Peanut Butter and Jam Cupcakes

My mom and sister visited us this past weekend, and my sister requested a recipe I hadn’t made in ages: peanut butter and jam cupcakes. 

A few things I love about this recipe:

• It instantly takes you back to childhood
•  It only makes 12 cupcakes (I despise throwing away food that doesn’t get eaten in time)
• The batter and cake is a beautiful color and taste

Vanilla Cupcakes

INGREDIENTS

1 ½ cups of all-purpose flour

1 ½ teaspoon of baking powder

¼ teaspoon of salt

¾ cup of sugar (I usually add just a touch more than this)

6 tablespoons of unsalted butter (I warmed in the microwave until just soft, not melted)

1 large egg

1 large egg white

2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

½ cup of whole milk

DIRECTIONS

1.       Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2.       Combine all of the ingredients above and mix together (note: the recipe in my book is slightly different than what I do, as I put everything into my KitchenAid mixer and mix on slow, then medium, then high speed—mix until no flour traces remain).

3.        Once mixed, divide the batter evenly among 12 muffin cups (or a greased muffin pan); fill each about three-fourths full.

4.       Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean.

5.       While the cupcakes are cooking, fill a pastry bag with the jam of your choice.

6.       Once the cupcakes come out, pipe the jam into the center of the cupcake while they are still warm (you will see the cupcake rise slightly as the jam fills the center).

7.       Frost with peanut butter frosting (see below).

My sister requested grape jam, which really made the cupcakes taste like childhood, as I cannot remember the last time I had grape jam!

Peanut Butter Frosting

INGREDIENTS

6 tablespoons of unsalted butter (again, I warmed in the microwave until just soft, not melted)

1 cup of confectioners’ sugar

¾ cup of peanut butter (I used a natural peanut butter, which you can see in the photos)

2 tablespoons of whole milk

DIRECTIONS

1.       Mix all ingredients together with an electric mixer (on medium-low speed). It will take about two minutes to mix.

2.       Use the frosting right away.

I put the frosting in a pastry bag and piped onto the cupcakes. I then swirled the top a bit to smooth out the texture.

Note: Frosting can be stored in an airtight container for up to four days; bring to room temperature before using.

These cupcakes are rich and go great with a glass of milk.