Peanut Butter. Those two words always get my attention – immediately. My mind races with questions like: Do you have peanut butter? Are we going to get peanut butter? How long until I have peanut butter in my mouth? And much to my husband’s dismay, I am often found in the kitchen eating spoonfuls of PB out of the jar – it’s a good source of protein, right? Regardless of its nutritional value, peanut butter is delicious and I love it! Making these cookies perfect as they are packed with peanut butter goodness!

I am always on the lookout for a great PB recipe to fuel my addiction and I guarantee this will be only one of many PB recipes to come. Looking back, I fully, but affectionately blame my mother for my obsession. When I was little she would make me open-faced, PB sandwiches with a heart and my first initial drawn in the butter. Man, I looked forward to having those sandwiches.  But now I am all grown up and a PB sandwich doesn’t satisfy my craving like it use to, so when I stumbled on Martha Stewart’s Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars, I was elated.

These bars build on the classic American sandwich so perfectly; you may not want the actual sandwich again. There is so much peanut butter goodness that you will need a large glass of milk to wash it down. Although, be warned that because these delicious treats are so sweet and thick, that some people (sadly, not me) may find it hard to eat the suggested size of 1 ½ x 2 inches in one sitting. So I cut the bars into smaller pieces (approx. 1 x1 inch) which made for plenty of leftovers.  The recipe also suggests a shelf life of 3 days at room temperature in an air-tight container, but I froze the leftover cookies and they were just as tasty after letting them thaw in the refrigerator over night.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars (Martha Stewart’s Cookies, pg. 59) 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan 1 ½ cups sugar 2 large eggs 2 ½ cups smooth peanut butter 1 ½ salt 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1 ½ cups strawberry jam, or other flavour 1 cup salted peanuts (5 ounces), roughly chopped

Preheat oven to 350 F. Butter a 9 x 13 inch baking pan, and line the bottom with parchment paper. Butter the parchment, dust with flour, and tap out excess.

Place butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes. With mixer running, add eggs and peanut butter; beat until combined, about 2 minutes. Whisk together flour, salt, and baking powder. Add to the butter mixture, and beat on low speed until combined. Add vanilla.

Transfer two-thirds of mixture to the prepared pan; spread evenly with an offset spatula. Using offset spatula, spread jam on top of peanut butter mixture. Crumble remaining third of peanut butter mixture on top of the jam. Sprinkle evenly with peanuts.

Bake until golden, 45 to 60 minutes, rotating halfway through. Tent loosely with foil if the bars are getting too dark. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Run knife around edges and refrigerate, 1 to 2 hours. Cut into about thirty-six bars (about 1 ½ x 2 inches). Cookies can be stored in airtight containers at room temperature up to 3 days.