GF Peanut Butter Cupcakes

I have been spending a little more time on making cupcakes this last year. It turns out there is a whole underground subculture with a cupcake obsession. As a result the web is full of cupcake junkies with blogs.

I got decent at making chocolate chip cupcakes for the kids birthdays from the Pamela’s chocolate cake mix (I used milk instead of water and added chocolate chips).

To contend with the many non-GF baked goods that are paraded in front of Beezus at school, at birthdays and at fairs/carnivals/amusement parks, I need to stay up to date on creative, new and inventive ways to make cupcakes. I need to make our diet more and more appealing to stay current with the gluten competition. Luckily I have always enjoyed healthy, and not so healthy, competition. I love the whole free market crushing your opponents with better products. Game on!

Reese’s Peanut Butter Cupcakes
This recipe is converted to GF from the blogger Cupcake Queen on her blogsite . I also consulted Martha Stewart’s newer cookbook Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes: 175 Inspired Ideas for Everyone’s favorite treat.

Ingredients:
1 package Gluten Free Cake Mix “Devil’s Food” (Betty Crocker)
1 cup water
3 eggs
1 stick butter

½ cup peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 table spoons baking coco/coco powder

1 Snack Size Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Add together the Gluten Free Cake Mix, 1 cup water, 3 eggs, ½ cup peanut butter, 2 table spoons cocoa, 1 teaspoon vanilla and lastly add 1 stick butter softened at room temperature. Mix on low for about a minute and switch over to high for another minute or two. Check to make sure all dry ingredients (especially at bottom) or sufficiently blended.

Place Reese’s cups at bottom of each lined cupcake holder. Use ice cream scoop to place batter on top Reese’s cups - Martha recommends this a more even cooking cupcake.

Cook for 18 minutes. At least start checking then. I found it took slightly longer, closer to 20 minutes.


I felt that these came out AMAZING. Light, fluffy… just much better than any I have made yet. My man, also really loved them. The kids actually did not like the Reese candy at the bottom (I tried both the snack side and the minis). Thus I made another batch without the candy at the bottom which they liked a lot more. Because this utilized more batter the cupcakes cooked for at least 5 minutes, maybe closer to 10 minutes longer.


Icing:
For Icing I used Betty Crocker pre-made frosting which is gluten free. I try avoid using this, but there are times when you are rushed and an easy backup is always wonderful! For the Easter holiday I threw on this icing with a Peep on top and done! Some kid friendly, gluten free, peanut butter cupcakes. Woohoo.

Icing in general is easy to make gluten free and I have a bunch of recipes I want to make… I will try them out when I get a chance and post.