When my sister first made these, I thought of them as a bar that my kids would love. And, they do. Maybe it's the drizzled icing or the glimpses of jelly peeking through, but I don't think of them as a kid dessert any more. They're too good.
They are super easy to make. You whip up a peanut buttery dough, reserving a bit, and press it into a pan. Slather it with jam, crumble the reserved dough on top and bake. Once they're cool, you do the drizzle dance. And that's it.
You don't dance when you drizzle? Oh, dear. Forget that I said that.
Peanut Butter and Jam Bars (recipe from my sister)
Yields 32 bars.
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 egg
1 1/2 cup flour
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup jam (we like red raspberry or strawberry)
Drizzle:
2 tbsp. melted butter
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
3-4 tsp. hot water
Beat sugars, shortening, peanut butter, and egg in the bowl of your electric mixer. Stir in flour, baking soda and baking powder. The dough will be crumbly. Reserve one cup of it, setting it aside. Transfer the remaining dough to a greased 9 x 13 inch pan, covering the bottom evenly with the dough, then press it down. Spread jam evenly on top. Sprinkle remaining one cup of dough evenly over the jam layer and press down gently. Bake for 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees until lightly browned and a knife inserted comes out clean.
Once the bars are completely cool, in a glass liquid measuring cup (this will make the drizzle easy to pour), mix with a fork the melted butter, powdered sugar, vanilla and hot water, adding a bit more hot water if needed to create a pourable icing. Drizzle and dance. Pin It
Ooooh, those look naughty! I think the young chef and I will have to try this recipe today.
ReplyDeletethese will be done before I stop posting and ate up before sundown---lol
ReplyDeleteThe drizzle dance sounds like so much fun, will keep the littlies entertained on our next baking day, I am sure my children would be very amused. I love pb and J.. one of my all time kiddy memories, the recipe looks so yummy.
ReplyDeleteI know all about hiding stuff in the microwave..
and in other out of the way places they are less likely to look.
thank you dear lady for your post.
Nell
This recipe looks amazing! Is it sinful of me to suggest using melted chocolate instead of jam? Just sayin'... it's a possibility.
ReplyDeletelooks good! I recall a childhood favorite of mine: oatmeal jam bars. Time to fill the cookie jar around here. . .
ReplyDeleteI made these yesterday after reading your post and it is a winning recipe!! It was so simple to make, all pantry staple ingredients and amazingly yummy too!!
ReplyDeleteJane, these look fabulous!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing the recipe.
And why wouldn't you do a little jig when you're making something so joy-giving,lol!
blessings..Trish
I have to tell you that I made these for the barn crew last Sunday - they were such a big hit! I saved half for my parents and the rest were inhaled within minutes! So many of your recipes are easy and delicious!
ReplyDeletePerfect use for all this peanut butter I have stored up! Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDelete