Come on baby, I’m taking you back to school…
You are probably stopping by to see what I did for TWD this week, well sadly I didn’t do it. I thought I had granola but apparently not. And since I put it off until Monday night(when it cooled down around these parts) it didn’t get done. But if they are anything like the granola cookies I made awhile back I am sure they are great.
Back to school time is here. The aisles at Target are filled with back to school supplies that I must admit I still go through. It’s been 4 years now since I stopped teaching yet the school supplies still keep sucking me in. I am quite sure I do not need the Sharpie markers, the crayons and the Hello Kitty folder that I bought the other day. But I could not resist. 
Most of my teaching friends in Arizona are already back and soon to follow are my Washington teacher friends. It’s the time of year that you love and hate all at the same time as a teacher. You are hopeful(especially if you had the class from hell the year before) that you will have a great year. You are excited to do all the things you said you were going to do last year and didn’t. Excited to do the lesson plans you tagged and put in a folder but didn’t find until the Summer when you were going through stuff. Excited to get your classroom in order. Excited to get back to the school cafeteria tater tots(that might have just been me).
But your oh too short Summer has passed. You have to figure out how in the heck am I going to get myself out of bed at 5:45am when I have been sleeping in every day till 11am? You start to panic slightly when you hear that you are getting “the” kid that gave last years teachers daily headaches and a few more gray hairs than the average 20 something should have.
When I was in Portland in April we went to Powell’s Books. It takes up an entire block. We didn’t drive there(a mistake) as the hotel was not too far and I didn’t figure there was a cookbook there that I didn’t have. LOL. Wrong. For though I had most of the current cookbooks that I wanted they had many a used cookbook that I felt I needed. 17 to be exact. Most of them major old school cookbooks, like Good Housekeeping and Fanny Farmer. I love those kind of books. Made for back in the day when people actually entertained and had dinner parties. My poor husband got stuck dragging those books about 12 blocks and grumbled the whole way.
The other day he asked if I had ever made anything from those books. I had. But it got me going through them again. I was looking at quick breads in the Fanny Farmer Cookbook. All the quick bread recipes didn’t have butter which was interesting to me. In fear that my bread(which turned into muffins) would be too dry I did add some Mascarpone cheese to it. I also added more sugar as 1/3 cup was not cutting it for me! Even with the more sugar these were still on the less sweet side and would make a good back to school treat. If you want to add glaze like I did that is simply 1/3 cup seedless blackberry jelly melted in a saucepan and then add 1 cup powdered sugar. Pour over muffins.
For all you teachers(and principals, counselors, teacher aides, school nurses, etc) heading back into the trenches…hope you have a great school year!
Peanut Butter and Jelly Muffins
2 cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
¾ cup peanut butter
1/3 cup plus 2 TBSP Mascarpone cheese
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup whole milk
1 egg, well beaten
1 small jar seedless blackberry jelly(or any jelly of your choice), you will have leftovers
Preheat oven to 350F.
Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into a mixing bowl.
Add peanut butter and Mascarpone cheese. Mix until well incorporated.
Add the milk, egg and vanilla. Mix until well incorporated.
Grease and flour a standard muffin pan(I used square ones). Fill each muffin tin up 1/3 of the way full. Add a large TBSP of blackberry jelly. Spread it around with your fingers. Cover the jelly with peanut butter dough. They do not rise very much so you can fill the muffins to almost the top of the muffin hole(leave a little room).
Bake for 20-25 minutes. Test to see if done by using a wooden skewer and inserting it in the middle of the muffin. If it comes out clean(there will be jelly on it though) then you are good to go.
Dough recipe adapted from The Fanny Farmer Cookbook, 1951
47 Responses
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August 19th, 2008 at 5:11 pm
YAY! I get a sticker for being first, right? OMG. This has NEVER happened before. It’s kind of like being the first one to arrive at the Back-to-School staff meeting and getting a bag of Red Vines as a prize. w00t! Okay. Enough celebrating. Those are mighty fine looking buns, peabody. I know you said they were muffins, but around here, if it’s bread and it’s small, it’s a bun. I knew you’d have one of these posts! My son doesn’t go back for another couple of weeks, so I’m right behind you! I wonder what those would look like after they’d been in a lunch bag and back pack half the day?
August 19th, 2008 at 5:33 pm
oh i’m always looking for yummy ways to spruce up the ol’ peanut butter and jelly! this looks absolutely lovely
i’m getting ready to head back for my second year of college. now, if only dorm kitchens could cater to the way i’d like to bake 
oh well, a girl can dream!
August 19th, 2008 at 5:40 pm
Those pictures are so great! And the muffins aren’t looking too bad, either.
August 19th, 2008 at 5:41 pm
This was the cheerleading I needed! I start my first teaching job in Canada tomorrow (well, a pro-D day), and what better way than with PB & J? Bring on lunchtime!
August 19th, 2008 at 5:51 pm
They look wonderful.
August 19th, 2008 at 6:22 pm
It must be hectic now that school is back. You’ll never know– you might need those things eventually.
Cute pictures and recipe.
August 19th, 2008 at 6:27 pm
No worries, Peabody!! Those PBJ Muffins look better than the TWD treat for this week
August 19th, 2008 at 6:35 pm
These look great! We started school today- I can relate to how you feel when you go back. I might have to make these sometime to take to school as an afternoon treat for the other teachers!
August 19th, 2008 at 7:13 pm
Fantastic idea!! I so have to get a cute muffin pan like yours!
August 19th, 2008 at 8:17 pm
3 things:
1. These look divine…great idea!
2. Growing up, my mom had every single Fanny Farmer cookbook. Those are how I learned to cook
3. I grew up in Portland, so I have a special place in my heart for Powells. I’ve never been and not found a cookbook I desperately needed!
August 19th, 2008 at 8:17 pm
That was my very first cookbook! Passed down from my mother to me, I still use it for “kitchen basics” like how to cut a chicken into eight pieces.
August 19th, 2008 at 8:30 pm
sharpies are the best!! it’s awful when they come up with a new color… somehow i manage to convince myself that someday I will need those three different shades of green. oh, and if you have a korean friend, see if they could find you korean pens – they’re the best
August 19th, 2008 at 9:12 pm
My sis called me in great excitement to tell me of the treasure of back to school stuff she picked up. I was SO JEALOUS…& am even more so now! I’ll go back to school just for sharpies & exciting school supplies! Love the muffins & the droolicious jam on top! *SIGH*…those were the days…
August 19th, 2008 at 9:12 pm
It’s really bizarre to think that school will be starting up again so soon… It feels like summer only just started!
At least these muffins would surely soften the blow of leaving this season behind- They look delicious.
August 19th, 2008 at 9:13 pm
This week’s TWD recipe was good, but I think I’d rather have your muffins! They look great!
August 19th, 2008 at 10:06 pm
Terrific! A scrumptious speciality!
When I think that school’s already starting again… Where did the summer go?!
Cheers,
Rosa
August 19th, 2008 at 11:19 pm
Great play on a favorite combo… and I would have loved to enjoy these muffins on the way to school!
August 20th, 2008 at 12:12 am
Oh, I am a sucker for a stationary isle. My children are kitted out every term, not because they need anything, but because mom could not resist. The muffins however, I’m sure they will be quite happy with. Yum factor 10!!!!
August 20th, 2008 at 2:44 am
What? You used to get up at 5.45h? You poor you! Your muffins look great and I love the fact they’re square. Very back-to-school apropriate!
August 20th, 2008 at 2:50 am
looks good! I want to try to make those. And I love that pink sharpie! How fun!!
August 20th, 2008 at 4:48 am
You forgot how good this time of year is for us parents who can’t wait to have the kids go back – my 9 year old has been fine, but my 5 year old has not handled having the summer off well and needs to go back to school yesterday! Two more weeks for us though, 2 long weeks.
August 20th, 2008 at 5:19 am
“Excited to get back to the school cafeteria tater tots(that might have just been me).”
No way! Tater tots are the best. I still love going to our neighborhood bar because they serve tots
These muffins sound great. I am a sucker for anything with blackberry.
August 20th, 2008 at 5:47 am
Would you believe I actually thought I’d make a good teacher? I forgot that my uncoolness as a kid would still translate as adult uncoolness to kids of the same age.
I loooove the combination of PB&J. Maybe you could swirl the jam in next time too!
August 20th, 2008 at 6:24 am
There is no excitement about back to school here… I’m not going and yet I still get a little anxious around this time of year for no apparent reason other than the thought of returning to school makes me nauseous. My Dad’s retired now from teaching and he gets it too…
August 20th, 2008 at 7:09 am
i adore peanut butter. these look really nice. ha i m always drawn to stationery too especially when school starts again since you ll see all that nice school stuff. I get really nostalgic of the school days passed.
August 20th, 2008 at 8:06 am
lol @ the Hello Kitty folder!! I used to have EVERYTHING Hello Kitty!!! I know what you mean about school supplies….there’s just something that always draws me to the Crayon section (love me some Crayons!)!
These muffins look awesome! I’ll definitely have to give them a try!
August 20th, 2008 at 9:12 am
i love school supplies! i work at a preschool which, i feel, justifies buying school supplies. my bf and i can’t control ourselves in used book stores (or record stores…) it isn’t even worth the effort to resist. these muffins look amazing.
August 20th, 2008 at 9:28 am
it’s peanut butter jelly time! other than that, all i can say is YUM.
oh, and i can also say how freakin’ glad i am to finally be finished with school.
August 20th, 2008 at 11:18 am
I’m actually glad to not be going back to school, although I remember how exciting it was as a kid. And 17 cookbooks? I think my husband would have killed me. The muffins look like the perfect snack to stick in a lunchbox!
August 20th, 2008 at 11:41 am
These would make back to school a little bit easier. But I still dread it every year.
I did the exact same thing at Powell’s. Such a dangerous store!
August 20th, 2008 at 2:50 pm
These sound like great flavour combo but they wouldn’t be allowed at our school. In fact, here in Toronto, all the schools are nut free (I’m talking food here, not students and staff!).
I always dread the first couple of weeks of September. They are so busy. I really think September is more of a new year than the actual one in January.
August 20th, 2008 at 3:05 pm
Muffins look delicious!
August 20th, 2008 at 4:35 pm
OK, I am so making those for my kids 1st day back to school! Yummy looking and cute!
I hear ya on the school supplies. And I love Hello Kitty, too! I was elated when my Kindergartener chose the Hello Kitty backpack and my other daughter got the matching Hello Kitty notebooks and folders. I just stood in the isle looking at how cute they were and my husband said “Oh, just get some for yourself — you know you want them”. Ahh, he knows me all too well . . .
Can’t wait to try these!
August 20th, 2008 at 4:35 pm
pb&j – how appropriate for back to school
seems like kids these days are going to school so early – when i was a kid, we never started school until after labor day!
August 20th, 2008 at 6:37 pm
We are organizing classrooms; getting school supplies together; and working out curriculum maps this week. The freshman come in on Friday. It really is the calm before the storm. If I have time and energy tomorrow night, these would be nice for the teaching staff.
August 20th, 2008 at 7:05 pm
Love the photos here!
I am exactly like you with the school supplies… can’t resist them!
You have quite the husband, you realize that? What a guy for carrying all those books
August 21st, 2008 at 5:24 am
These muffins are adorable! I also used to teach and am still allured by school supplies.
Do you have a square muffin pan? I’ve never seen a pan with muffins this shape before but love the idea!
August 21st, 2008 at 6:04 am
The square muffins are adorable, Pea! And that glaze… Just perfection.
I miss my teaching days but there were times I felt like running home screaming. I never taught kids, just adults and some teenagers, but sometimes they can be as annoying as children.
August 21st, 2008 at 8:11 am
Yum! I’ve been on a PB and jelly sandwich kick lately (they’re great to pack when traveling), and I had an awesome PB cupcake from a bakery in southern california the other week. These look much better than that. It’s nice to see people keep getting inspiration from fannie farmer:)
August 21st, 2008 at 1:35 pm
In some ways I wish I was going back to school..it was always fun for a minute:) What a great combo for muffins!
August 21st, 2008 at 7:11 pm
ohhh ohhh! pick me pick me! I want to eat it! haha. I love your photos and theme! Those look great!
August 21st, 2008 at 7:44 pm
Back to School also means fall is almost here! You must have darling square muffin pans, right? What a great idea to combine PB & J on/in a muffin. Makes me want to be 8 years old again (almost).
August 22nd, 2008 at 1:54 am
yeah we were in back to school stress too. Soeren started this week and it was a crazy mad dash to organize everything. Love this muffins perfect!
August 22nd, 2008 at 11:05 am
Yeah for back to school! Thanks for thinking of the teachers, Peabody! I just started school in AZ this week and am having a great year. It’s about to get better when I make these muffins this weekend
August 23rd, 2008 at 9:29 am
It’s my third year teaching high school science and I’m still always a little terrified of the beginning of the year! I know I’ve done all I need to do, but I guarantee you I won’t sleep a wink on Sunday night! The first days are so nerve-racking, especially with high school kids, because they set the tone for the whole year. Thanks for making something to help us through!
August 24th, 2008 at 5:45 pm
Fall makes me miss not having school to go back to! Lovely recipe!
August 25th, 2008 at 2:22 pm
Your pictures are fabulous.
Where’d you find the square pan? It’s so perfect for PB&J!