PB&J Cupcakes

. Oh my, these are a keeper.  And would you guess that Ms. Martha Stewart supplied the recipe for this goodie yet again?  Well she did.  We're 2-2 with Martha recipes lately.

You've probably noticed or read that I like to make desserts on a seasonal basis.  There's just no better ingredient than a seasonal fruit, in my opinion.  But I think we can all agree that PB&J's aren't really seasonal.  Right?  Actually more of a nostalgic eat.  And I needed something just like this for last Friday night.  Why?

Please excuse both the 'I just went swimming' and 'I haven't washed my face in days' look I'm rockin.'

Well for the return of this lady, right there!  That's Ms. Jess [Draemel] Allen, fellow blogger at Blonde Ponytail but most importantly, one of my former college softball coaches!  Jess is an absolutely wonderful woman: wildly passionate, driven, dedicated, and just a joy to be around.  She was a huge inspiration in my college career to always strive to become a better player.  She definitely left her mark on myself and many other players, and that's something I'll never be able to express or thank her enough for.

Her blog, Blonde Ponytail, mainly focuses on health and running.  I've maybe called her crazy a time or two since she's that lady running marathons and calling a 5-mile run easy.  Ha, easy my butt ☺  But just a glimpse of any of her posts will show you what I'm talking about, so wander on over and I know you'll enjoy Blonde Ponytail as much as I do!

Anywho, since my BFF from softball [please see the above picture, she's the one with the frosting-stache), myself, and several of the softball girls wanted to catch up with Jess, we decided to all meet at a slowpitch game a bunch of them were playing in.  And you all know what that means!  Baaaaaaked Gooooooodies!

So when debating on what to make, I knew I wanted to zero on something that would ring a bell with us all.  I immediately thought of what our softball team referred to as 'bench snacks.'  Between every double header, we always had 'bench snacks' for the team to refuel before heading out for the second game.  And one of the 'bench snacks' staples were all of the fixin's for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.  Every double header, no fail.  So what better way to reminisce about our softball years than with our Saturday peanut butter and jellies?

And these cupcakes were nothing short of AH-mazing!  Martha really knew how to take that classic sandwich and plop it into a peanut buttery, soft, and moist cupcake, topped with a fantastically smooth peanut butter-cream cheese frosting.  And where does the jelly fit in?  Well, right in the centers!  MmmMMmM!

Even though our little reunion was cut drastically short [due to some rain and lame lightning], it was so great to see Jess and the softball girls.  It's a bittersweet thing though, wonderful getting to see them all again but also remembering how much I miss those ladies!  We went from hours upon hours, day after day, together, and then once graduation hit, hello real world and goodbye friends.  But I guess that's what makes these little gatherings so fun, huh? .

My Notes:

• When filling the liners, gently flatten the tops of the batter before baking.  The batter is fairly thick and if you don't do this, you'll end up with little pockets of uncooked batter.  Boo to that.
• I chose to use strawberry preserves this time around, but you can use whichever flavor of preserves or jam you prefer.
• The directions say to fold in the whipped cream when making the frosting.  However, I found that the whipped cream wasn't really combining, so I continued to use my electric mixer with the whisk attachment and the frosting turned out great.

PB&J Cupcakes

From Martha Stewart

Ingredients:

Cake:

1-3/4 c. all purpose flour

3/4 tbsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. baking soda

3/4 c. unsalted butter, softened

1-1/3 c. sugar

2/3 c. creamy peanut butter

3 large eggs

1/2 c. sour cream

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Filling:

Your favorite flavor of preserves or jam

Peanut Butter Frosting:

6 oz. cream cheese

1/3 c. powdered sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1 c. creamy peanut butter

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 c. heavy whipping cream

Directions:

1.  Heat oven to 350°F.  Line muffin tins with paper liners.  Whisk flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in small bowl; set aside.

2.  Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.

3.  Add peanut butter and combine well.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  

4.  Reduce speed to low.  Add dry ingredients to peanut butter mixture in three additions, alternating with milk and vanilla extract, and ending with dry ingredients.

5.  Divide batter among muffin cups, filling a little over 1/2 full.

6.  Bake 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean.  Let cool completely on wire rack.

7.  Once cooled, cut out centers of cupcakes using a paring knife.  Fill centers with preserves.

8.  For frosting, beat cream cheese and powdered sugar with mixer on medium speed.  Add salt, then peanut butter, and then vanilla extract.

9.  In separate bowl, whisk heavy whipping cream until soft peaks form.  Fold into peanut butter mixture.

10.  Frost cupcakes as desired. 

Yield: 20 cupcakes