The Best Kind of Peanut Butter & Jelly

If the grocery store isn't your favorite place, it should be. We're sleuthing for the best back-of-the-box recipes and every Sunday, Posie Harwood from 600 Acres will share our latest find. 

Today: Calling all PB&J lovers! This streusel-topped muffin is the stuff of your dreams.

Certain foods—like the quintessential peanut butter and jelly sandwich—seem to be staunchly kids-only. But—even if adults do get things like tequila and iced coffee and red wine—why should the five-and-under crowd have all the fun?

Today, we're going to reclaim the PB&J! And that's not all: We're going to reinvent it and turn it something even better. I bet your kindergarten self is swooning right now.

Instead of bread: tender, barely sweet, oat-studded muffins. Instead of filling: a topping of seedy raspberry jam and crunchy peanut butter streusel.

Inspired by an unassuming-sounding "muffin cake" from Quaker Oats, this recipe uses oats in a clever way. They lose their bite as they bake, giving the interior of the muffins a nice chew without too much texture. Before baking, the muffins are topped with a dollop of raspberry jam and a crumbling of peanut butter streusel.

One bite, and you're transported to second grade: lunchtime, soft sandwiches on white bread, creamy peanut butter, strawberry jelly. But this is the adult version, and you probably have to go back to your desk after lunch instead of outside to recess. The only remedy for that is to eat one more muffin.

A word about that streusel: It is so good, I wondered why I ever wasted time making any other kind. Next time I bake these, I'll triple the streusel recipe. I'll stir the leftovers into coconut yogurt and put it on top of vanilla ice cream. I might even make a fruit cobbler or crumble using peanut butter streusel for topping.

Streusel-Topped PB&J Muffins

Adapted from Quaker Oats

Makes 12 medium muffins

For the muffins:

1 3/4 cups flour
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 cup milk
4 tablespoons butter, melted
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup raspberry jam

For the streusel:

1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1/3 cup peanut butter
2 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon butter, softened

See the full recipe (and save and print it) here.

Do you have a favorite back of the box recipe, or have you heard about a great one? Leave any suggestions in the comments, and I'll try them out and share them here!

Photos by Posie Harwood