The Original PB&J Cupcakes
Without braggadocio, I can say with full confidence that I created the PB&J cupcake. It was in 2006, when, as the executive chef, I developed the menu for Hill Country Barbecue Market in New York City. In fact, one of my partners at the restaurant loved saying that the PB&J cupcake was going to be my culinary legacy. I’m not sure about that, but when we opened in 2007, Hill Country was known for my PB&J cupcakes as much as it was known for barbecue. Countless customers bought them for weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, and every other special occasion. Now you can make them at home and brag about it too.
Makes 12 jumbo cupcakes or 24 regular cupcake
11 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1½ cups granulated white sugar
3 large eggs
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
2½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 cup whole milk
1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 small (9.5 ounce) jar grape jelly, preferably Welch’s
Peanut Butter Icing (recipe follows)
Reese’s Pieces, for decoration (optional)
Salted and roasted peanuts, chopped, for decoration (optional)
Pan(s): 1 jumbo Texas-size 12-cup cupcake tin or four 6-cup cupcake tins; cupcake liners
Special equipment: Piping bag with small round tip and extra-large star tip
1. Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Line the cupcake cups with paper liners.
2. Cream the butter and sugar together with a handheld mixer on medium-high speed until very fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Then add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
3. Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in another bowl. In a third bowl, stir the milk and vanilla together. Add the flour and the milk to the butter mixture alternately in batches mixing until the batter is smooth and silky in texture. Stop the mixer and scrape down the side of the bowl as necessary.
4. Fill each prepared cupcake cup about half full with batter. This makes the baked cupcakes flatter and easier to decorate with the icing.
5. Bake until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. If you are using a jumbo Texas-size cupcake tin, they will take a little longer to bake. Remove the tins from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes in the tin. Then remove the cupcakes to wire cooling racks and let cool completely, about 20 minutes.
6. Stir the jelly while it’s still in the jar with a fork or spoon to loosen it up. Pour the jelly into a piping bag fitted with a small round tip. Gently push the tip into a cupcake and gently squeeze the bag to fill the cupcake with 1 to 2 teaspoons of jelly, depending on the size of your cupcakes. Repeat with the remaining cupcakes. The cupcakes can be frozen at this point; if not freezing, ice the cupcakes.
7. Fill a piping bag fitted with an extra-large star tip with the icing. Pipe the icing decoratively on the cupcakes. Or, alternatively, spoon a heaping tablespoon of Peanut Butter Icing on each cupcake and spread it out to cover the top. Decorate with Reese’s Pieces and chopped peanuts, if using.
Peanut Butter Icing
Please don’t substitute freshly ground peanut butter (such as is often sold at health food stores) for the Skippy in this recipe. The emulsified peanut butter is far superior in terms of taste and texture for the icing—in fact, the freshly ground kind will separate out and you will have a mess.
Makes enough to frost 12 jumbo (Texas-size) or 24 regular-size cupcakes
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
Generous ½ cup Skippy Smooth Peanut Butter
2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
¹⁄8 teaspoon fine sea salt, or more if needed
Cream the butter and peanut butter together with a handheld mixer on medium-high speed until smooth, about 5 minutes. Add the confectioners’ sugar a little at a time. Stir in the vanilla and salt. Taste and add more salt, if necessary. Continue beating until the mixture is pale brown and very fluffy, another 3 to 5 minutes. You will notice that the color changes the longer you whip. Use the icing to top the cupcakes.
Recipes adapted from Elizabeth Karmel's "Steak and Cake," ©2019 Workman Publishing Company, Photograph by Stephen Hamilton