This is the last post for peanut butter week, but don’t be sad, it’s a great one, and there will be plenty other peanut butter recipes to come!
Candy. I love it. It’s kind of the perfect food. While my allergy to chocolate narrows the field substantially, there are a surprisingly wide variety of delicious morsels of sugar out there. My favorite candies range from gummy to sticky to jelly to creamy in texture and from fruit to cinnamon to mint to peanut butter in flavor. So there’s no real nutritional value to candy and it’s not exactly healthy, but in small quantities, it satisfies my sugar craving and gives me a boost of energy for my workout. Plus it makes me really happy. I will be bringing you more original creations with my favorite candies, but I think this one is the perfect way to start.
Reese’s Pieces are at the top of my favorite candy list. Why, you ask. Because they taste like chocolate, like M&Ms, even though there isn’t a single form of chocolate in them. I read the ingredient list half a dozen times and stared at them in the pantry for a couple of months before taking the plunge and trying them, trusting that the ingredient list was correct. I am so glad I did. My favorite are the Reese’s Pieces Eggs that pop up around Easter; I like them so much that I stockpile them until the next Easter rolls around. In the meantime, the regular old Pieces work well enough for a snack, but I wanted to bake something with them. My muffin obsession is well known by now, and while I love a healthy fruit and nut filled muffin, sometimes things just need to be a little more decadent. Sometimes my morning needs a little extra sweetness.
Enter these muffins. They’re still much healthier and lower in calories than your traditional bakery muffin, but they taste totally indulgent. A dense peanut butter cake, studded with peanut butter chips and topped with a few Reese’s Pieces. The coating from the Pieces that melts into the muffin may be my favorite part, but it’s hard to choose when it comes to this peanut butter triple threat. These are delicious at room temperature, however, you have to try them warm out of the oven. You can do this when they’re first baked, but they’re probably going to fall apart. So freeze them and thaw them in the oven for such a decadent peanut buttery treat with peanut butter chips melting all over the place. So good!
These muffins are also quick and easy to make. Whip up a batch for a peanut buttery treat and enjoy! Who doesn’t need a little extra candy in their life?
Reese’s Pieces Peanut Butter Muffins
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 11 1x
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup creamy natural peanut butter (I used Trader Joe’s)
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup almond milk (I used Blue Diamond Unsweetened)
- ½ cup Reese’s Peanut Butter Chips
- 55 Reese’s Pieces
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Oil 11 cups in a muffin tin or line them with paper liners. I tested both ways and either will work.
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. In a large bowl, mix together sugar, eggs, vanilla, peanut butter, and oil until smooth. A wooden spoon will do the job perfectly. After the mixture is smooth, add in the almond milk and stir until fully combined. Add the flour mixture and stir until combined and the batter is quite smooth. Fold in the peanut butter chips.
- Using a regular sized ice cream scoop, scoop the batter into the prepared muffin cups. Once scooped, push 5 Reese’s Pieces into the top of each muffin. Some can be sticking out, others further into the batter. They don’t get folded into the batter because they’ll sink to the bottom. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out with just a few crumbs on it. Do not overbake or they will be dry.
- May be stored at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 4 months, wrapped in parchment and foil and placed in a zipper bag. Thaw at room temperature for several hours or in a 350 degree F oven for 15-20 minutes.
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
These look fantastic. I too love peanut butter and Reeses Pieces…..
★★★★★
Thanks, Debbie! I have to admit, I really love these muffins. I actually had one this morning reheated in the oven. So yummy 🙂
You’re right, Reese’s Pieces are the greatest.
I always have some Reese’s Pieces in the pantry for a snack, but I definitely think they’ll be making some more appearances in baked goods.
Hi Laura! These muffins are right up my alley. You are the muffin queen, seriously! I have your cherry pie muffins saved to make sometime soon. 🙂
Thanks, Sally! I actually warmed up a frozen cherry pie muffin this morning. It was sooooo good! These muffins are really yummy too, though not quite as healthy. I love making muffins because I eat one every morning and like to keep it interesting. And I never get tired of them.
They are also one of my favorite candy.
These muffins look like a little piece of heaven. YUM!!
I try not to play favorites with candy, but Reese’s Pieces are one of the best. I love these muffins for a kind of healthy treat any time of day. They puff up really nicely when baking and are just really yummy.
wow these look great! i don’t think you can get reese’s pieces in the uk 🙁
Thanks, Miss Messy! It is such a bummer that candy isn’t the same everywhere. There are so many great candies and snacks that should not be limited to one country. If you have M&Ms they would probably work just as well. You could even use peanut or peanut butter ones if you have them.
God, these look good. Reeses Pieces are definitely my husband’s favorite candy, and they’re certainly up there on the list for me. I’d eat these for breakfast any day.
Thanks, Sydney! These are definitely an amazing breakfast treat. I just wanted to make something with my favorite candy and these turned out really well. Since you like Reese’s Pieces, I know you’d like them too 🙂
I am making these for muffin maddness in class. If we dont win i will be so mad cause its all your falt
★★★★★
Tanner, I’m glad to hear your making these muffins! I hope you win, and I think you will. These muffins are so unique and delicious. Let me know how the contest goes.
How many calories are these?
Hi Bob! I don’t do calorie counts for my recipes. I believe there are some online counters you could use. I would ballpark each muffin between 250-300 calories.