Peanut Butter & Jelly Muffins

The childhood sandwich, reimagined as a muffin. Whole wheat flour and crunchy peanut butter form a tender, nutty crumb, and a spoonful of fruit preserves hides in the center of each one. Bite through and you hit that warm, jammy pocket.

Cutting the peanut butter into the dry ingredients with a pastry blender (or two forks) is the technique that makes these special. It distributes the peanut butter in small pieces throughout the flour, creating flaky pockets of richness, almost like making a biscuit dough. Don’t just stir it in or you’ll get a dense, gummy muffin.

Stir the wet ingredients into the dry just until the flour is moistened. A few lumps are fine. Overmixing whole wheat batter makes tough muffins since whole wheat flour develops gluten faster than all-purpose.

The layering method (batter, preserves, batter) keeps the jam suspended in the center rather than sinking to the bottom.

Kitchen Tips

• Use a thick, chunky preserve rather than runny jelly; it holds its shape better in the center
• Grape, strawberry, or raspberry preserves all work; pick your favorite PB&J combo
• Don’t overfill the cups; two tablespoons per layer is the right amount

Variations

• Use creamy peanut butter for a smoother texture, though you’ll lose the nutty crunch
• Swap whole wheat for half all-purpose, half whole wheat if you prefer a lighter muffin
• Drizzle a thin peanut butter glaze on top: mix 2 tablespoons melted PB with powdered sugar and milk