Sunday, May 15, 2011

Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars


Peanut Butter.  My favorite.  Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches.  My favorite childhood sandwich.  Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars.  My new favorite dessert bar.

I absolutely love the combination of this peanut butter cookie bar with a layer of jelly filling and crunchy peanuts on top.  Adults and kids will love them.  Try these.  But be warned.  They will not last long.

I first saw this recipe on Jerry's blog, Jerry's Thoughts, Musings and Rants.  I then saw it soon after in my March 2011 issue of Bon Appetit.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars

Serving: 16 bars


Ingredients


  • Nonstick vegetable oil spray
  • 1 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
  • 3/4 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3/4 cup grape jelly or other jelly or jam
  • 2/3 cup coarsely chopped salted dry-roasted peanuts

Preparation


  • Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 8x8x2-inch metal baking pan with heavy-duty foil, leaving 2-inch overhang around edges and pressing firmly into corners and up sides of pan. Coat foil with nonstick spray. Whisk flour, baking powder, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in small bowl. Using electric mixer, beat peanut butter, sugar, and butter in large bowl until smooth. Add egg and vanilla; beat on low speed until smooth. Add flour mixture; beat on low speed just to blend. Transfer half of dough to prepared pan (about scant 1 1/2 cups). Place remaining dough in freezer for 10 minutes. Using fingertips, press dough evenly onto bottom of pan. Spread jelly over in even layer. Remove dough from freezer; using fingertips, break into grape-size pieces and scatter over jelly layer. Sprinkle chopped nuts over.
  • Bake bars until top is golden brown, about 30 minutes. Cool bars completely in pan on rack.
  • Using foil overhang as aid, lift bars from pan. Gently peel foil from edges. Cut into 16 squares. DO AHEAD Can be made 3 days ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.        




Enjoy!

Mom's Cooking Club Lesson:  Change the flavor by using different jellies and jams like strawberry, raspberry or blackberry.  


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5 comments:

Kat said...

I love peanut butter and jelly. These bars look so delicious.

Aggie said...

I could eat these all day. My favorite kind of sweet. LOVE!!

I have only made Barefoot Contessa's recipe, I think I used raspberry jam too. So good!! Thanks for posting this :)

Barbara Bakes said...

I especially love the extra peanuts on top. It looks scrumptious!

Anonymous said...

I'm glad that you enjoyed these. Paul still talks about how good they were.

Rob Johnson said...

Thanks for this! I actually tried making something similar to these with a different recipe but couldn't get the food texture quite right, but with your recipe, they came out perfect!

 
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