Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars

To be honest I do not like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. But I decided to make these for a baby shower. Of course I did try one....and they were SO good! I wonder if I should revisit the classic PB&J sandwich...nah!

From: Ina Garten

INGREDIENTS

1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
2 cups (18 ounces) creamy peanut butter (recommended: Skippy)
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 1/2 cups (18 ounces) raspberry jam (I used Strawberry preserves)
2/3 cups salted peanuts, coarsely chopped (omitted)

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease a 9 by 13 by 2-inch cake pan. Line it with parchment paper (I used foil), then grease and flour the pan.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until light yellow, about 2 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, add the vanilla, eggs, and peanut butter and mix until all ingredients are combined.

In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the flour mixture to the peanut butter mixture. Mix just until combined.

Spread 2/3 of the dough into the prepared cake pan and spread over the bottom with a knife or offset spatula. Spread the jam evenly over the dough. Drop small globs of the remaining dough evenly over the jam. Don't worry if all the jam isn't covered; it will spread in the oven. Sprinkle with chopped peanuts and bake for 45 minutes, until golden brown. Cool and cut into squares.

My tips: I heated my preserves in the microwave to make them easier to spread. I didn't spread my jam to the very edge to prevent burning in case the dough did not spread out. Also, try your best to evenly drop dough over the preserves because mine didn't not really spread that much (luckily I had dropped my dough pretty evenly and it worked out).