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    You are here: Home / Frosting / Peanut Butter Frosting

    Peanut Butter Frosting

    May 4, 2018 By Sam 853 Comments

    This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read my disclosure policy.
    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe
    Peanut butter frosting on cupcake

    A silky smooth but perfectly pipeable peanut butter frosting that’s the perfect complement to any cake or cupcake. Also great for just eating by the spoonful!

    Peanut butter frosting on a chocolate cupcake

    Maybe you guys haven’t noticed, but I’ve been working on bulking up my “Frostings” section on the blog.

    In the past, I would share cake or cupcake recipes and tag on my preferred complementary frosting, but I’m a big believer in choices. Maybe you’d rather frost your funfetti cake with chocolate frosting (or even peanut butter frosting) instead of buttercream, right? Well I wanted to have a good variety of options for you to choose from.

    So far I’ve shared my favorites of the following:

    • Cream cheese frosting (<—- possibly my favorite frosting of all-time)
    • Chocolate frosting
    • Vanilla buttercream frosting

    And today I’m adding peanut butter frosting to the list.

    This recipe is super easy to make, and on Monday I’ll be sharing a very complementary and very dark chocolate cupcake recipe with you, but of course you can put it on whatever you want. You can even just eat it by the spoonful, I know I did.

    And yet it remains a mystery to me why my cardio sessions aren’t paying off 😭

    Anyway, Peanut Butter Frosting requires just 6 ingredients to make. It’s smooth, creamy, and is great for piping on top of cupcakes or decorating a cake.

    peanut butter frosting in a piping bag

    Tips for Making Peanut Butter Frosting

    • While chunky or creamy peanut butter can work in this peanut butter frosting recipe, I don’t recommend using chunky unless you don’t intend to pipe the frosting. The little peanut pieces will clog up your frosting tips in a second.
    • I don’t recommend using natural peanut butter (the kind that separates, you know the one that you usually need to stir before using). I haven’t tried it myself but I’m pretty certain that it wouldn’t work too nicely work with this recipe (it would be too oily).
    • This peanut butter frosting pipes very nicely as written. However, for a stiffer frosting, you can add an additional ½-1 cup (65-125g) of powdered sugar.

    How Many Cupcakes/How Much Cake Will this Peanut Butter Frosting Cover?

    • If you’re generously frosting your cupcakes (as seen in my cupcake photo below), then this frosting will handily cover 12-15 cupcakes. If you’re being a bit more modest, it will cover 24 (I covered 24 cupcakes with peanut butter frosting rosettes using the 1M tip).
    • This frosting will also cover a 9×13 sheet cake or a round 2-layer 8″ or 9″ cake. Now I’m just thinking about how I want to make a cake with this frosting and then cover it with ganache… Yum!

    peanut butter frosting on a chocolate cupcake

    Enjoy!

    Oh, and do you have any requests for other frosting recipes you’d like to see? I’m currently working on caramel but would love any suggestions that you have!

    How to Make Peanut Butter Frosting

    Peanut butter frosting on cupcake

    Peanut Butter Frosting

    A silky smooth but perfectly pipeable peanut butter frosting that's the perfect complement to any cake or cupcake. Also great for just eating by the spoonful!
    4.98 from 405 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Frosting
    Cuisine: American
    Prep Time: 10 minutes
    Total Time: 10 minutes
    Servings: 12 generously frosted cupcakes or 24 modestly frosted cupcakes
    Calories: 381kcal
    Author: Sam Merritt

    Ingredients

    • 1 cup unsalted butter softened to room temperature (226g)
    • 1 cup creamy peanut butter (245g)
    • 3 cups powdered sugar (375g)
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    • ½ teaspoon salt
    • 2 Tablespoons milk
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    • Combine butter and peanut butter in a large bowl and use an electric mixer to beat until creamy and well-combined.  
    • Gradually (about ⅓ cup at a time), with mixer on low speed add powdered sugar until completely combined. Be sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl so all ingredients are well-combined. 
    • Stir in vanilla extract and salt.
    • With mixer on low-speed, add milk and stir until well-combined. Gradually increase speed to high and beat for 30 seconds.  
    • Spread or pipe frosting onto completely cooled cupcakes or cake.

    Notes

    This cake will frost a 9x13 sheet cake, a 2-layer round 8" or 9" cake, 24 cupcakes, or will generously frost 12 cupcakes (as seen in photos)

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1/12th batch | Calories: 381kcal | Carbohydrates: 34g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 26g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 41mg | Sodium: 199mg | Potassium: 148mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 32g | Vitamin A: 477IU | Calcium: 17mg | Iron: 1mg

    Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.

    Tried this recipe? Show me on Instagram!Mention @SugarSpun_Sam or tag #sugarspunrun!
    « Coffee Cake Muffins
    Dark Chocolate Cupcakes (with Peanut Butter Frosting!) »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Arien Stoiber-Alde

      March 30, 2023 at 7:01 pm

      5 stars
      Fantastic! Not too sweet, not to oily!

      Reply
    2. Marisa Messer

      March 21, 2023 at 5:00 pm

      Can you use shortening in place of butter?

      Reply
      • Emily @ Sugar Spun Run

        March 21, 2023 at 5:09 pm

        Hi Marisa! We haven’t tried it but think it could work here 😊

        Reply
        • Megan

          March 30, 2023 at 12:49 pm

          4 stars
          I’ve had peanut butter frosting that has a more peanut butter flavor. But this frosting is very fluffy and it is a lot of frosting it leaves a very thick layer of frosting on a 9×13 pan

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    The author (Sam) in blue shirt holding donut Hi, I'm Sam! I'm dedicated to bringing you sweet, simple, and from-scratch dessert recipes. My life may or may not be controlled by my sweet tooth. Send help (or chocolate). Read more about me.

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