With a clean pair of kitchen scissors (or a knife) cut the hearts into small chunks and toss in the extra ¼ cup of sugar to coat sticky areas. Remove any extra sugar.
Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.
Mix in the butter, sour cream, eggs and vanilla at medium speed until the batter is smooth and creamy.
Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups. Drop an even amount of BRACH’S® Cinnamon Jelly Heart pieces into the batter in each cup.
Bake for 18-22 minutes until the tops of the cupcakes spring back to the touch and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Remove the cupcakes from the pan and put on a cooling rack to let cool completely before frosting.
Frosting Instructions
Blend together the shortening, butter and vanilla extract until creamy.
Slowly add the powdered sugar and mix until well blended.
While the mixer is going, slowly add the water in a thin stream and continue to beat until absorbed and the frosting becomes fluffy, about 3 minutes.
Pipe the frosting (or spread with a spatula) onto the cooled cupcakes.
Place one BRACH’S® Cinnamon Jelly Heart on each cupcake for decoration and serve.