These Snickers Cupcakes transform plain chocolate cupcakes into decadent, candy-bar inspired creations, featuring a peanut caramel filling, fluffy peanut butter frosting, and LOTS of chocolate and candy bars.
I have never understood the gourmet cupcake craze. Don’t get me wrong—I understand the appeal of cupcakes themselves. Bite-sized cakes, with a 50/50 frosting ratio, adorably petite, so cute they’re practically batting Disney princess eyes at you, and socially acceptable to eat as an afternoon snack? That I get.
What I don’t get is paying upwards of $6.50 for said cupcake, and waiting in crazy long lines for them, and fetishizing the shops that sell them. It’s just some cake in a cute paper wrapper. Maybe with a scattering of sprinkles or a fondant doodad on top. Let’s all calm down now.
So here’s whatcha do. Instead of spending $50 on a dozen fancy-shmancy cupcakes, take those two twenties and go to the store. Buy a bag of miniature Snickers, and some caramels, and some peanuts if you don’t already have them. Take the remaining money, and buy yourself some slippers and a pair of loose sweatpants, or maybe a Slanket. You are going to want to get verrrrry comfortable when you enjoy these Snickers cupcakes.
These beauties start with a moist, rich chocolate cupcake. Use the best cocoa you can find, please, because a cupcake made with pale, tasteless cocoa is no kind of cupcake at all. The cakes are hollowed out and filled with a peanut-studded caramel, then they’re topped with peanut-marshmallow frosting that mimics the peanut nougat found in a Snickers bar.
Are we finished, you ask? Not remotely! Top them with a big drizzle of hot fudge sauce, a scattering of salted peanuts, and a chunk of a Snickers bar. Oh, you fancy thing. Resist the urge to sell them to your friends and coworkers for $6.50 apiece and instead bask in the knowledge that you created an edible masterpiece. Snuggle into your Slanket in triumph.
These beauties will win over even the most skeptical cupcake doubters. If you’re a lover of candy bars, and a lover of excess, and a lover of cupcakes the size of your face, you are going to be a lover of this recipe.
Recipe notes: If the store-bought caramels you’re using are very stiff, you might want to increase the amount of cream to 1/2 cup to make sure that the filling is nice and soft. No one wants to chomp on a big hunk of hard caramel in their cupcake! The pretty cupcake wrappers I used are called tulip cups and can be purchased on Amazon.
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Chocolate Cupcakes
no further! This is the BEST chocolate cupcake recipe. It’s got a strong
chocolate flavor, a beautifully moist texture, and pairs with just about any
frosting you can think of.
Cookie Dough Frosting
Snickers Cupcakes
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes:
- 7.8 oz all-purpose flour, (1 ¾ cups)
- 3 oz unsweetened cocoa powder, (1 cup)
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup buttermilk, full-fat, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup sour cream, full-fat, at room temperature
- 2 tbsp water, can substitute brewed coffee for richer flavor
- 6 oz unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 4.75 oz granulated sugar, (2/3 cup)
- 5 oz brown sugar, (2/3 cup)
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
For the Caramel-Peanut Filling:
- 14 oz soft caramels
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup salted peanuts, coarsely chopped
For the Peanut-Marshmallow Frosting:
- 8 oz unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 12 oz creamy peanut butter, (1 ¼ cups)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1 lb powdered sugar, (4 cups)
- 7 oz marshmallow cream, (1 jar)
To Finish:
- 1/2 cup chocolate fudge sauce
- 1/4 cup salted peanuts, chopped
- 10 fun-size Snickers bars, cut in half or coarsely chopped
Instructions
To Make the Cupcakes:
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line 20 cupcake cavities with paper liners.
- In a bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl or large mixing cup, whisk together the buttermilk, sour cream, and water (or coffee).
- In the bowl of a large stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat together the butter and sugars until they’re light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, then add the vanilla extract.
- With the mixer running on low speed, add a quarter of the dry ingredients. When it’s mostly mixed in, add a third of the liquid ingredients. Continue to alternate adding drys and liquids, ending with the dry ingredients. When the drys are almost all mixed in and only a few streaks of flour remain, stop the mixer and finish mixing by hand with a spatula. Scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl.
- Scoop the batter into the lined cupcake pans. Bake in the preheated oven for 22-25 minutes, until the tops of the cupcakes spring back when lightly pressed. Cool completely.
To Make the Filling:
- Don’t make the filling until you’re ready to fill the cupcakes. Combine the caramels, cream, and butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave in 30-second increments, stirring well after every 30 seconds. They may resist melting and coming together at first, but continue to stir and heat until you have a smooth, fluid mixture. Add the chopped peanuts and stir them in.
To Make the Frosting:
- Combine the butter and peanut butter in the bowl of a large stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, and beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla, cream, and powdered sugar, and mix on low speed until the sugar is moistened. Raise the speed to medium, and continue to beat until the mixture lightens and becomes fluffy and smooth. Add the marshmallow cream and stir it in by hand using a rubber spatula, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl well. Once the frosting is well-mixed, spoon it into a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip.
Assembly:
- Use a sharp paring knife to cut a cone-shaped hole out of the top of the cupcakes. Scoop the caramel-peanut filling into the hole, coming almost all the way to the top. Cut the bottom off of the cupcake cone, and replace the top of the cupcake on top of the caramel. (The cupcake filling can be eaten or thrown away—I trust you will find something to do with it.) If the caramel starts to get a little hard to work with, microwave it briefly until it is fluid again.
- Once all of the cupcakes are filled, pipe the frosting on top in one big decorative swirl. Add a drizzle of fudge sauce or chocolate ganache, a sprinkling of chopped peanuts, and half of a fun-sized Snickers bar on top. Store Snickers Cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature, and enjoy within 3-4 days.
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Measuring Tips
Our recipes are developed using weight measurements, and we highly recommend using a kitchen scale for baking whenever possible. However, if you prefer to use cups, volume measurements are provided as well. PLEASE NOTE: the adage “8 oz = 1 cup” is NOT true when speaking about weight, so don’t be concerned if the measurements don’t fit this formula.
Want to learn more about baking measurements and conversion?
Nutrition
I should have decreased the powdered sugar in the frosting, my frosting ended up the consistency of thick dough! Not at all like buttercream. It was all going great until I added the powdered sugar. I thought the fluff would help, but no. I also don’t have a stand mixer, I was using a hand mixer, in case that helps anyone else. I would recommend adding two cups of powdered sugar and then checking the consistency, then add more if needed. Didn’t make the cupcakes, so I can’t comment on that.
I’m sorry to hear the frosting gave you trouble. It definitely could have been the hand mixer–typically hand mixers require more mixing time since they are less powerful. Hope you were still able to enjoy it. 🙂
I had the same problem and I’m using a stand mixer. It reminded me more of the peanut butter mix you use to roll balls to dip for buckeyes. I ended up adding 4 tablespoons and one teaspoon of additional liquid to get it back to consistency
Hi Courtney, I’m sorry to hear that. I tested the frosting recipe again this weekend to be sure there wasn’t a typo or other error. The mixture is quite thick when the powdered sugar is first added, but once the mixture is moistened and you turn the speed up, it lightens up quite a bit and becomes fluffy and light.
Did you turn the speed up after adding the powdered sugar, and if so, what was the result? I’m glad you were able to make it work with additional liquid, and hopefully you still enjoyed the cupcakes.
I did turn it up and let it run for longer than I usually do too, but only adding the additional cream helped it. The frosting turned out amazing in the end though and people loved it, just trying to think of how I can make other flavors using a similar recipe ☺️
I’m so glad to hear it turned out well and that people enjoyed it! I’d love to hear what other variations you come up with in the future. 🙂
I have made these cupcakes a few times and they’re always awesome! I have made them as the recipe says and have also made them substituting gluten free flour. Gluten free makes them a bit denser but doesn’t take away from the cupcake at all. Anyone who’s debating if they should make these, don’t think about it, just do it, you wont regret it
Thank you for sharing Rachel! 🙂
Awesome cupcakes! So good. I use this recipe to make stacked cakes also. I got so many compliments on them. I love the crunch and saltiness the peanuts add.
This would be such a yummy cake too, thank you for sharing! Glad you enjoyed it 🙂
I halved the ingredients and made a small cake 🙂 it turned out perfect! Thank you!
I’m so thrilled to hear that, Chey! Thanks so much for sharing your feedback. 🙂
My wife made these cupcakes and they were great. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Hi Doyle! So glad you enjoyed them. Thanks for commenting . . . I love hearing from my readers.
This is a keeper chocolate cake recipe. I don’t understand how the recipe calls for 7 snickers cut in half when there’s 20 cupcakes. I actually got 24. 7 plus 7 is 14.
Hi Laurie! I’m glad the cupcakes turned out well for you. I’ll check out the recipe and make sure to update that. Sorry for the confusion!!
Any idea how the frosting holds up in the heat? Looks Delicious!
Hi. This is a pretty typical frosting recipe. It’s not super delicate, but I wouldn’t suggest putting it in a hot environment. If you need it to withstand heat, you could try substituting a few tablespoons of shortening for a few tablespoons of butter. I haven’t tried it with this particular recipe but don’t see why it wouldn’t work. I hope that helps.