You can’t go wrong with peanut butter and jelly. This is another recipe in the Barefoot Bloggers Challenge that I should have had posted last week. I have been having uploading problems, and it is a lucky moment when I sit down to blog lately and my pictures will actually upload.
Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars
Preface:
I decided that, rather than use the rather low quality jam that cost a fortune in the tiendas, I would make my own. I checked in the market for a suitable fruit … it wasn’t a good day for fruit … but I did find a large watermelon, and decided to make a Watermelon Jelly. At the last minute, I threw in some mint leaves, which gave it the most cool under-flavor … I loved it and am going to be playing around with it some more.
I also made my own peanut butter … not because there is a shortage of peanut butter to buy locally, but because it is not only expensive, but I have been trying to eliminate as many “bought” ingredients as I can.
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
Instructions:
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.
Verdict:
This was a suprisingly luscious rich dessert. It settled out into layers … the top and the bottom layers are more bread-like, then there is a double layer of the peanut-y fudgey interior, which is sandwiched around a center layer of jelly. The cake overall was addictively delicious, but next time I would use a jelly (like raspberry, as the recipe suggests), with a bit more of a distinctive flavor.
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