Peanut Butter and Jelly Cupcakes

by | May 12, 2021

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A classic sandwich meets dessert for the most irresistible treat. With smooth peanut butter frosting and moist peanut butter-infused cake, the jelly-filled inside makes for the perfect peanut butter and jelly cupcakes!

peanut butter and jelly cupcakes with peanut topping

About the Peanut Butter and Jelly Cupcakes

Wouldn’t it have been so nice if when you opened your lunchbox at school, instead of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, there were pb & j cupcakes? I am in no way endorsing doing that for your kids… but when I was a kid, that would’ve been the best! You could surprise them when they come home from school with these cupcakes, which is probably a bit more balanced and healthy.

These cupcakes DO NOT taste like sandwiches. They are even better! A classic flavor turned into a delicious sweet treat. We dropped some of these peanut butter and jelly cupcakes off to our neighbors, and their dog managed to grab one within seconds. Nobody can resist these cupcakes! They’ll surprise you with how good they are.

We like a good peanut butter frosting that isn’t too light or strong or too thick. This peanut butter frosting is perfect! We hope you enjoy them as much as we do!

peanut butter and jelly cupcakes on table with peanuts and jam drizzle
peanut butter and jelly cupcakes on a table with peanuts

Peanut Butter and Jelly Cupcake Ingredients

  1. Yellow Cake Mix – We used a boxed cake mix for quick preparation, but feel free to use whatever cake mix/recipe you would like! We prefer the yellow cake mix with this cupcake due to its texture and taste.
  2. Peanut Butter – The key ingredient! Make sure the peanut butter is creamy so it’s not chunky and crunchy in the cupcake and frosting. They should be smooth!
  3. Berry Jelly – We used and love to use raspberry jelly with these cupcakes, but feel free to use whatever berry jelly you love best!
  4. Crushed Peanuts – These are optional. The added texture is great, and they add to the irresistible peanut buttery taste, but if you just want a smooth cupcake without some sort of crunch, feel free to leave them off!
  5. Vanilla – Vanilla helps round out the smooth buttercream frosting. You’ll be surprised how well the vanilla complements the peanut butter flavor. 
peanut butter and jelly cupcakes with raspberry jam drizzle

Peanut Butter and Jelly Cupcakes Components

  1. Peanut Butter Cupcake: We love to use a cake mix when looking for a quick and easy treat to make. Feel free to use another cake mix if you aren’t a fan of a yellow cake. With a little under a cup creamy peanut butter mixed into the cake batter, it makes for the perfect balance of flavor in the cake!
  2. Peanut Butter Frosting: Smooth, creamy, and oh-so-delicious peanut butter frosting! Putting a touch of berry jelly into this frosting is what brings the flavor around! It’s not too strong, but when you bite into the cupcake, you can clearly tell there is something else deliciously sweet in the peanut butter frosting.
  3. Jelly: Peanut butter and JELLY! Jelly is the fruity lightness that this peanut butter cupcake needs. With a filling and drizzle, the jelly rounds out the peanut butter jelly cupcakes flavor perfectly. It’s also almost like a sandwich, as the jelly is “sandwiched” between the cupcake!
peanut butter and jelly cupcakes on a table with peanuts cut open

Making the Peanut Butter Jelly Cupcakes

  1. When mixing the peanut butter cupcake base, if you are at a high altitude, add an additional 2 Tbsp of flour to the cake mix. It will help the cupcakes rise properly.
  2. I used a 1M Wilton piping tip and used the ruffle effect. This is where you slowly pipe with full pressure around the cupcake, creating beautiful ruffles of icing on the cupcake!
  3. How to fill cupcakes with jelly? Use a knife and cut a small round circle out from the top, and save the top to put cover the jelly filled cupcakes before frosting.
  4. For the berry drizzle, place your jelly in a bowl and microwave it for 10-15 seconds. This makes sure that the jelly isn’t too liquidy, but isn’t too thick to drizzle on top of the cupcakes. You could use a really small tip, but I suggest just putting the jelly into a small piping bag, or even a small ziplock bag, and cutting a tiny corner off to create a small hole.
  5. Crush the peanuts if they aren’t pre-crushed! You can do this by placing the peanuts into a plastic zippered bag and using a rolling pin to roll over them. Don’t crush them until they are powdered, but make sure they are crushed into small chunks, rather than big chunks. 
peanut butter and jelly cupcakes assembly

Have fun making these peanut butter and jelly cupcakes! They are the PERFECT treat for anybody, and you wouldn’t believe how good they taste!

Looking for more delicious peanut butter recipes? Try these:

peanut butter and jelly cupcakes pinterest pin
peanut butter and jelly cupcakes with peanut topping

Peanut Butter and Jelly Cupcakes

Yield: 24 cupcakes
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 18 minutes
Additional Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 8 minutes

A classic sandwich meets dessert for the most irresistible treat. With smooth peanut butter frosting and moist peanut butter-infused cake, the jelly-filled inside makes for the perfect peanut butter and jelly cupcakes!

Ingredients

Peanut Butter Cupcakes

  • 1 box yellow cake mix
  • 1 C creamy peanut butter
  • ¼ C vegetable oil
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 ⅓ C milk

Peanut Butter Frosting

  • 6 C (24 oz) powdered sugar
  • 1.5 C (12 oz) butter, softened
  • 1.5 tsp vanilla
  • 2 T milk
  • ⅔ C (6.6 oz) creamy peanut butter
  • 3 tsp (1 oz) berry jelly

Toppings

  • ¾ jar of berry jelly
  • 2 C crushed peanuts

Instructions

Peanut Butter Cupcake

  1. Preheat oven to 350*F.
  2. Empty the box of yellow cake mix into a mixing bowl.
  3. Add the peanut butter, oil, eggs, and milk. Mix until combined.
  4. Using a #20 cookie dough scoop or a large spoon, fill cupcake liners ⅔ of the way full.
  5. Place in the oven and bake for 18-21 minutes. Check cupcakes with a toothpick. Toothpick will come out clean when cupcakes are done. Pull them out and let them cool in the pan. After cooling for 5 minutes, transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Peanut Butter Frosting

  1. In a large mixing bowl, add the powdered sugar, softened butter, vanilla, and milk. Mix until combined.
  2. Add the creamy peanut butter and jelly, and mix until they are incorporated.
  3. If frosting seems dry, add more milk a teaspoon at a time until the consistency is pipeable.

Fill the Cupcakes

  1. With a paring knife, cut out a 1- inch hole in the center of the cupcakes. Save the tops.
  2. Add 1 tsp of jelly into each hole, and place the top back on.

Frosting and Drizzle

  1. With a piping bag and tip, pipe the peanut butter frosting onto the cupcake. Drop a ½ tablespoon of crushed peanuts, or however much you’d like, onto the top of the cupcakes.
  2. To drizzle, put the jelly in a bowl and microwave for 10-15 seconds. Place the jelly in a piping bag, cut a tiny hole in the end, and drizzle the jelly over the tops of the cupcakes. You could also use a spoon if you don’t have a piping bag.

Notes

  • If peanuts aren’t crushed, place them into a plastic zippered bag, and use a rolling pin to roll over and crush them.

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Hi, I’m Missy. Welcome to Taste Before Beauty. For 28 years I’ve been developing recipes that taste delicious, before they look delicious.

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