Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes

Who doesn't like peanut butter and chocolate?  (Ok, so I know a few people who do not enjoy this delectable combination, but this recipe is not written for them!)  I made these cupcakes for the Craft Fair that they are holding at my local church in the morning.  I always make something for them to sell when they have such events.  I wanted to make something different than my usual lemon blueberry bread or pumpkin bread, so I decided to try these cupcakes.  I had almost all the ingredients on hand, so I thought this would be perfect.  The recipe for the peanut butter cake came from the Betty Crocker website.  I used the recipe exactly, except I did not use a Betty Crocker cake mix.  The chocolate icing came from allrecipes.com.

Peanut Butter Cake
Ingredients
1 box yellow cake mix
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 1/4 cups water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs

Directions
1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2.  Mix all ingredients together with a mixer.  (I used low speed for 2 minutes, until all the peanut butter had incorporated into the mix).
3.  Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until a toothpick can be inserted and come out clean. (Honestly forgot to time them, but I'm sure the last batch cooked in less than 15 minutes).

Note:
Makes 2 dozen cupcakes

Peanut Butter Cupcakes before icing.

Chocolate Icing
Ingredients
1/2 cup melted butter
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3 cup powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions
1.  Mix all ingredients together until smooth.

Notes
If it seems too runny, add a little more powdered sugar until you have the consistency you need.  I ended up adding about 1/4 cup more to get it stiff enough to pipe on the cup cakes.  If it seems too thick, add a little milk.  Just remember that a little bit can go a long way!

I garnished the top of my cupcakes with a mini Reese's cup and some mini Reese's Pieces.

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How much did this recipe cost?

Peanut Butter Cake
1 box yellow cake mix = $1.00
1/2 cup peanut butter = $.50
1/3 cup vegetable oil = $.15
3 eggs = $.42

I know that some cake mixes costs more than a dollar, but I only buy them when they are on sale for that price.  Today I only paid $.79 for the box of cake mix I used.  In total the cake itself costs $2.07.

Chocolate icing
1/2 cup melted butter = $.50
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder = $.88
3 cup powdered sugar = $.81
1/3 cup milk = $.08
1 teaspoon vanilla $.38

In total, the icing cost $2.65 to make.

The whole recipe, minus the garnish, cost me around $4.79.  Each cupcake costs ~$.20.