Peanut Butter & Jelly Cookie Bars

My all-time favorite sandwich is pb&j. It’s simple and delicious and it’s the one sandwich that you just can’t screw up. I remember as a kid, I used to eat it for lunch all the time. Whenever my parents asked me what I would like to bring for lunch at school, 90% of the time I would request pb&j, extra gooey. I just love the combination of the two ingredients. The saltiness of the pb and sweetness from the jelly is heaven in my mouth. Although I don’t eat as many pb& j sandwiches as I used to, I still get pretty excited whenever I eat one. It brings back fond memories of being a youngin’ before all the responsibilities of being an adult kicked in. So, when I found out that today is National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day I knew that I had to make something special. 

Peanut Butter & Jelly Cookie Bars

2 C All Purpose Flour

1/2 C Crushed Graham Crackers

2 Sticks Butter, room temperature

2 eggs, room temperature

1/2 C Sugar

1/2 Cup Brown Sugar

1 1/2 C Peanut Butter

1/2 C Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

1 Tsp Vanilla Extract

1 Tsp Baking Powder

1/2 Tsp Salt

1 1/2 C Jelly

Optional: 1/4 C Salted & Roasted Peanuts, coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a 9X13 pan. Whisk flour, crushed graham crackers, salt and baking powder. In a mixing bowl, cream butter, sugar, and brown sugar until it’s fluffy and light brown.  Beat in the eggs, peanut butter, chocolate chips, and vanilla extract. Continue mixing until the ingredients are combined. Slowly incorporate the dry ingredients in 3-4 batches and mix until just combined. Pour about 2/3 of the mixture into the greased pan. Carefully spread the jelly on top. Dollop the remaining 1/3 mixture by the spoonsful over the jelly. Sprinkle the peanuts on top if you wish. (I skipped this step because I prefer creamy peanut butter over crunchy.) Bake for 40-45 minutes or when it reaches a golden brown color. Cut into squares when thoroughly cooled.

Ready for the oven

In the morning after a nice, cool down.

Chomp!

 I baked this last night and let it cool overnight. I knew that if I baked it during the day then I would cut it too soon because I am very impatient. It was definitely worth the wait because these were delicious! 

Happy National PB & J Day!