Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars bring classic PBJ flavors into a chewy, jammy bar that's similar to a blondie. This easy recipe requires no mixer and comes together with simple ingredients. Best of all, they're ready in about 30 minutes, making them perfect for a quick dessert or snack.
Peanut Butter & Jelly Bars Recipe Essentials
- 🍽️ Course: Dessert
- ⏱️ Cooking Time: 30 minutes
- 🍴 Servings: 16 bars
- 🥜 Flavor Profile: Sweet, nutty, and fruity with a chewy blondie-like texture
- 🥛 Best Served With: A glass of milk or coffee
- 🧊 Make Ahead?: Yes, stores well and can be made a day ahead
Summarize and Save This Content On
I didn't expect these to become one of my new favorite PB&J desserts, but that salty-sweet balance with the jammy swirl completely won me over. The texture is what really gets me-soft and chewy with little pockets of rich peanut butter and sweet jam in every bite.
If you're looking for some more peanut butter bar recipes, try these peanut butter cookie bars and peanut butter cookie dough bars.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- You can customize the flavor: Whether you use another nut butter, jam, or both, you can change up the flavor profile to make this recipe feel more like your own.
- Serve them for any occasion: These peanut butter jelly bars are perfect for birthdays, potlucks, and holidays like our peanut butter blondies.
- The ingredients mix in one bowl: All you need to mix the ingredients for these bars is a single mixing bowl. This saves you from having to work on cleanup later.
Ingredients
Below are the most important components of these peanut butter bars with jelly. These are crucial for flavor and texture.
- Butter: I use unsalted butter for these recipes, but you can use salted. Add a pinch less salt to keep the bars from leaning too salty.
- Peanut butter: Smooth peanut butter like Jif or Skippy is perfect here. You may try crunchy, but I haven't tested it.
- Brown sugar: Light brown sugar is preferred in these bars because a stronger molasses flavor can overpower the peanut butter. Pack it well when measuring because it's essential for adding moisture to the bars.
- Jam: I use strawberry jam in this recipe. If you want to use jelly, it will work, just expect a subtle texture change. I add a layer of strawberry jam to this strawberry charlotte as well.
See the recipe card below for exact ingredient amounts, nutritional information, and detailed instructions.
Variations
- Gluten-free: Try your favorite gluten-free flavor blend (1:1 ratio) instead of all-purpose flour.
- Nut-free: Use sunflower seed butter or tahini instead of peanut butter for those who have a nut allergy. The flavor and texture will vary, but they're still tasty.
- Add mix-ins: Add ½ cup of chocolate chips, chopped peanuts, or even raisins into the dough for a fun twist.
- Swap the jam: Use another flavor, like mixed berry or raspberry, to change the flavor profile slightly.
How to Make Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars
Preheat your oven to 350°F and line a 9x9 baking dish with parchment paper. Then you can melt your butter and peanut butter in the microwave to start the dough for these PB and J bars.
Step 1: Add the wet ingredients. Melt the butter and peanut butter, and then mix in the brown sugar, egg, and vanilla until the mixture is smooth.
Step 2: Fold in the dry ingredients. Stir in the dry ingredients until a soft dough forms.
Step 3: Add the dough to the pan with the jam. Spread the peanut butter dough into the bottom of the prepared baking dish, and add dollops of strawberry jam.
Step 4: Swirl and bake. Gently swirl the jam over the top of the dough without pressing too hard, using a small spoon or offset spatula. Bake for about 25 minutes. Slice when cooled and serve with a strawberry banana milkshake.
Expert Tips
- Avoid overbaking them: The center will appear slightly underdone, but this is normal, and the bars will set up as they cool. Overbaking the bars will make them dry and crumbly.
- Slice when fully cooled: Allow the bars to cool fully before you slice them. This ensures clean and even peanut butter and jelly slices.
- Storage directions: Store them in an airtight container for 2-3 days at room temperature or 1 week in the fridge. Place parchment paper between the layers to keep them from sticking together.
Try these s'mores blondies if you enjoy chewy cookie recipes.
Serving Suggestions
- Serve with ice cream: Enjoy one of these bars with a scoop of vanilla or peanut butter and jelly ice cream.
- More bake sale treats: Bring the peanut butter jelly bars to a bake sale. Some other treats to serve with them are white chocolate brownies and oatmeal raisin cookies.
- Dinner ideas: Prepare a comforting meal featuring roasted brisket and have a peanut butter and jelly bar for dessert.
Peanut Butter & Jelly Bars Recipe FAQs
These PB&J bars are ready when the edges are golden brown and start to pull away from the pan, but the center is set but still soft (slightly underdone). They will carry over bake and fully set up as they cool on the stove.
This can happen if you use natural peanut butter or underbake the bars. Natural peanut butter has more oil and separates easily, which can cause the bars to be greasy after they bake. Underbaked bars will also be wet and greasy, so ensure that you bake them until they are only very slightly underdone.
Yes. Wrap each bar individually with plastic wrap and then place them into a freezer bag. Freeze them for up to 3 months. Thaw them by letting them sit at room temperature for 1-2 hours.
Sure. Use a 9x13 pan or 2 9x9 pans. If you use a 9x13 pan, the bars will be thicker and take 30-35 minutes to bake.
More Delicious Peanut Butter Recipes
Do you like baking with peanut butter? Here are some recipes you may also like to try.
If you try this recipe and love it please leave a star rating in the recipe card below or even better, drop a review in the comment section. I always appreciate your feedback. Be sure to follow along with me on Facebook, Pinterest, and YouTube for more easy recipes!
Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars
Ingredients
- 1 stick butter unsalted
- ¾ cup peanut butter about ¾ cup 180 grams
- ½ cup brown sugar packed 100 grams
- 1 large egg
- ½ tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour 156.5 grams
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 3 tablespoon strawberry jam or more
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Prepare an 8x8 baking pan with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a large microwave safe bowl, melt together butter and peanut butter in 30-second intervals, whisking until smooth
- Add brown sugar, egg, vanilla and whisk until combined.
- Add flour, salt and baking powder. Stir until a dough forms.
- Press the peanut butter dough evenly into your prepared pan. Add about 6 ½ tablespoons of jam drops and swirl gently using an offset spatula or small spoon, taking care to press lightly but not disturb the dough layer too much.
- Bake for about 25 minutes until edges are browned. Let cool fully and cut into bars.
Video
Notes
- Greasy bars can happen if you use natural peanut butter or don't bake the bars long enough. Natural peanut butter tends to separate and release more oil, leading to a greasy texture. Bars that are underbaked can also seem wet and oily, so bake them until they're just slightly underdone in the center.
- These PB&J bars are done when the edges are golden and just starting to pull away from the pan, while the center is set but still soft. They'll continue to firm up as they cool, so don't worry if the middle looks slightly underdone.
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