DIY Cuteness

I saw a similar idea for these over at Shelly's cookiesandcups.com website.  After making the jam-filled PB&J muffins I had an idea:

How would it taste if I baked a Reese's peanut butter cup into a chocolate cupcake?

The 14-year-old me answer would be an eye roll & "DUUUUH- it'd be awesome."

But I figured it'd be best to actually test the theory.  You know what happens when people assume.

PB Cupcakes
1 box chocolate fudge cake mix
24 Reese's cups (regular size)
24 mini Reese's cups ("fun size" if you will)
3 sticks unsalted butter, room temp
1/2 cup Crisco
1 bag powdered sugar
1 cup creamy PB
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup milk

1. Prepare cake mix according to package directions.  Line a muffin tin with paper wrappers.  Fill each cup about 2/3rds full with batter.
2. Unwrap your regular-size Reese's.  This is where it's convenient to suck at math.  My choices at the grocery store were:
-buy 12 packs of 2 (obvious answer)
-get the 16-packs, and buy two (OBVIOUS answer- you know that more than one Reese's cup could be broken, or accidentally get broken when you unpeel it.  And you might want to taste a Reese's cup ahead of time to make sure that it's not poison.  Yes, go with the 16-packs).
3. Place one Reese's cup, upside down, in each muffin cup.  Spoon a little bit more batter over the tops.
4. Bake according to package directions.  Let cool completely.

For buttercream frosting...
1. In a stand mixer (or hand-held) cream together butter and Crisco until smooth.  Gradually add 3 cups powdered sugar.  Add vanilla and peanut butter.
2. Here's where you take the reigns- feel free to add some of the milk if the frosting is feeling too stiff.  I ended up not needing to, but I wanted to make sure it piped okay.
3. You can spread the frosting on the cupcakes with just a knife, or you can get crafty by using piping tips and a bag.

Now the fun part:
1. Unwrap your mini Reese's cups, but leave the inner brown wrapper on.
2. Using a small piping tip, create "mini cupcakes."
3. I bought Valentines hearts- you can decorate yours however you like.

I think an alternative title to this recipe would be "I-love-calories-cupcakes."  I won't even bother to calculate the nutrition.  I'll just say...they're fine...in moderation.........if you can.