From my days as a mom of little kids, here’s a recipe for some fancy peanut butter bars. Make them for a lunchbox surprise or a special after school treat. They are not just for kids though, these are really upscale PB&J bars, so make them for yourself and then let the kids have one or two. Don’t skip the dry roasted peanuts on top, that’s their crowning glory!

The original recipe was attributed to Lauren Chattman from Bon Appetit in March 2011. I assume the original recipe is still posted on Epicurious.com, but it can’t accessed without paying a $36 yearly subscription fee.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars

INGREDIENTS

• 1½ cups (188 grams) all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¾ cup peanut butter (Skippy or Jiff, not the gourmet kind)
• ¾ cup (150 grams) light brown sugar
• ½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ¾ cup grape jelly OR any jelly or jam—I like raspberry preserves the best 🙂
• 2/3 cup coarsely chopped salted, dry-roasted peanuts

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350°, and prepare a 9×9″ or 8×8″ square baking pan by lining with parchment paper, greasing the bottom of sides lightly with butter, or spraying with Pam for Baking.
2. Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a small bowl, and set aside.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine peanut butter, brown sugar and butter, then beat until smooth.
4. Add in egg and vanilla, and beat until smooth.
5. Transfer 1¼ cups of prepared dough (about half) to the freezer for 10 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, press the remaining dough into the bottom of the prepared pan. Press evenly, and smooth the top as best you can.
7. To make the next step a bit easier, soften the grape jelly (or alternate) in the microwave for about a minute.
8. Spread the jelly over the peanut butter batter in the pan.
9. Remove the remaining dough from the freezer and drop small clumps of it all over the jelly—clumps should be about the size of a small grape.
10. Sprinkle the chopped peanuts over the top and into the crevices between the dough pieces.
11. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes, or until the top of the bars are golden brown.
12. Cool completely, then cut into bars—depending on how you cut these, you will probably have around 16 bars.
13. Can be made 3 days ahead. Store airtight at room temperature, and eat quickly. They don’t last much more than 3 days on the counter. I don’t see why these can’t be frozen, but I haven’t tested that.

Thanks for stopping by my old-fashioned kitchen today!