PBJ bars

I'm not kidding when I say I love peanut butter and jelly. I made these bars on a whim for a late night snack and Aaron and I promptly ate half the pan with a spoon before they were even cool. This is not the type of thing you bring to a fancy dinner - these are definitely for making at a sleepover party or for leaving on the counter for a few days so you can nosh on them as you walk by.

PBJ Bars

1/2 cup peanut butter (crunchy or smooth, your choice)
2 Tbls. chopped peanuts (optional)
2 Tbls. applesauce
2 Tbls. soy milk
1/2 tsp. apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup flour
1/4 - 1/2 cup jelly

Preheat the oven to 350 F. In a small bowl combine the soy milk and the vinegar. Let it sit for a few minutes. It will curdle and become like buttermilk.

In a large bowl, melt the peanut butter (about 30 seconds in the microwave). Stir in the applesauce, soy milk/vinegar, and sugar. Then, add the dry ingredients (everything except the peanuts and jelly). The batter will be pretty thick, so you may need to knead it with your hands.

Next, grease an 8" square pan and press the batter into the bottom like so:

Drag a butter knife through the batter to create evenly spaced trenches. It's okay if it gets crumbly and weird.

Then, fill the trenches with jelly. However much you use is up to you. I used closer to half a cup and in retrospect I think that was too much. Next time I will be sparser with the jelly.

Drag the butter knife first perpendicularly through the jelly/PB stripes, then just kind of slice it all over randomly. The aim is to marble the jelly into the PB batter - you want it incorporated but not totally mixed.

Add the chopped peanuts on top if using, and press down with your hands to even out the batter.

Bake at 350 for 25 minutes. They will take a while to cool to be able to cut into bars so I highly recommend just eating them straight out of the pan with a spoon.

This recipe is definitely a work in progress. The batter is a bit too crumbly and sweet for my liking, so I will post any updates the next time I make it. Play around with this recipe as you see fit, and please post any revelations you find!