not add the chocolate spiders. I will be making these again for family & friends celebrations! Will be tripling recipe, Thank You so much for sharing
a delicious fun recipe. Surprising my husband tonight with this dessert after supper.
Tara
Hi Paula! Thank you, so happy to hear!
Natasha Godbout
Does the recipe only make frosting for 8 cupcakes? I double the frosting recipe and I have 46 cupcakes to frost.
Tara
Hi Natasha! I piled the frosting high on the cupcakes. You may be able to stretch it to 46 with a doubled amount and less frosting on each cupcake, but tripling may work better.