Peanut Butter & Jelly Cupcakes

Per a request, I made some PB&J cupcakes.  They turned out pretty good (received great reviews) but I have a couple of tips I learned that I will share throughout this posting. 

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons butter, softened

1-1/8 cups brown sugar

1/2 cup peanut butter (crunchy or creamy)

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1-5/8 cup flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/3 cup milk

1 cup jelly (I used strawberry)

Frosting:

1/3 cup peanut butter

2 cups confectioner/powdered sugar

2 teaspoons honey

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 to 4 tablespoons milk (enough to give it the consistency you would like – I used more for this recipe to create a smooth look to the cupcakes)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line muffin pans with paper liners (recipe says it makes 16 but I used an ice cream scoop to measure consistently and only had enough batter for 13 cupcakes). 

Put the butter, sugar, and peanut butter in a bowl and beat together for 1-2 minutes, or until well mixed.  Gradually add the eggs, beating well after each addition, then add the vanilla extract.  Stir in the flour and baking powder and then fold them into the mixture, alternating with the milk.  Spoon the batter into the paper liners. 

Bake the cupcakes for 20 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean (be careful not to over bake or it will be dry).  Transfer to a wire rack and let cool. 

Scoop out a portion of the center of each cupcake.  I used an apple core remover to make this easy and consistent.  Fill the hole you have created with jelly.  I transferred some jelly into a squeeze bottle with a small enough opening to reduce the mess. 

Frosting:

Cream peanut butter and sugar until light and fluffy (I used my large mixer because it gets thick). Beat in honey and vanilla. Beat in enough milk to achieve a spreading consistency. It's enough frosting for 1 1/2 dozen cupcakes.  Frost and decorate.