Brown Butter Pecan Cupcakes

Enjoy this decadent dessert made with brown butter in the frosting topped with candied roasted pecans. Brown Butter Pecan Cupcakes are easy to make, but they taste deliciously complicated.

Toasted pecans sprinkled on speckled frosting.

There is a uniquely elevated quality about the flavor of brown butter, yet it’s very easy to make. The cupcakes are made from a Betty Crocker cake mix, so that’s about as easy as that part gets. That leaves the candied toasted pecans, and that’s pretty easy, too.

Then there’s the frosting. That’s the best part, because you get to lick the beaters.

Ok, let’s get started.

Toasted pecan half topping frosted cupcake.

Making the pecan cupcakes

Buy yourself a box of Betty Crocker Super Moist Butter Pecan cake mix.

Make the cupcakes according to the box directions; adding the water, eggs, and vegetable oil.

Bake for the recommended time of 12-17 minutes, and then let them cool.

Brown Butter Pecan Cupcakes

Toasting candied pecans for topping

Chop your pecans to desired size, although I recommend chopping them on the smaller side if you want to sprinkle them on top.

I kept a few pecan halves for topping some of the cupcakes, which you can see above. Some of the pecans are chopped and that one in the back right has only the half pecan on top.

What can I say, I like to mix it up.

Any-who…mix up the pecans with the melted butter and brown sugar.

Spread them on a baking sheet and bake them for about 6-8 minutes, then set them aside to cool.

Brown Butter Pecan Cupcakes

Making the brown butter frosting

If you have one, use a light colored pan for browning the butter. This way you have a better visual for when it starts to brown. I use a copper non-stick pan.

Melt the butter on medium heat, stirring often. The butter will foam up, but that’s good. You will notice brown bits, but that’s also a part of it’s charm.

Once the butter has turned a toasty brown, remove it from the heat and pour it into a bowl for cooling in the refrigerator.

The goal here is to bring the brown butter back to room temperature. Once that is accomplished, mix the browned butter with the remaining frosting ingredients and you’ll have some amazing frosting.

Check out the picture below of the frosting without pecans sprinkled on top. See the brown specs? Yummy!

Brown Butter Pecan Cupcakes

In addition to Brown Butter Pecan Cupcakes…

Looking for some other cupcake ideas? Try these: French Toast Cupcakes, which are perfect for that special brunch any time of year. Also, my personal favorite.

Here’s a great cupcake using fresh strawberries in the frosting: Easy Strawberry Cupcakes.

Or, you might prefer Lemon Raspberry Cookie Cupcakes made with Lemon Oreos on the bottom and a fruity raspberry filling in the center.

Another fun recipe is my Caramel Apple Spice Cupcakes. So good, and the frosting has caramel streaks. How cool is that?!

Brown Butter Pecan Cupcakes

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4.58 from 19 votes

Brown Butter Pecan Cupcakes

A moist pecan cupcake topped with the unique flavor of browned butter in the frosting with toasted candied pecans on top.
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time25 minutes
Cooling time30 minutes
Total Time1 hour 25 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: browned butter, cake mix, easy, pecans
Servings: 24 people
Calories: 360kcal
Author: Sweet Ordeal

Ingredients

For Cupcakes

  • 1 box Betty Crocker Super Moist Butter Pecan cake mix
  • 1 cup water
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil

For Toasted Candied Pecans

  • 1 Tbsp. butter, melted
  • 1/2 cup pecans, finely chopped
  • 1 Tbsp. brown sugar

For Frosting

  • 1 cup butter, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
  • 6 cups confectioners sugar
  • 3 Tbsp. water or milk

Instructions

For Cupcakes

  • Preheat oven to 350°. Make and bake cupcakes per directions on box. Cool before frosting.

For Toasted Candied Pecans

  • Mix the melted butter, chopped pecans, and brown sugar in small bowl, toss to evenly coat. Spread evenly on a cookie sheet in single layer and bake for 6-8 minutes at 350°. Set pecans aside to cool.

For Frosting

  • Melt butter in a sauce pan over medium heat. Stir often. Cook the butter until it turns a toasty brown color. Remove from heat and pour into a bowl to cool in the refrigerator. Bring the butter back to room temperature.
  • In a large bowl, add browned butter and shortening, beat until thoroughly mixed. Add the confectioners sugar and water alternately until it's smooth and you have desired consistency.
  • Frost the cupcakes and sprinkle with the toasted pecans. Enjoy!

Notes

This frosting batch makes a lot, so pipe away. Also great for frosting a cake.

Nutrition

Calories: 360kcal
Tried this recipe?Mention @sweetordeal or tag #sweetordeal!

Just a reminder to pin one of these pictures to your Pinterest board. If you make these, I hope you’ll leave your picture on Pinterest and rate the recipe. I love hearing from my readers, which makes it all so much fun. Have a blessed day and happy baking.

Brown Butter Pecan CupcakesBrown Butter Pecan CupcakesCopyright © Sweet Ordeal. All content and images are copyright protected. Do not use any images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, make sure to re-write the recipe in your own words and only list ingredients making sure to link back to this post for the original recipe and directions.

4.58 from 19 votes (19 ratings without comment)

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