It's Peanut Butter Jelly Time!

My latest cupcake creation was inspired by one of my favorite foods...Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches. When I'm hungry and don't feel like cooking, I often make this nostalgic treat for dinner. A little toast, some creamy peanut butter and strawberry jelly makes me super happy! Yes, I eat like a 3 year old sometimes...

I also love that video clip of a dancing banana who sings, "It's Peanut Butter Jelly Time" and this cupcake reminds me of that.

I found a great peanut butter cupcake recipe in Cupcakes! by Elinor Klivans and started from there. I couldn't decide whether to fill the cupcakes with jelly or mix it into the frosting. I decided to top my PB cupcakes with a delicious jelly buttercream. Sounds good, eh?

For the cupcakes:
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 stick unsalted butter at room temp
3/4 cup smooth peanut butter at room temp
1 cup packed brown sugar (recipe says dark, but light worked fine)
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside. (I never sift anything, so do as you wish).
Using the electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter, peanut butter, and brown sugar until blended and creamy. Mix in the egg. Add the vanilla and beat for 1 minute, or until batter is smooth. On low speed, add the flour mixture in 3 additions and the milk in 2 additions. Mix until the flour is just incorporated and the batter looks smooth.

These cupcakes do not rise as much as some others, so you can fill the liners a bit fuller. Bake until the tops feel firm and are lightly browned, about 22 minutes. If you overbake, the cupcakes will shrink. There will be a few small cracks on top.

For the frosting:

I decided against doing a jelly filling and whipped up this random little Raspberry Mango Jelly Buttercream! I found a jar of this lovely jelly at my local Aldi and incorporated it into a standard buttercream recipe.

1 stick unsalted butter, at room temp

1 small jar raspberry or strawberry jelly or about 6 oz.

powdered sugar (approximately 2.5 cups)

Using stand mixer with whisk attachment, whip the butter until it is fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add jelly and powdered sugar, continue mixing. I used my favorite star tip and icing bag to make the cute swirls.

Should you be one of those people who likes grape jelly on your PBJ sandwiches, you could probably also use that in the frosting. Me? I think grape jelly is actually just purple slime, so I won't be trying it anytime soon.

The cupcakes turned out great! I refrigerated them overnight and thought that the flavor was even better the next day. I was very nervous about the combination, but my taste test team gave it two thumbs up! Pour a glass of cold milk, and you have the best afterschool, um afterwork treat.