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Our delicious The Best Peanut Butter Frosting is fluffy, creamy, and chock full of peanut butter flavor. Perfect for chocolate cakes, cupcakes, and brownies!

Closeup on three cupcakes frosted with The Best Peanut Butter Frosting, sitting next to a glass bowl filled with peanut butter.

Our Best Peanut Butter Frosting is the perfect icing recipe for your next baking project. It tastes great on chocolate cake or chocolate cupcakes and it is out of this world on Brownies! It is also amazing as a filling in a layered cake! However you use it, this homemade icing is super delicious and it could not be easier to make. Sweet, creamy, peanutty and so very yummy, your family will beg you to make this Peanut Butter Buttercream again and again.  

How to Make

Collage image showing how to cream the butter, peanut butter and vanilla together to achieve the best flavored frosting.

Step 1:  First, add 1 heaping cup of peanut butter, 1/2 cup of softened butter, and the vanilla to a mixing bowl. The butter should be ā€œslightly softenedā€ which means it is still cold but has warmed up enough so you can press your thumb down into the stick of butter.
Step 2: Mix the butter, peanut butter, and vanilla together until they are fully combined (about 2 minutes).  Use a spatula to scrape the peanut butter mixture down from the sides of the bowl before moving on to the next step.

Collage image showing the steps required to add the Powdered Sugar into the frosting.

Step 3: In a separate bowl, use a food scale to measure 1 Pound of Powdered Sugar.  If you donā€™t have a food scale, measure 4 cups instead. We normally do not sift the powdered sugar and instead rely on the mixer to do that work for us.
Step 4: Pour the Powdered Sugar into the mixing bowl with the peanut butter mixture.
Step 5: To keep the powdered sugar from flying out of the mixer we cover it with a towel during this part of the mixing process.
Step 6: Start your mixer (or electric beater) on the lowest setting and keep it on low until the butter and sugar are incorporated (about 30 seconds). Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl and then increase the speed to medium-high and mix for another 30-45 seconds so the frosting starts coming together. The frosting will be thick and crumbly.

Collage image showing how to add the milk into the peanutbutter icing to get it to be the correct consistency.

Steps 7-8: This is the fun part of the recipe where you get to taste your frosting. You are trying to determine how much milk you need to add and if it needs a little more vanilla extract. If it tastes great, no need to add more vanilla.  Most likely the frosting will be too thick at this point. Start adding milk, a tablespoon at a time, and mix again to check the consistency. The amount of milk to add depends on the state of your frosting and sometimes the time of year (if it is a hot humid day, you might need to just a little bit of milk.) You can check out our FAQ section below to see some other advice on making the perfect batch of frosting.

How to Serve

A frosting decorating bag filled with The Best Peanut Butter Buttercream Frosting laying on a white table in front of a batch of unfrosted Chocolate Cupcakes.

How much frosting will you need?  That always depends on how thick or thin you apply the frosting or how much decorating you do but here are a couple of guidelines. Our recipe should make enough Best Peanut Butter Buttercream Frosting to cover a 9″ x 13″ sheet cake or a two-layer 8″ cake.  If you are making cupcakes, you should be able to frost 24 cupcakes if you apply the frosting with a knife.  If you swirl on the frosting with a pastry bag like we have done here, you should be able to frost 15-18 cupcakes depending on the size of the swirl

Expert Tips and FAQs

What type of Peanut Butter should I use?

We like to use Creamy style Peanut Butter but you definitely can use whatever type of Peanut Butter you have on hand. Crunchy-style peanut butter will add a nice texture to the frosting but it also might make it a little harder to pipe through a decorating bag.

Does the frosting need to be refrigerated?

No, the frosting does not need to be refrigerated. For example, brownies frosted with this Peanut Butter Buttercream would be fine left out on the counter for 2-3 days if the pan was tightly covered with aluminum foil. That said, we usually refrigerate our frosted desserts to keep the baked good from going stale even if the frosting would be fine. We think frosting tastes best at room temperature so we will then remove the item from the refrigerator a couple of hours before we will serve them.

How do I store any leftover frosting?

Frosting stored in an air-tight container in the refrigerator should be good for up to a week. If you carefully wrap the frosting in order to avoid freezer burn, the frosting should be fine in the freezer for 3-4 months.

What should I do if my frosting is too sweet?

One thing you can do if it seems too sweet for your palette is to add a pinch of salt to the frosting. But please note that a little salt goes a long way. We cannot stress enough that a pinch (10-15 granules of regular table salt) is all you usually need. Even 1/4 a teaspoon of salt would probably ruin the frosting. Add the salt and mix again and see if that has cut down on the sweetness level.

What should I do if my frosting turned out too thick?

Add another teaspoon of milk and mix again. Continue to add the milk, a teaspoon at a time, until the frosting is the consistency that you like it.

Is there a substitute for the milk?

Yes. You can use Half nā€™ Half or Whipping Cream or even almond milk or another milk substitute.

IIf you are looking for dessert ideas, don’t miss these yummy recipes that would taste great frosted with our Peanut Butter Frosting: Homemade Chocolate Cupcakes, Peanut Butter Brownie Bars, and Chocolate Cake Bites.

Closeup on a Chocolate Cupcakes frosted with The Best Peanut Butter Frosting sitting on a cutting board in front of a glass bowl filled with peanut butter.

Other Peanut Butter Frosting Recipes You Will Love

The Best Peanut Butter FrostingPrint

The Best Peanut Butter Frosting

Yield 2 1/2 cups
Prep Time 10 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes

Our delicious The Best Peanut Butter Frosting is fluffy, creamy, and chock full of peanut butter flavor. Perfect for chocolate cakes, cupcakes, and brownies!

Ingredients

  • Ā½ cup Butter (Slightly Softened) (We use Salted Sweet Cream Butter)
  • 1 heaping cup Peanut Butter (Creamy)
  • 1 pound Powdered Sugar (or 4 cups)
  • 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
  • 1/3 cup Milk (approximately)

Instructions

  1. Add 1 heaping cup of peanut butter, 1/2 cup of softened butter, and the vanilla to a mixing bowl. The butter should be “slightly softened” which means it is still cold but has warmed up enough so you can press your thumb down into the stick of butter.
  2. Mix the butter, peanut butter, and vanilla together until they are fully combined (about 2 minutes).
  3. Use a spatula to scrape the peanut butter mixture down from the sides of the bowl before moving on to the next step.
  4. In a separate bowl, use a food scale to measure 1 Pound of Powdered Sugar.  If you don’t have a food scale, measure 4 cups instead. We normally do not sift the powdered sugar and instead rely on the mixer to do that work for us.
  5. Pour the Powdered Sugar into the mixing bowl with the peanut butter mixture.
  6. Start your mixer (or electric beater) on the lowest setting and keep it on low until the butter and sugar are incorporated (about 30 seconds).
  7. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl and then increase the speed to medium-high and mix for another 30-45 seconds so the frosting starts coming together. The frosting will be thick and crumbly.
  8. Taste your frosting. You are trying to determine how much milk you need to add and if it needs a little more vanilla extract. If it tastes great, no need to add more vanilla.  Most likely the frosting will be too thick at this point. Start adding milk, a tablespoon at a time, and mix again to check the consistency. The amount of milk to add depends on the state of your frosting and sometimes the time of year (if it is a hot humid day, you might need to just a little bit of milk.)

Notes

How much frosting will you need?
That always depends on how thick or thin you apply the frosting or how much decorating you do but here are a couple of guidelines. Our recipe should make enough Best Peanut ButterĀ ButtercreamĀ Frosting to cover a 9" x 13" sheet cakeĀ orĀ a two-layer 8" cake. Ā If you are making cupcakes, you should be able to frost 24 cupcakes if you apply the frosting with a knife. Ā If you swirl on the frosting with a pastry bag like we have done here, you should be able to frost 15-18 cupcakes depending on the size of the swirl.

Did you Make this Recipe? Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @twosisterscrafting on Instagram so we can see it!

© Two Sisters Crafting
Cuisine: American / Category: Frosting

If you are looking for more tips and tricks for making that perfect batch of homemade frosting we have a few other posts you might want to check out: