Easy Peanut Butter And Jelly Cupcake Recipe

No matter your age, there's nothing more classic than a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. It may evoke nostalgia, or you may choose to enjoy one every day still, even as an adult. A simple PB&J combines the best of both worlds with sweet jam and salty peanut butter, creating the ideal quick-to-make sandwich.

If you're a peanut butter and jelly lover, then these are the cupcakes for you. The vanilla cupcake serves as the base of the "bread" of the sandwich. As the base, it's the perfect vessel to stuff with plenty of delicious raspberry jam and then top it all off with a luscious peanut butter frosting.

The combination makes for the most interesting cupcake, bringing classic flavors together. And the best part? You can totally pull it off at home! Make these cupcakes in under an hour for the perfect afternoon snack or special dessert.

To get started on making peanut butter and jelly cupcakes, you'll want to grab all of your ingredients ahead of time. Be sure you have everything on hand before you dive in to avoid any mishaps.

For this peanut butter and jelly cupcake recipe, you'll need one cup of white sugar, one cup of flour, one teaspoon of baking powder, half of a teaspoon of baking soda, half of a teaspoon of salt, two eggs, one teaspoon of pure vanilla extract, half of a cup of milk, and a quarter of a cup of oil.

To fill your cupcakes, you'll need half of a cup of raspberry jam. You can choose to use another option such as strawberry or grape, if desired. To make your frosting, you'll need half of a cup of softened, unsalted butter, six cups of powdered sugar, two tablespoons of milk, and one-third of a cup of peanut butter.

Once the ingredients for your cupcakes are gathered, it's time to get baking! First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit so it can come up to the proper temperature while you prep your cupcake batter. 

In a large bowl, add all of the dry ingredients. Add in the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt, and mix well. Mix until the dry ingredients are well combined and free of any large clumps.

Once the dry ingredients are prepped and ready, it's time to add in the wet ingredients to finish the cupcake batter. Mix in the eggs one at a time. Next, mix in the oil, and add in the vanilla extract. Mix, and then finish the batter by mixing in the milk until just combined. Be sure not to overmix the batter so you can avoid ending up with a dry cupcake. 

Now that the batter is prepped, you're ready to bake your cupcakes. Prepare a cupcake pan with paper liners, or spray it with cooking spray to prevent sticking. Scoop the batter into each cupcake pan well, filling it halfway full. Bake the cupcakes for 16 to 18 minutes until the tops are lightly golden brown and fully set. Once baked, remove the cupcakes from the oven and set aside to fully cool.

While your cupcakes are cooling, make your peanut butter frosting. To make the frosting, start by creaming the butter in a mixing bowl, and then add two cups of powdered sugar. Mix the sugar and butter, and then add in the milk. Gradually mix in the remaining powdered sugar until a frosting begins to form. Mix in the peanut butter, and then turn the speed up on the mixer to mix until fluffy.

Once the cupcakes are cooled and the frosting is ready, it's time to fill the cupcakes. Use a piping bag with a round piping tip for this step. Fill the piping bag with raspberry jam, and then press the tip into the middle of the cupcake. This will plunge a hole into the center. Then, squeeze the bag as you pull up, leaving jam in the middle.

Once all of the cupcakes have been filled, they're ready to be frosted. Pipe the frosting on the cooled cupcakes, forming a circle on top. This will create a hole to then fill the remaining well with raspberry jam to finish them off.