Dining In - Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Cupcakes

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Cupcake

I made this decadent cupcake recipe for a friend at work who loves pretzels. The pretzel buns served in the bread basket are her favorite part of our office lunch! There aren't a whole lot of dessert recipes that incorporate pretzels, even though popular dessert snacks are chocolate-covered pretzels and peanut butter filled pretzels (I love both! It's that combination of salty and sweet that always gets me). I originally found the recipe through a search on Pinterest and discovered this link. 

Pretzel Crust Cupcake with Peanut Butter Frosting

In the future, I would swap out the cupcake recipe for one of my tried and true Chloe Coscarelli cupcake recipes to get a moister cake and better flavor, but I may have simply over-baked these. I'm still wondering how to prepare them so the bottom pretzel crust layer is crunchy, because unfortunately after being buried in wet batter it ended up a little soggy. The peanut butter frosting was yummy, but didn't whip up like a buttercream as I expected so I spread it on with a frosting knife instead of using a pastry bag and piping it. Regardless of the minor issues, they looked pretty incredible, and tasted rich and peanut buttery!

Pretzel Crust
1 1/4 cups pretzels, crushed
1/4 cup Earth Balance margarine, melted

Chocolate Cupcakes
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil
2/3 cup strong cold coffee
1/3 cup almond milk

Peanut Butter Frosting
1/2 cup Earth Balance margarine
1 18 oz. jar of creamy peanut butter (not natural variety, unfortunately) - I used closer to 3/4 of a jar!
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups powdered sugar

Chocolate Covered Pretzel Garnish
Mini or large thin pretzels
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate or dark chocolate chips (dairy-free)

To Prepare Chocolate Cupcakes:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line two cupcake pans with about 15 cupcake liners.

Start by crushing the pretzels in a bowl and stir together with melted margarine. Scoop out about a tablespoon of pretzels and press into each cupcake liner (my pieces may have been too large for this step).

In a medium bowl combine all dry ingredients: flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda salt. In a separate bowl combine wet ingredients: vanilla extract, vinegar, oil, coffee and almond milk. Pour wet ingredients into dry and mix until well combined, but don't over mix. Pour cupcake batter into each liner until about 2/3 or 3/4 full. 

Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out without batter on it. Remove from pan and allow to cool before frosting.


To Prepare Peanut Butter Frosting:

In a medium bowl use a mixer and cream together butter and peanut butter. Slowly add in powdered sugar and blend together. Add in vanilla extract and blend well until smooth and creamy. 

Use a pastry bag and tip to pipe or use a frosting knife to cover each cupcake. 


To Prepare Chocolate Covered Pretzel Garnish:

In microwave or using a double boiler melt the chocolate chips. Carefully coat half of each individual pretzel and lay flat on a parchment paper on a baking sheet. Put in freezer for at least 15 minutes to cool and harden. 

Place pretzel on each cupcake for a pretty garnish. Use any leftover melted chocolate to drizzle over the cupcakes with a spoon or fork.