Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars

These Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars are a tasty mashup of a chewy blondie and classic PBJ sandwich. The salty peanut butter and sweet jam swirl are the perfect balance.

Prep Time5

Cook Time25

Total Time30

Servings:

Calories: 150kcal

Author: Karin and Ken

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.

Nutrition