Eat My Charlotte
The seasons are changing and the weather outside is getting crisp and chilly ... and in a Punxsutawney Phil-like way, that signals for me to crank up the oven and start baking again.
First item to bake: Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars, from Ina Garten (the Barefoot Contessa). The peanut butter and jelly combo is innocent and reminiscent of childhood, but these bars are also sophisticated enough that will grown-ups like them.
Making them is relatively easy. Peanut butter based dough is spread in a pan, layered with strawberry jam, and then globs of more dough is dropped on top. Sprinkle the whole thing with chopped peanuts and slide it into the oven for 40 minutes or so. I halved the recipe here to make a 9x9 pan instead of 9x13. Instead of dealing with lining the pan with parchment paper to avoid the bars from sticking to the pan, I just used some Baker's Joy non-stick spray (I swear by that stuff).
Because these are similar to a PB & J sandwich, I'd say they qualify as breakfast, lunch and dessert. I brought a few extra Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars to work today and they got two big thumbs up. Enjoy!
Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars
(courtesy of 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 or other jam
- 2/3 cups salted peanuts, coarsely chopped
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Grease a 9 by 13 by 2-inch cake pan. Line it with parchment paper, 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.
