PB&J Bars

Peanut butter and jelly might be one of the best combinations in the world.  

That is...unless if you're deathly allergic to nuts. Then...not so much. 

PB&J in bar form? Genius.  

Recipe (adapted from ATK)

2        cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1     teaspoon baking powder
3/4     teaspoon salt
12       tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2   cups sugar
2        large eggs
1        cup chunky peanut butter
1        teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2   cups raspberry jam

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350. Line a 13-by- 9-inch baking pan with two layers of foil, (leaving several inches of foil hanging over the edge of the pan to create handles for lifting the bars out of the pan later) and grease the foil. Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together in a medium bowl.

In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar together with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 6 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Beat in the peanut butter and vanilla until combined, scraping down the bowl and beaters as needed. Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly add the flour mixture until just incorporated, about 30 seconds.

Reserve 1 cup of the dough for the topping. Press the remaining dough evenly into the prepared baking pan. Bake the crust until just beginning to turn golden, about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, stir the peanuts into the reserved dough for the topping.

Spread the jam evenly over the hot crust, then drop small pieces of the topping evenly over the jam. Bake until the jam is bubbling and the topping is golden, about 45 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking.

Let cool completely in the pan set on a wire rack, about 2 hours. Remove from the pan using the foil, cut into squares, and serve.