Chocolate Covered Pretzel Peanut Butter Cupcakes with Boozy Butterscotch Frosting
These cupcakes are sweet, salty, peanutty and even boozy.
Servings: 12 cupcakes
Calories: 531kcal
Ingredients
- 24 pretzel twists
- 6 ounces chocolate (milk, dark or semi-sweet)
Butterscotch Sauce
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter 1/2 stick
- 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon scotch or whisky optional
Peanut Butter-Butterscotch Cupcakes
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- 1/2 cup peanut butter
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup milk
- 1/4-1/2 cup chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup butterscotch chips may use peanut butter chips
Butterscotch Frosting
- 2 sticks butter softened
- 1 3/4 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup butterscotch sauce
Instructions
- To make the butterscotch sauce. Melt the butter in a small sauce pot. Add the brown sugar, heavy cream and salt. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to medium. Boil for 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla and scotch, if using. Set a side to cool until ready to make the frosting.
- Melt chocolate in the microwave on 30 second intervals, stirring between each, until smooth.
- You may also use a double broiler. Dip each pretzel in chocolate, allowing excess to drip off. Place on wax paper lined cookie sheets and chill in the freezer until firm.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cupcake tin with liners.
- Mix the canola oil and peanut butter together in the bowl of an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Add brown sugar, sugar and eggs and beat together until fluffy. Add vanilla.
- Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. Add half of the dry ingredients, mixing until just combined. Once mixed, add remaining dry ingredients. Add the milk and mix well. Fold in butterscotch chips.
- Remove the chocolate covered pretzels from the freezer and place 1 or 2 in the bottom of each cupcake tin. Pour the batter into cupcake tins right over the chocolate covered pretzels and fill 2/3 of the way full. Bake for 15-20 minutes at 350. Let cool, then frost.
- While the cupcakes bake, make the frosting. In the bowl of a stand mixer beat together the butter and powdered sugar until smooth and fluffy. Beat in the 1/2 cup butterscotch sauce until completely combined.
- To assemble, pipe the fristing onto the cooled cupcakes. Garnish each cupcake with the chocolate covered pretzels. Then when ready to serve, generously drizzle cupcakes with the remaining butterscotch sauce. If your kitchen is hot keep the chocolate covered pretzels in the fridge until ready to eat. If you have a cool kitchen they will probably be fine on the counter.
Nutrition
Calories: 531kcal | Carbohydrates: 89g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 26g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 52mg | Sodium: 593mg | Potassium: 272mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 60g | Vitamin A: 330IU | Calcium: 76mg | Iron: 2.4mg