Peanut Butter and Jelly Banana Muffins

This is fun variation to traditional banana muffins. A friend I work with had told me one day that she ran out of butter for her banana bread, so she used peanut butter instead. I love peanut butter and banana sandwiches, so I thought that sounded delicious. To make it even more like the sandwiches I grew up eating, I decided to add some strawberry jam to the batter. My original thought was to make this as a bread, but I found that it did not cook evenly, and so the consistency was not what I wanted. I tried the same recipe in muffin tins, and it was perfect! So they became peanut butter and jelly banana muffins!

When you bite into these moist, delicious muffins, you can definitely taste all of those wonderful flavors that go so perfectly together…peanut butter, jelly, and banana!

Makes about 18 muffins

Ingredients:

1/3 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
3 bananas, peeled and mashed
¾ cup peanut butter
1 ¼ cups flour
¾ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
About ½ cup strawberry jam (or your favorite flavor)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tins with 18 liners (give or take).

2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugars. Beat in the egg. Add in the peanut butter, bananas, and vanilla and beat until well combined. Add in the flour, baking soda, and salt and beat until a smooth batter forms.

3. Spoon a heaping tablespoon of batter into each cupcake liner and spread out to completely coat the bottom of the liner. Spoon a teaspoon of jam into the center of the batter for each cupcake. Spoon another tablespoon of batter over the jam, and gently spread out the batter so the jam is covered. The liners should be about ¾ of the way full.

4. Place the pans in the oven and bake for 19-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Allow to cool slightly before removing from the pan.

Enjoy!