What do you get when you do a mash-up of a traditional PB&J and a blondie? These yummy bars.
You can opt for whole grain flour if you’d like; already, this has less sugar than a typical blondie might. Whatever jam you have on hand is perfect. If you only have true jam (with seeds), then you can strain it. That said, it wouldn’t hurt at all to leave the seeds in, either.
I know I keep going on and on about kitchen scales, but especially when measuring sticky things like peanut butter, a scale is definitely your clean-up buddy because you can scoop the goo right into the mixing bowl, and you won’t have to try to wash out the gooped up measuring cup. Just saying, might be worth the investment.
PB& J Blondies
You can cut these into 12 larger bars, or smaller ones, depending on your mood and the number of people you feel you need to treat
Ingredients ¾ cup (170 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature ½ cup (135 g) peanut butter 3/4 cup dark brown sugar 2 large eggs 1 T brewed coffee, optional but a nice flavor undertone 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract 2¼ cups all-purpose flour (as mentioned above, you can sub in half whole grain) ¾ teaspoon baking powder ½ teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon fine sea salt 1/2 cup semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips ⅓ cup seedless raspberry or strawberry jelly or jam
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9-by-13-inch baking pan or 1/4 sheet pan with parchment paper, allowing some excess paper to hang over the sides of the pan.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, peanut butter, brown sugar and coffee until light and fluffy, 4 to 5 minutes. Alternately, you can do this in a mixing bowl with a whisk or the back of a spoon; just mix it well.
3. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing on medium speed until well combined. Scrape the bowl well, then add the vanilla extract and mix to combine.
4. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; mix just until incorporated. Add chocolate chips. Stir well. Scrape the bowl well, then transfer to the prepared baking pan. Spread the batter into an even layer.
5. In a small bowl, stir the jam well to make it more loose. Blob the jam in the pan in small spoonfuls all over the top of the batter.
6. Transfer the pan to the oven and bake until the edges are golden brown and the surface appears set, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool completely in the pan.
7. Use the excess parchment paper to lift the blondies out of the pan, then use a knife to cut into bars.
Enjoy!