Cupcakes-PB&J Cupcakes

I had a request for baked goods and they said they liked the PB cup cookies I made for Christmas.  I had just made rolo cupcakes so I wanted something different from PB cup cupcakes so I decided on PB & J.  I looked around Google for a few recipes but didn't find anything I liked so I kind of made this one up on the fly.  I think it turned out pretty well.

Chocolate topped PB & J Cupcakes

Ingredients:

Cake
1 box Yellow Cake mix (I like Ducan Hines)
1c peanut butter (I used honey roasted creamy)
4 eggs
1c buttermilk
1/2tsp salt

Icing
1pkg (8oz) cream cheese, softened
1 1/2c confectioner's sugar
1c fruit jam (I used strawberry)
1c (1 stick, 8tbs) butter, softened
1tsp vanilla

Chocolate Dip
2c chocolate chips
3tbs vegetable oil

Directions:

1. Mix cake mix, eggs, buttermilk, peanut butter, and salt until integrated, then beat on medium-high for 2min
2. Pour into cupcake liners 2/3 full, bake at 350F for 10min, then turn down to 325F until done.
3. Beat cream cheese, vanilla, and butter on med-high for 2min or until lighter in color, then add jam and sugar.  If the frosting is soft you can put it in the freezer for 10min.
4. Once cupcakes are cool, frost and place in the freezer for 30min to chill the cupcakes.
5. Melt chocolate and add oil for topping and dip chilled cupcakes into chocolate topping. 
Yield 2 dozen


Notes:
-I left out nuts b/c I had a request for no nuts but if I made them for me I'd use crunchy pb and add peanuts
-Would be great topped with a strawberry (or jam corresponding fruit) and chopped peanuts
-Icing recipe should work with any jam
-Didn't try jelly b/c I didn't know how it would blend with the rest of the icing but I might give it a try if I redo this recipe at some point


The Verdict:
They did really taste like peanut butter and jelly!  The chocolate topping was good but it made a mess when you tried to bite into them, I need to work on a softer chocolate topping.


Original Recipe from:  Me