Mar 15 2010
Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars.
If you want to relive your childhood, have one of these bars. They are basically a peanut butter and jelly explosion.
I binged on peanut butter and jelly in my preschool and kindergarten years. For years after, any combination of peanut butter + jelly was extremely unappealing.
I grew out of that phase at some point in highschool, rediscovering that joy that is peanut butter and jelly.
And then I rediscovered it again last night. Just check out how stacked these bars are.
The thick peanut butter layer on the bottom just melts in your mouth.
These bars are not for the faint of heart. You have to love peanut butter.
Mr. How Sweet agreed – they are super peanut-buttery. After we both decided that they were only ‘ok,’ we each closet-ate about 3 more bars.
When Mr. How Sweet is in the kitchen and I cannot hear a peep, I know he is shoveling cookies into his mouth while standing over the sink. He usually is also chugging some diet coke.
At that point I love to ask ‘what the heck are you doing in there that you are so quiet?!’ To which I know he cannot respond since he has a mouthful of cookies.
‘Twas the situation last night, but I joined in on the fun.
The final verdict? These bars are amazing.
At first we thought they may need more jelly, but after multiple tastings, we decided that they have the perfect amount.
A third of the dough gets crumbled on top of the jelly before baking, which gives the dense bar a nice crumbly top.
Topped with a sprinkling of peanuts, this bar is a must-have.
Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars
from Martha Stewart
2 sticks butter, softened
3 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups jam (I used grape)
1 cup peanuts
Preheat oven to 350.
Grease a 9 x 13 baking pan – I used Pam baking spray and it worked perfectly.
Cream butter and sugar together until fluffy. Add eggs and peanut butter until combined, about 2 minutes. Whisk together dry ingredients, adding to the butter mixture until just combined. Add vanilla.
Transfer two-thirds of mixture into baking dish, spreading evenly. Top with jam and spread to coat peanut butter mixture. Crumble remaining peanut butter mix on top. Sprinkle peanuts on top.
Bake until golden brown, 45-60 minutes. I baked for 45, tenting with foil after 20 minutes since the top was getting brown. Allow to cool for a few hours before cutting.
If you have a chance this week, give these bars a try. I think kids would love them, but I don’t know much about kids besides the lack of patience I have for them.
I know Mr. How Sweet loved them, and he is kind of like a big kid.
Luckily, I didn’t have to worry about peanut butter crumble crumbs getting stuck in his moustache, because he shaved it.
I went against every single thing I believe in and posted a picture. Hope you have a strong stomach.
My husband would marry me all over again for these bars! Yum!
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These looks so sinful!!! PB & J is my hubby’s fav!!!
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Okay, I’m catching up on the weekend posts, and that picture of Mr. Sweet just MADE MY DAY. When my husband and I were dating, I went on a trip for a week or so, and when I came back, my hub decided it would be funny to greet me with a mustache as a joke. UM, NO! So freaking scary!
These bars look amazing, too
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Stacked is right!! Those look AMAZING!
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I am laughing at this post because my husband does the same thing in the kitchen. Just friday night I was making a tray of baked ziti for a friend who’s under the weather. I shout in what are you doing only to find out he took a giant bite out of the tray. I was so mad. Luckily I added some sauce and cheese and you couldn’t tell. I love these bars btw!
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Oh boy, PB&J in bar form. My favorite sandwich spruced up even more!
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this is frackin’ GREAT! most of my weekend is used up with endless preparation of the PB&J sammich. Now I can just throw some bars at ‘em and keep on rolling! I HATE main the PB&J! But I’m totally gonna smile making these bars.
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Oh yum! If these are like the PB and J muffins, I’m going to LOVE them!
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Holy yes. Pack this in my lunch box and screw the sandwich
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I think the quiet power eating in the kitchen must be a guy thing because I have several guy friends and former boyfriends who have done the exact same thing! Also, my heart was fluttering while I read about these bars. Holy moly girl.
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my husband eats pb&j every single day for lunch. ha, i should make these and then he can have a pb&j sandwich, and pb&j dessert every day
they look really really good
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oh my gosh these look freaking amazing. The crumbly topping on top really makes them look to die for! Great work
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I’ve made these before and they’re the best things ever! It was a bad bad bad thing to have in my kitchen. I even put chocolate chips with the jelly layer once…. to die for!
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i’ve made Ina Garten’s peanut butter and jelly bars before and oh.my.word. i am drooling right now just thinking about them! the only problem with them is i can’t just eat one…
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Wow. I think I would have a love/hate relationship with these bad boys. Love to eat them.. hate to see them on my thighs!
Off to see the picture…
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I too love the combination of peanut butter and jelly! Nothing reminds you of your childhood like that combination. However, I have made these bars before and while they were loved by all…I was told they are too rich. A little goes a long way when it comes to these babies! I am glad you have your man back just the way you like him!
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I’ve never been a peanut butter+jelly fan – my brother used to make grilled peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and it was so melty it just oozed whenever he took a bite.
But those bars? Wonderful! Tell the hubs he looks WAY younger without the mustache!
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Those look unbelievably delicious!
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O.M.G. I am craving these right now. They look amazing!!
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Oooooh. My kids would adore these!
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Oh my these look beyond delicious!! you can NEVER do wrong to PB&J
…fabulous recipe chica, I hope you have a great monday! xoxo!
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LOVE THESE! They looks amazing! I am definitely bookmarking because think I could probably survivie on PB&J sandwiches. The hubs gets bored with them…me never! I probably have at least 5 a week. haha! Lunch of champions, right?
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Wow wow wow…these look ridiculous!! In a good way, of course. Can’t wait to make these! These will make many people happy!
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Pure evil!!! These look awesome
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Even better than the sammy!
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Oh my gosh, those looks SO dangerously good. I love love love peanut butter. But like you said, jelly and peanut butter takes me back to my childhood!
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These will definitely need to be made in my kitchen very, very soon. I don’t know if I will be able to trust myself around these. And I also don’t know if I’ll be able to share with Mike, muahah.
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I wonder if my boyfriend will propose if I make him these…
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OMG these look delicious. I love that big fat layer of PB heaven. Thumbs up for these bad boys!
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You’re trying to make me fat, aren’t you? All I ate growing up was PBJ. It’s sheer will and fear of being airlifted by the jaws of life that keeps me from eating PBJ every day. Oh sweet wounded wuffles.
How do you like the Katie Joel Lee cookbook? I don’t have it; I just found those recipes in Women’s Health, I think.
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These look amazing. We have a sliding glass door in our kitchen and I can see my hubby’s reflection from the living room. My point? I can see him eating chocolate/cookies/chips like a shameful hormonal woman! I like catching him too!
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i love variations of pb&j! you and martha are such smart women
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Fantabulous! They look amazing. I think the bag of flour we have here has a recipe for PB and J muffins and I really want to make a version of those.
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UNREAL! I love pb and J and still crave it, there is NOTHING like a pb and J sandwich and in bar form? ummmm send me one NOW!
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Those look so good. I didn’t eat pb & j for years because of overdosing on too many sandwiches. Now, my love is back…and it is fierce!
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Those look a-maz-ing. Martha Stewart is a cullinary genius. Gah.
I saw the stache pic! LOL I do love the pic of you two together though. Such a cute couple
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I have made these too, with all the same concerns…is there enough jelly? are they too peanut buttery? But alas, I was right there with you..peanut butter bar stuffed in mouth searching for my glass of milk. cuz, ya need a glass of milk with these babies!
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A-mazing. Man do I wish I could eat anything I want and not have to worry about health:) All of your treats look so darn good! I would make a pan of these and eat them all by myself, which is both good and bad!
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Those look uhhhhmazing!!!
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I’m a dork because the first thing I thought of when I saw this was, “It’s peanut buttah jelly time, peanut buttah jelly time!” haha! You’ve heard that song right?? If not then I’ll REALLY feel like a dork!! Yeah, so anyway…………….. These bars look SOOOOOO amazing!! I want one right now. Well, first I’ll take a slice of your chocolate chip cookie pie, then I want one of these!
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Wow, these look delicious and the pictures are great! Yumm. I saw your post and I wanted to let you know that I’m doing a peanut butter give away w/ PB & Co if you have any interest!!
Love the image of Mr. How Sweet standing over the sink shoveling the bars into his mouth…haha!
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Wow, wow, wow. You’re not kidding those are (or at least look) amazing!
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Oh. My. Gosh. Those would NOT last in my house. Mainly because I’D be the one shoveling them into my mouth over the sink. Definitely saving this recipe.
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Oh, I’ve made these a few times and they are great! I prefer strawberry jelly, but boy are these good.
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These look very tasty, we don’t really do the pbj thing in the UK but I am very fond of peanut butter and jam together on toast so I know it’s good!
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oh my – they look so so good!!!
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This is one of my FAVORITE recipes!!! The dough is soooo good. I have been banished from making them for my husband’s boss because he and his wife polish them off in about 3 days
I posted these on my blog recently, and you might want to check it out. After making them countless times I have tweaked the addition of the peanuts so that they don’t fall off as easily. Now I want to go make some….
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O.M.G. you had me at the title. I didn’t even have to read the post to know I was going to be obsessed, but then I read the post and the recipe and holy cow… I wish we were neighbors so I could come over and eat all of this right this very second!
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I wonder if these would be good with seeds in the jelly or if I should use seedless?
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I had to laugh when I read this post because I do the same thing your husband does – eat treats in front of the sink when no one is around. If no one sees me eat it, the calories don’t count – right?!?!?
PS: The chix, bacon & spinach pizza is right up my alley. I am putting it at the top of my list of things to make. I probably shouldn’t tell you this because it may cause you to lose all willpower. BUT have you heard that Sundays don’t count in Lent? Add up the days between Ash Wednesday & Easter Sunday, and there are more than 40. Every Sunday during lent is supposed to be “a little Easter” so technically, you could eat what you gave up for Lent.
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Basically I already added the ingredients to my grocery list for Wednesday:-) Also – is there a difference between jam and jelly? I guess I’ll have to google that.
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Those bars look incredible!! I went through the same phase! Had it too much when I was a child and then rediscovered pb&j as a classic years later!
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Haha, the good part about living alone is that no one knows when you’re shoving your face over the sink
They look fabulous.
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no words to describe how GOOD THOSE LOOK Jess!!
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OMG, those bars look SO AMAZING. I am a big sweets person, and they looked awesome! I checked out the ‘stache pic, too…yeah, I gotta say, I agree with you. 100%! It reminds me of the time that my husband grew a goatee…uh, NOT SO MUCH, LOL! Ugh. Have a great day!!!
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I literally CAN’T look at your site when I’m craving sweets. It just isn’t right. I can’t deal!!!!! I want one please and thanks.
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Another great one to add to the recipe books!
Amazing!!
P.S. – You are gorg!!
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Wowowow! My mouth is watering
These look so good! Funny thing is, I didn’t care for PB&J when I was little. Probably because my parents only bought chunky PB and that combined with whole wheat bread was very dry. However, now I LOVE it and it’s dryness. hehe 
Jenn
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My hubby would love those!
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HOLY YUM. i must make those asap.
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So I’m going through my list of food blogs and I see this totally delish looking recipe, and then I move on to Picky-palate.com and I realize that it was PB&J day because she posted a PB&J recipe too!
Yummmmmmmm!
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He shaved it!!! Yay!!! and girl, those bars look awesome! I’m a huge PB lover… so I think I can handle them
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Oh they look delicious! I made peanut butter and jelly cupcakes a while back and they were a huge hit. This recipe is a keeper, I’m so glad you shared!
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Wow, i can just imagine how melt in your mouth these are. How do you eat such indulgent baked goodies and stay so fit Jess? From one Jess to another, what’s your secret?!?
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OMG Jessica sorry it’s taken me all day to get here but glad i did
THe dense-ness of the bottom layer would be all i would need to scream with delight 
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ah looks gorgeous……i love pb&j it has the taste of childhood
a bientot
the paris food blague
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Those look so so good! Why did I come here pre-breakfast?
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One of your most photogenic treats EVER. Yum!!!
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These bars are heavenly! I am a PB addict and have a huge sweet tooth (teeth)
So wish I was going to the FitBloggin conf this weekend…I love watching the tweets build excitement for the event! U guys will have a blast. Are you going to BlogHer food in October?? I’ll be there.
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These bar cookies look delicious! I’ve had a very similar recipe bookmarked for a long time. Perhaps, you have inspired me to go ahead and make it
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I love you. Every single bite.
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Very fun… These are a “lunch” food… right?
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[...] A baking session. Preferably involving butter, sugar and peanut butter in the form of Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars. I made one quarter of the recipe and still got a decent sized little pan. [...]
kristie linked to these today. must make them soon!
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