NUTTER BUTTER Banana Cupcakes

Name: NUTTER BUTTER Banana Cupcakes
Prep time: 30 min
Total time: 92 min
Yield: 24
Ingredients: 20 NUTTER BUTTER Cookies (peanut shape), divided; 3 bananas, divided; 1 pkg. cake mix; ½ cup water; ¼ cup oil; 3 eggs; 1 cup heavy whipping cream; ¼ cup powdered sugar; 2 Tbsp. creamy peanut butter; ½ tsp. vanilla

Take a shortcut to homemade banana cupcakes with a cake mix. After you add our delicious peanut butter whipped cream frosting, no one will guess your secret!

Prep time:

0 min

Total time:

0 h 0 min

Servings:

Makes 24 servings, 1 cupcake each.

Ingredient list

20 NUTTER BUTTER Cookies (peanut shape), divided
3 bananas, divided
1 pkg. (2-layer size) vanilla cake mix
½ cup water
¼ cup oil
3 eggs
1 cup heavy whipping cream
¼ cup powdered sugar
2 Tbsp. creamy peanut butter
½ tsp. vanilla

Directions

Heat oven to 350°F.

Chop 12 cookies. Mash 2 bananas.

Beat cake mix, water, oil, eggs and mashed bananas in large bowl with mixer until blended. Stir in 3/4 of the chopped cookies.

Spoon into 24 paper-lined muffin pan cups; top with remaining chopped cookies.

Bake 18 to 22 min. or until toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. Cool 5 min. Remove cupcakes from pans to wire racks; cool completely.

Beat cream, sugar, peanut butter and vanilla in small bowl with mixer on medium-high speed until mixture thickens and soft peaks form.

Cut each of the remaining cookies crosswise into 3 pieces, then cut remaining banana into 24 slices. Spoon whipped cream mixture into large pastry bag fitted with decorating tip. Use to pipe whipped cream mixture onto tops of cupcakes. Top with banana slices and cookie pieces before serving.

Recipe Tips

Variation
Omit the sliced banana. Decorate 24 orange candy coating wafers with 1 Tbsp. melted semi-sweet baking chocolate to resemble basketballs. Let stand 10 min. or until candy coating is firm. Tuck wafer "basketballs" into the cream on one cut side of each of the reserved cookie pieces, then press gently into frosting to secure.
How to Store
Refrigerate unfrosted cupcakes in tightly covered container up to 2 days before frosting and serving. Or the frosted cupcakes can be refrigerated up to 2 hours. Top with banana slices and reserved cookie pieces just before serving.
Make-Ahead
The cupcakes can be baked ahead of time. Cool, then freeze up to 1 week. When ready to serve, let frozen cupcakes stand at room temperature about 1 hour to thaw. If desired, the frosting can also be prepared of time. Refrigerate up to 1 week. If frosting is too stiff to easily pipe onto tops of cupcakes, first beat it with a mixer until of desired consistency. Top frosted cupcakes with sliced bananas and cookie pieces just before serving.