PB&J

I have recently returned from a trip to Florida, where I was visiting two of my very best friends, my sister and brother in law. It was a wonderful visit, and I miss them already!

 

Living in Florida you get spoiled my so many delightful restaurants and bakeries that you just can't find in Maine. While I was living in Florida one of my most favorite places to stop and get a treat was a little cupcake bakery called Sweet by Good Golly Miss Holly. Its an adorable shop with the most delicious cupcakes you've ever tasted in your life. Upon my arrival my sister and her husband surprised me with one dozen mini cupcakes from Sweet! 

Every single one of them was just as delicious as the last, but there was cupcake in particular that intrigued me, it was a Peanut Butter & Jelly Cupcake. It tasted exactly just like a sandwich and I was in love. When I got home I decided to try and recreate a version of this cupcake. I found a recipe on the Food Network that seemed easy enough. It was a regular yellow cupcake with strawberry jelly shot into the middle. 

The ingredients for the cupcakes were pretty simple. Flour, Sugar, Baking Powder, Sour Cream, Eggs, Butter, Vanilla, and Jelly. My adorable cupcake papers were a valentines gift from my sweet friend Meagan! They were perfect for valentines day! 

I started the process by creaming together the butter and the sugar. While that was being mixed I whisked together my flour and baking powder, and set it aside. After the butter and sugar was nice and fluffy I added the sour cream 

After that was well mixed I added my eggs, and vanilla, then slowly started to add my flour mixture and milk. Mixed it all together then they were ready to be scooped into the pan! 

 

And into the oven they went for about 20 minutes! 

Once they came out of the oven, I transferred them to a cooling rack and began on my peanut butter cream cheese frosting. The frosting was also very easy. In the kitchenaid I creamed my butter and cream cheese together and added the vanilla and peanut butter. Once it was all mixed together I threw in a little confectioners sugar for sweetness!

Now the fun part! Once they were cooled I filled a pastry bag with the delicious strawberry jelly. I filled each one until jelly was almost flowing out of the top.

Once the jelly was inserted in the middle, I frosted them with the peanut butter frosting. A little peanut butter and jelly treat!

I have to be honest, these were not my most favorite sweet I have ever made. The peanut butter frosting was a little much for me. If you are a hardcore peanut butter fan then these are for you! This is what this blog is all about, experimenting and learning!

We'll see what comes next!

Ingredients

• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon table salt
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 large egg yolk, room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup strawberry jelly
• Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Frosting, recipe follows
• Confetti pastel sprinkles, for garnish

Directions

Put an oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line a standard 12 cup muffin tin with cupcake liners.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the butter and sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 to 4 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
Add the sour cream to the butter and sugar mixture and continue to beat until incorporated. Add the eggs and yolk, 1 at a time, beating until thoroughly mixed into the batter. Add in the vanilla and continue to mix. Slowly add the dry ingredients, in increments, and mix until combined.
Scoop the batter into the cupcake liners to fill 3/4 of the way. Put in the oven and bake until the cupcakes are a pale gold color and a cake tester comes out clean, about for 18 to 20 minutes. Remove the cupcakes from the oven and let cool in the tins for 5 minutes. Remove to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting and filling.
Meanwhile, fit a plain pastry tip to the bottom of a gallon-sized resealable plastic bag and fill with strawberry jelly. Once the cupcakes are cool, insert the tip far into the cupcake and slowly squeeze in about 1 tablespoon or so of jam. Be careful not to overfill the cupcakes or they will crumble and explode. Repeat with the remaining cupcakes. Frost the cupcakes with the Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Frosting using a pastry bag and a star tip. Sprinkle lightly with the confetti sprinkles and serve.

Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Frosting:

• 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, room temperature
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

In a large bowl, add the cream cheese and butter. Beat until well combined, then add the vanilla and peanut butter and beat until well mixed. Slowly add the confectioners' sugar and beat until well incorporated.