My friend Jason’s bubble tea house, BeBoBa, sells fluffernutter sandwiches- which makes me totally jealous of everyone at Lane Tech High who gets to go enjoy one for lunch every day. So I made these cupcakes in which to drown my sorrows. The baked pretzels get a little soft, but the salt tastes really good with the marshmallow and peanut butter and the crunchy pretzels on top keep the whole thing from being too squishy mushy. I used Billy’s Vanilla Vanilla Cupcake recipe for my base, but these would be really good as banana cupcakes as well.

For the cupcakes you will need:

• About 1 cup crushed pretzels
• 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons cake flour
• 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter cut into 1” cubes
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Then you:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees, line a cupcake pan with paper liners. (This makes about 15 cupcakes so you might need two pans.) Toss some crushed pretzels into each cup, about 1 Tbs, although you can eyeball how much you want.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt; mix on low speed until combined.
Add butter, mixing until just coated with flour. In a large glass measuring cup, whisk together eggs, milk, and vanilla.
With mixer on medium speed, add wet ingredients in 3 parts, scraping down sides of bowl before each addition; beat until ingredients are incorporated, be careful not to over beat.
Divide batter evenly among liners, filling about two-thirds full.
Bake for 17-22 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into cake comes out clean or the tops spring back with lightly touched with finger. Cool on wire rack in pans for 10 minutes, then remove from pans and cool completely.

For the frosting you will need:

• 1 cup marshmallow creme
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/3 cup butter or margarine — softened
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 2 tablespoons milk

Then you:

In small bowl with mixer at low speed, combine marshmallow creme, peanut butter and butter until blended. Increase speed to medium. Beat in confectioners’ sugar, alternately with milk, adding just enough milk to make frosting smooth and spreadable. Beat in vanilla.

Frost cooled cupcakes and garnish with more crushes pretzels. If you bought pretzels in cut shapes, unlike the boring sticks I had, you could top each cake with a whole pretzel.