
It’s peanut butter jelly time! Even though you’re a full-blown adult now (R.I.P., adolescence), the taste of peanut butter and jelly together is one of the most nostalgic flavors you can imagine. Now that your kitchen skills go further than spreading condiments on bread, you can cook up any peanut butter and jelly treats you like. Imagine peanut butter and jelly for breakfast in a smoothie or a quesadilla for lunch — the possibilities are endless. Scroll down to find 16 ways to enjoy a PB & J that go *way* beyond a sandwich.
1. Peanut Butter and Jelly Cake: This peanut butter-infused cake with sweet strawberry jam filling and a brown sugar peanut butter buttercream is the ultimate sophisticated PB & J dessert. The frosting tastes just like honey-roasted peanuts, so you know you’re in for a treat. (via The Cake Blog)
2. Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookies: Peanut butter cookies? Sure. Peanut butter and jelly cookies? Oh yeah. These chewy delights are going to be your new obsession. (via Pip and Ebby)
3. Peanut Butter and Jelly Banana Bread: Why put peanut butter and jelly on your bread when you can put it in your bread? Bake up this banana loaf and have it for an on-the-go snack any time you like. (via Taste and Tell)
4. Peanut Butter and Jelly Ice Cream Sandwiches: Peanut butter cookies make the perfect base for creamy, jam-swirled ice cream. Get fancy and make your own gourmet jam to step up your ice cream sandwich game. (via The Floating Kitchen)
5. Homemade Peanut Butter and Jelly Cups: Gone are the days that peanut butter had to live inside of a candy cup. This time, it gets a front row seat as the outside coating, and your favorite jam oozes from within. If only you could buy these at a convenience store in a two-pack… (via Handmade Charlotte)
6. Peanut Butter and Jelly Pull Apart Bread: With only three ingredients and 10 minutes, you can make this seriously delicious pull-apart bread with ease. It’s best served straight from the oven and with a glass of milk. (via Hello, Wonderful)
7. Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars: Crunchy peanuts mixed with creamy peanut butter and tart raspberry jam is a perfect sweet and salty symphony of flavors. Wrap these up individually so you can throw them in lunch boxes in a flash. (via Girl Versus Dough)
8. Peanut Butter and Jelly Crumb Muffins: The great thing about a PB & J is that you can pick whatever jam or jelly you want. Thankfully, the same goes for these crispy crumb muffins. Try using a blackberry or fig jam for a *unique* change. (via How Sweet It Is)
9. Peanut Butter, Strawberry and Banana Quesadillas: Elvis would *love* this sweet quesadilla. It’s perfect for a mid-afternoon snack or even a fun weekday breakfast. (via Texanerin Baking)
10. Peanut Butter and Jelly Smoothie: If you need something light yet hearty to fill you up before a morning workout, this smoothie will be your best friend. PB will keep you full for hours, and the fresh berries add a quick boost of vitamins that will give you instant energy. (via Go Dairy Free)
11. Peanut Butter and Jelly Donuts: Jelly-filled donuts are already the best, so it only makes sense to top them with a nutty peanut butter glaze. Seriously, you have to try these to understand how delicious they are. (via Heather Christo)
12. Peanut Butter and Jelly Cheesecake: Full disclosure: You will *never* be able to eat a PB & J sandwich the same way again after trying this cheesecake. It’s thick, rich and full of all that classic flavor… and then some. (via Will Cook for Smiles)
13. Peanut Butter and Jelly Dip: You never knew your parties were missing the ultimate dessert dip until now. Top it with chopped peanuts and serve with pretzels and crackers for a sweet and salty contrast. (via Taste and Tell)
14. Peanut Butter and Jelly Cupcakes: Kids and adults will both be requesting these cupcakes for their birthdays from now on. They’re light and fluffy, with that classic all-American taste we all know and love. (via A Helicopter Mom)
15. Peanut Butter and Jelly Overnight Oatmeal: It’s always fun when you can go to bed excited about a breakfast that’ll be waiting for you in the morning. It’s absolutely delicious, and full of omega-3s and fiber to keep you full and focused all morning. (via Delish Knowledge)
16. Peanut Butter and Jelly Steel Cut Oatmeal: Fresh strawberries and chopped peanuts mimic the flavors of peanut butter and strawberry jelly while adding a different texture to the dish. Give yourself 20 minutes in the morning to fix this and you won’t be sorry. (via The Cookie Rookie)
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Welcome to Selfmade Finance School, our new money series with Block Advisors to help small business owners with their tax, bookkeeping, and payroll needs year-round. This week, we explore the tax implications of bringing family members into your business.
The question for today is this: Does hiring your family members make sense for your business? Let me be clear. This is not a piece about whether hiring your family members makes sense for your relationships with those family members. As someone who is part of a family business, I could fill up a lot more than 600 words on my opinions about that. For today's purposes, we focus on whether it makes sense from an overall "good business and tax implication" perspective. As it turns out, there is a decent amount of tax nuance when it comes to employing your family. Let's break it down based on relationship to the employee:
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Spouses Who Are In Business Together
Personally, if I had to be in business with my husband, it would not go well. However, many couples build viable, strong businesses together and I say, good for them! Depending on how you have your business entity structured, it will make a big difference on the tax treatment of you and your spouse working as partners. Because a business jointly owned and operated by a married couple is generally treated as a partnership for Federal tax purposes, the spouses must comply with filing and record keeping requirements imposed on partnerships and their partners. The election to file two Schedule C (Form 1040) forms, (one for each spouse) permits certain married co-owners to avoid filing partnership returns, provided that each spouse separately reports a share of all the businesses' items of income, gain, loss, deduction, and credit. Under the election, both spouses will be subject to self-employment tax and on net earnings from self-employment and receive credit for Social Security earnings.
One Spouse Employs Another
If you have a dynamic where your spouse is an employee of your business, then your spouse's wages are subject to income tax withholding, Social Security and Medicare taxes. If you are self-employed (not a corporation or a partnership), your spouse's pay does not have to be included in your federal unemployment tax account (FUTA) contributions and payments. However, if your business is a corporation or a partnership you must include that spouse's pay in your unemployment tax contribution calculation.
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You Employ Your Child
First, let's be clear. I work in my family business, but I am an adult, so I am treated just like a normal employee. However, if you, for example, run a family restaurant and want to hire your children under 18 to work for you, there are some tax benefits. But first, you should check with your state for rules on how many hours minors can work (in non-agricultural jobs) and reference the Fair Labor Standards Act for information on limitations on the kinds of work children can perform.
"This is an often overlooked or under-utilized strategy. Paying your children for true services they provide in your business can be a powerful tax-saving tool," says Cathi Reed, Block Advisors Regional Director. "If you are a sole-proprietorship or single member LLC, and the child is less than 18 years of age, the business is not required to withhold FICA or payroll taxes. The child can use his or her standard deduction against income you pay."
You Hire Your Parent
Oh dear. If you are brave enough to do this, know that you will need to pay Social Security and Medicare taxes on your parent's wages and make the appropriate withholdings, but you don't have to pay unemployment taxes. Now all you have to do is convince your parent that you are the boss. Have fun with that!
Is Hiring Family Members Worth It For The Tax Benefits?
"There are some positive tax advantages to hiring family members. It's important to treat a family member like any other employee. Hiring your children can result in substantial savings for businesses. Make sure your child has real, age-appropriate work to do and a reasonable pay rate, comparable to other employees. Consult with a Block Advisors small business certified tax pro to ensure that you are complying with all requirements," advises Reed. "Block Advisors, a team within H&R Block, is dedicated to meeting the tax, bookkeeping and payroll needs of small business owners year-round. To start working with the tax experts at Block Advisors, visit blockadvisors.com."
In my opinion, you should not hire a family member solely because of the tax benefits. You should always hire based on whether that person is right for the job and keep in mind how this hire could materially impact your relationship with that person and others in your family. Finally, as I mentioned, make sure you have a tax professional on your team when making these determinations. As you can see, things can get a little tricky!
*All details were sourced from IRS.gov and blockadvisors.com
The opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and may not necessarily reflect those held by Kestra Investment Services, LLC or Kestra Advisory Services, LLC. This is for general information only and is not intended to provide specific investment advice or recommendations for any individual. It is suggested that you consult your financial professional, attorney, or tax advisor with regards to your individual situation. Comments concerning the past performance are not intended to be forward looking and should not be viewed as an indication of future results. Securities offered through Kestra Investment Services, LLC (Kestra IS), member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through Kestra Advisory Services, LLC (Kestra AS), an affiliate of Kestra IS. O'Keeffe Financial Partners and any other entity listed herein is not affiliated with Kestra IS or Kestra AS Investor Disclosures: https://bit.ly/KF-Disclosures