Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars

I made some PB&J bars yesterday.  I was hoping to give some away to my friend Lisa and my neighbors, and send the rest off with Chris to share with his co-workers.  I sent an email out to my neighbors first to see if anyone may want them before I distribute them, as not everyone likes the combination or peanut butter for that matter.  I was pleasantly surprised to find so many takers! Not sure if it was the free baked goods or that they really liked PB&J.  In the end, I was only able to send four pieces off with Chris *sad face* :(.

These are rich, dense (thanks to all that butter and sugar) and wickedly good! So if you’re not watching that waistline this summer, go bake yourself a batch of these.  You’ll be glad you did.  Have a great weekend!

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Ingredients:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) of butter of unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup of granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups of creamy peanut butter
• 3 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1 1/2 cups of jam (I used strawberry)

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease a 9″ x 13″-inch baking pan.

Using a stand or electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until fluffy.  Then add vanilla extract, eggs and peanut butter.  Continue to beat until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl.  Add flour, baking powder and salt. Mix until combined.

Spread 2/3 of the batter mixture into the bottom of the baking pan.  Spread jam over the batter, leaving about 1/2 inch around the sides without jam.  Using a teaspoon, drop the remaining dough over the jam.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the edges start to brown and the toothpick/cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.  Let the bars cool completely before cutting into the pan.

Adapted from Julie’s Eats & Treats