PB & J Coffee Cake

I am confident that our family dog Humphrey (bless his little heart) is the only individual in the history of the universe to love peanut butter more than me.  Every single day of high school, my mom would make my peanut butter (no jelly) sandwich and Humphrey would get to lick the knife clean.  Ask her about the time that he licked the knife and then she did too.  Although I don't eat a peanut butter sandwich for lunch daily anymore, I love it all the same.  I have eaten peanut butter toast before every marathon and half marathon I have ever run.  There is no doubt that the stuff is delicious.

Because of my love of peanut butter and my love of baking, I get really excited when both of these worlds collide.  After inventing the world's best cookie, which had peanut butter chips, I craved the stuff in baked goods form, but couldn't justify making something just to curb my desire.  A birthday for a dear friend and co-worker provided the perfect excuse, however, and that's how we ended up at the Peanut Butter and Jelly Coffee Cake. 

If you love peanut butter and jelly, then this treat is for you.  The perfect about of moist peanut butter combines with ribbons of jelly, and both are accentuated by the crunchy peanut streusel on top.  You can have it for breakfast, lunch, and dessert and all would be perfectly appropriate! 

It was a little slice of childhood.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Coffee Cake:
Closely adapted from this recipe.

For the Coffee Cake:

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 4 teaspoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup buttermilk (next time I will use a little more)
• 1 cup jelly (next time I will use a little less)

 For the Peanut Butter Streusel Topping:

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 9 x 13 baking pan with cooking spray and set aside.
2. Make the peanut butter streusel topping.  In a medium bowl, combine the flour and brown sugar.  Mix with a fork until there are no big brown sugar clumps.  Add the peanut butter and pour the melted butter on top.  Stir with a fork until the mixture is crumbly.  Set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together. 
4. Use your stand mixer and paddle attachment to beat the peanut butter and butter until creamy and smooth, about 3 minutes. 
5. Add the brown sugar.  Mix until creamy. 
6. Add the egg and vanilla extract.  And mix. 
7. Turn the mixer to low and alternately add the dry ingredients and buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture.  Don't over mix, beat until just combined.
8. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan.  Spoon the jelly evenly over the cake. 
9. Take a toothpick and gently swirl in the jelly. 
10. Sprinkle the peanut butter streusel over the cake, and press lightly. 
11. Bake for 35ish minutes, or until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 
12. Transfer the cake to a wire cooling rack and cool completely.