Pretzel-stuffed Chocolate Chip Banana Cupcakes With Peanut Butter Frosting

Since we now have the added expense of my husband's fancy new/old car I'm trying to crack down and put us on a real budget so we can rebuild our savings. As part of that savings plan I'm trying to use up what we already have on hand before I go out and buy more. While I might have preferred to try one of the fancy new recipes I've discovered at Pinterest I instead made an effort to come up with something fun using ingredients I already had in the house. Not to mention that I've had some overripe bananas browning on the counter for over a week. Thus was my latest cupcake creation born.

I used my trusty banana cupcake recipe and the melt-in-your-mouth peanut butter buttercream recipe from 125 Best Cupcake Recipes. My unique twist came in the form of adding some chocolate chips to the cake batter and a delicious pretzel nugget at the center of each cupcake. Trader Joe's sells some peanut butter-stuffed pretzel bites that are then coated in a thick layer of chocolate and they are amazing. Sweet and salty heaven in a bite-sized serving! I, being the cheap person that I am, instead found a knockoff version at Aldi for a fraction of the price and stocked up when they were selling them a few months ago. I'd say they are just as good as the original and just as dangerously addictive.


As expected, the cake baked up nice and fluffy and the peanut butter frosting was a great match for the banana flavor. The best part is that the pretzel remained crispy and added a nice surprising crunch to each cupcake. While I won't make these on a regular basis because I'm loath to part with more of my pretzel bites they were a fun experiment and the flavor combination was as appealing as I'd imagined.

Pretzel-stuffed Banana, Chocolate, and Peanut Butter Cupcakes
Recipe adapted from 125 Best Cupcake Recipes by Julie Hasson


1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil (I used melted butter)
2 eggs
1 cup mashed banana (about 2 large)
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
12 chocolate covered peanut butter pretzel bites

1) Preheat oven to 350F. Line 12 cupcake wells with paper liners.
2) In a small bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, and salt.
3) In a bowl, whisk together sugar, oil, and eggs until smooth. Add banana and vanilla, beating well. Add flour mixture, beating until smooth. Fold in chocolate chips.
4) Scoop about one tablespoon of batter into each cupcake well. Place one pretzel in the center of each cupcake and top with remaining batter until covered. Bake in preheated oven 22 to 28 minutes or until tops of cupcakes spring back when lightly touched. Let cool in pan on rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool completely on rack.

Peanut Butter Frosting
Recipe from 125 Best Cupcake Recipes by Julie Hasson

2 cups confectioner's sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
2 tbsp heavy cream or milk

1. In a bowl, using an electric mixer, beat together confectioner's sugar and butter until creamy. Add peanut butter, beating well, Add milk and beat until smooth and creamy. Pipe onto cupcakes.