Peanut Butter and Jelly Oatmeal Bars

Ever since I made my Peanut Butter Eggs I have been craving more peanut butter. I saw an episode of The Pioneer Woman on The Food Network, where she made Strawberry Oatmeal Bars. They looked tasty, but I thought If I make the oatmeal layer a Peanut Butter Oatmeal layer, it would be just like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. So this is what I came up with.

Here's what you'll need:



9x13 baking dish, no-stick spray, jam or jelly, butter, peanut butter, brown sugar, flour, baking soda, rolled oats, vanilla, salt, salted and roasted peanuts

 Preheat the oven to 350F.
Get one cup of brown sugar (light or dark, it doesn't matter - I always use dark).

Pack it down.

And put it in a large mixing bowl with 1 stick of softened butter. (I actually microwaved my butter a little, because it was cold from the fridge.)

Mix together until you can't see the granules of sugar anymore.

Now add the salt . . .

and the vanilla

 Add the peanut butter . . . (you can use creamy or cruchy; it's your choice)

and the milk.

Mix to combine.

 Add the baking powder and the flour, and mix again.

 Then fold in the oats (the mixture will be a little crumbly).

 Press 1/2 of the mixture into a greased 9x13 baking dish.

 Now comes the jam. You'll need about a cup. (I used my Strawberry Thyme "Jam", but any jam or jelly would work.)

Spread it out evenly over the whole dish.

 Then crumble on the other 1/2 of the peanut butter oatmeal mixture.

 Take 1/2 cup of salted and roasted peanuts and chop them up,

 until they are in small pieces.

 Sprinkle them over the top. And press them in firmly. (The next time I make this I might try putting the nuts directly on to of the jam, and under the top oatmeal layer. Most of them fell off after baking.)

 Bake @ 350F for 30 minutes - the edges will become brown.

 Cut into bars, but leave in the baking dish to cool completely (in the fridge or freezer is best). I know. They are too tempting, and smell too good to wait. But if you eat them while they are warm, they won't be pretty bars - they will crumble. Which could be a good thing. - Just scoop some ice cream on top and say it's a peanut butter and jelly crumble. :) I want bars. So I waited . . . impatiently I might add.

A nice after school snack if I do say so myself. :)

Here's the recipe:

Peanut Butter and Jelly Oatmeal Bars

1/2 cup of butter, softened
1 cup of brown sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup milk
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups oats
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup jam (I used Strawberry)
1/2 cup salted, roasted peanuts, chopped

Preheat oven to 350F. Combine butter and brown sugar. Add vanilla and salt and milk. Mix in the flour and baking powder. Stir in the oats. (Mixture will look crumbly.) Press 1/2 of the mixture evenly into a 9x13 baking dish to make an even layer. Then spread the jam all over evenly. Crumble the rest of the peanut butter mixture over the top, and the chopped nuts on top of that. Firmly press down with your hand. Bake @ 350 for 30 minutes. Cut into bars, but leave in the baking dish to cool completely before serving.