Peanut butter & jelly bars
05.26.2012 
More than ever, the weeks absolutely fly by. Sometimes things pass by so quickly that I wonder if I have somehow "lost time," like Edward Norton's character in Primal Fear. The weeks used to pass quickly back when I was working full-time, but it was so. much. different. Back then I constantly felt a twinge (ok, a lot of twinges) of guilt about spending most of my time away from home. And I always knew what day of the week it was. Now I feel that my time is almost always productive and that I expend my energy on worthwhile tasks and people. And I never know what day of the week it is.
As I sat down to write this post, I first tried to grasp where I was in time. It's Monday morning, great! Oh, um, Wednesday afternoon. Nope! It's nearly Saturday evening. Goodness! So I'm clearly clueless about the passing of time, but I am just fine with that because I love what I spend my time doing. Even when it's crazy in this crazy crazy but awesome house of mine.
I am finding that baking helps me to keep better track of my days. I still have a few of these PB&J bars on my counter and I know I made them three days ago, so that was Wednesday and now it is Saturday! What a perfect excuse to bake more often! Or something like that.
I'm chewing on one this very second, and these things are goooood. Just like a peanut butter & jelly sandwich, but better.
(Recipe adapted from EveryDay with Rachael Ray magazine.)
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 9x9-inch square baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
In a food processor, combine:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
Pulse until combined.
Cut a chilled stick of butter into cubes.
Add the butter to the food processor and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal.
Add 1 cup of creamy peanut butter.
Process until crumbly.
In a small bowl, combine:
1/2 cup of the peanut butter mixture from the food processor
1 cup salted, roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped
Press the remaining peanut butter mixture from the food processor into the bottom of the prepared pan with your fingers.
Top with 1 cup of grape jelly, spread out evenly.
Sprinkle the peanut-crumb mixture over the top.
Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until lightly browned. Let cool and cut into squares.
Happy SATURDAY! Enjoy the holiday weekend! It is a holiday weekend, right?!
Printable recipe: Peanut butter & jelly bars
Jelly, Peanut Butter in Bars
Reader Comments (5)
I have made these for years, I found the receipe when I was 8 years old, always loved them and my husband loves them too.
I am a PB fan...This is something I will really love to make. PB and jelly is always a match made in heaven!
I'm surprised these lasted over a day.
Yes. YES!!!
Yum!! These are fab :-)