Peanut Butter Cupcakes with Raspberry Jam

 
Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are one of my favorite foods but how will it taste in the form of a cupcake?

This recipe was attained from Better Homes and Gardens' cookbook Anyone Can Bake.

1 1/3 cups a/p flour
2/3 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 tbsp baking powder
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1/3 cup shortening
1 1/3 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup milk
24 bite-size chocolate covered peanut butter cups, unwrapped
raspberry or strawberry jam

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 24 2.5" muffin cups with paper bake cups; set aside. In a medium bowl stir together flour, graham cracker crumbs and baking powder.
2. In a very large mixing bowl beat peanut butter and shortening with an electric mixer on medium speed until combined. Gradually add sugar, beating on medium speed until well combined. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Alternately add flour mixture and milk to peanut butter mixture, beating on low speed after each addition just until combined.
3. Spoon a rounded tablespoon batter into each prepared muffin cup. Place 1 peanut butter cup in each muffin cup on top of the batter. Spoon remaining batter into muffin cups to cover peanut butter cups. Bake in the preheated oven about 18 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near edges comes out clean (cupcakes may have a slight indentation). Cool cupcakes in muffin cups on wire racks for 5 minutes. Remove cupcakes from muffin cups; cool thoroughly on wire racks. Spoon a small amount of jam on each cupcake. Makes 24 cupcakes.

Stirring together the flour, graham cracker crumbs and baking powder.

The beginning: Peanut butter and shortening.

Check out the pretty swirls.

Alternate with flour and milk.

I have quite a few more before it's finished.

Finally...the before.

And the after.

The center of the cupcake.

The texture of the cupcakes was interesting due to the graham cracker crumbs. It tasted as if there were bits of peanut in the cupcake. The peanut butter cupcakes were tasty and it was as if someone converted the perfect afternoon snack into dessert. However, there are a few adjustments I would make next time.

The cupcake was excessively sweet and two changes will have to be made: No peanut butter cups and less sugar. The peanut butter cup in the center was overkill and for insurance maybe 1 cup of sugar should be used instead of 1 1/3 cup.

Overall, I like this recipe but would probably like it better after the modifications.