I am far from a baker. Better yet, dessert isn’t even my favorite part of a meal. However, as I continue to try new things, I thought I would try making a muffin version of an idea I’ve had for quite some time.
I love Reese’s Cups. There’s just something about the chocolate and soft peanut butter together that has made me love them ever since I was a kid. I also loved PB&J Sandwiches. Making these muffins this weekend felt like a nice way of paying tribute to my childhood.
For years, I have said that Reese’s should come out with a Peanut Butter Cup with Jam in the middle. So, when I saw a Peanut Butter Thumbprint Cookie recipe in PlantYou by Carleigh Bodrug, I thought I would just try to make a recipe myself.
I played around with the ingredient list and turned my idea into these jelly-filled muffins. Trust me, you won’t be able to tell that there’s no added sugar in it. The maple syrup, jam, and bananas add enough sweetness.
I was going to drizzle chocolate syrup on top to really fulfill my peanut butter cup idea, but any more sweetness would be over-powering. These turned out good enough, and I’m definitely going to make them again. If you really want to, you can add a bit of protein flour or another healthy additive; have fun with the recipe!
Peanut Butter and Jam Muffins
Ingredients
2 cups mashed banana (about 4 bananas)
1 cup natural peanut butter
1/2 cup maple syrup
4 eggs, or apple sauce/other replacement
3 cups Non-Gluten flour (Oat Flour is a great option)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup naturally sweetened jam of your choosing
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350F.
In a large bowl, whisk the eggs. Stir in the mashed banana, peanut butter, maple syrup, and an optional Tbsp of vanilla extract. Mix until smooth. I left chunks of banana in mine, but that’s up to you and your preferences.
Add in the oat flour, baking powder, and salt. Combine until just incorporated, being mindful not to overmix.
Scoop half of the batter into the muffin liners. Then, add 1 teaspoon of jam to the center of each muffin. You can leave the jam as a ball in the center, or you can use a toothpick to gently swirl the strawberry fruit spread into the batter. Top with a bit more batter. I made a combination of the two. Some had the jam swirled in, and others had a ball of jam in the center.
Bake for 23-27 minutes. Remember to do the toothpick trick before removing them from the oven! Let them cool for 3-5 minutes. You can transfer them to a wire rack to cool further, but mine had been fine staying in the muffin pan.
Serve with a bowl of extra jam for topping.
When storing these peanut butter and jam muffins, use an airtight container. They will last for about a week in the fridge and about 2.5-3 months in the freezer.
Do you have any amazing peanut butter recipes? Perhaps, you have special memories that come to mind when you think of peanut butter too! Regardless of what brings a heartwarming memory to mind, do something similar, or make (in my case bake) something memory-related! It’s more therapeutic than you may think.
