Mom’s Peanut Butter Cupcakes

These sweet peanut butter cupcakes are perfect for an afternoon snack or lunchbox addition. They have a crumb topping made out of peanut butter, sugar, and a dash of cinnamon!

My mother’s recipe has been a family favorite for decades. It was one of the treats she would make when I was in elementary school and it still makes me feel nostalgic as an adult.

My mom would go the extra mile and make them fancier by making chocolate drizzle to go on top.

With or without the drizzle of chocolate on top, these cupcakes are delicious. If you want them with chocolate, you can make a simple drizzle out of chocolate chips and butter.

Part of me wants to call these sweet treats “healthy” because they are made with peanut butter, peanuts, and cinnamon.

I bet you are wondering “Why?”

Because peanuts are brain food. Yep! While most people are familiar with the Mediterranean Diet and DASH diet, there is the MIND Diet which is a fusion of the two and the focus of the diet is to help prevent cognitive decline.

One of the recommendations of the diet is to eat 5 or more servings of nuts (including peanuts) each week.

According to The Peanut Institute (TPI)’s Research Director Dr. Samara Sterling, “A safe suggestion would be to eat a handful of peanuts or two tablespoons of peanut butter almost every day, or better yet, every day. ” (I love the way she thinks!)

So while these cupcakes do include those healthy ingredients, let’s not forget that they also have sugar and should be enjoyed on a limited basis. Let’s take a look at how to make them.

How To Make Peanut Butter Cupcakes

For this recipe, you probably already have everything in your pantry and fridge:

• brown sugar
• flour
• cinnamon
• peanut butter
• butter
• peanuts
• egg
• baking powder
• salt
• milk

To make them, start by preheating your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and line a muffin pan with cupcake liners.

Mix brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon in a bowl to make the crumb topping. Stir in peanut butter, butter, and chopped peanuts.

Butter tip: you can either use butter that has been left out at room temperature to soften or melted butter. In either case, if the crumb topping isn’t all that crumbly, use the side of the spatula blade to “chop” it up.

Set the topping aside.

For the cupcakes, cream peanut butter and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer.

Slowly add brown sugar. Add an egg and beat until it is fluffy.

Next, combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.

Add the flour mixture to the peanut butter mixture, alternating with milk and beating after each addition. (The batter is totally delicious, but this is where I must tell you not to lick the beaters because of the raw egg.)

Fill the baking cups half full. Top the cupcakes with the peanut crumb topping.

Bake the cupcakes for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

To ice, or not to ice. That is a question that only you must decide. I don’t like waiting that long and they are perfectly fine without the chocolate drizzle.

Are you a peanut butter lover? Me, too! Be sure to check out these other peanutty recipes at Southern Kissed:

• Easy Peanut Butter Pie
• Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
• Southern Peanut Brittle
• Peanut Butter and Chocolate Brownies

Alabama Peanut Tour

I had the unique opportunity to learn more about peanut farming in Alabama, the second-largest peanut-producing state in the union. About half of all peanuts in the United States are grown within a 100-mile radius of Dothan, Alabama.

Peanut farming is big business in the Wiregrass region. It’s also a lot of work and takes a lot of resources.

One farmer I met uses 50,000 gallons of diesel per year. When gas prices rise, that means that his cost to cultivate and harvest peanuts goes up. $1 increase per gallon of gas means that he loses $50,000. Yikes!

I was not a good student in economics, but if my memory is correct, peanuts are a commodity and farmers are at the mercy of whoever sets the price.

Homage to Peanuts

All around the region, you can see tributes to the beloved legume.

In nearby Enterprise, you can order an Evil Weevil, the signature drink at The Rawls, a farm-to-table restaurant inside a converted hotel that was built in 1902 across from the Enterprise Train Depot. The drink is a bourbon cocktail garnished with local peanuts.

In Dothan, you’ll find a peanut shell statue filled with beautiful flowers at the Dothan Area Botanical Gardens.

There are over 40 fiberglass peanut statues around Dothan.

Another place to learn more about peanuts, farming, and old ways of life are at Landmark Park, a Blue Star Museum.

This is one of the coolest parks to visit with animals, historic buildings, gardens, and peanut crops. There’s even a soda shop inside Martin Drug Store at the park where you can order a milkshake made with peanut products!

I’d like to thank the Alabama Peanut Producers Association for taking me on a peanut tour of the area and letting me meet some of the awesome farmers who help feed America.