Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars

PB&J may be one of the most beloved combinations out there and I have certainly ate my fair share of these delightful sandwiches over time.  Recently, in the Cook Book Club that I am a part of, I prepared a recipe for Peanut Butter and Jelly bars; it is safe to say that these are quite tasty and a treat that I will make again. 

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 sticks of butter, room temperature plus ~1 TBSP of butter for greasing the baking dish
• 1 1/2 c quick-cooking oats
• 1 c brown sugar, packed
• 1 1/2 c flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 c smooth peanut butter (see note below)
• 18 oz jar of your favorite jam

Directions
1. Pre-heat oven to 350F.  Prepare a 9x9 baking dish with the 1 TBSP of butter.
2. In a stand mixer (such as a Kitchen Aid) with the paddle attachment, mix all of the remaining ingredients, except for the jam.  A note on the peanut butter: we use natural peanut butter in our home, which is just ground peanuts and salt.  The bars are quite sweet so if you use peanut butter with any added sugar, you may consider decreasing the brown sugar a bit or using natural peanut butter. 
3. Once the dough is combined, press half of it down in to the prepared baking dish and then spread the jam on top.  Lightly press the remaining dough on top of the jam layer and bake for approximately 35 to 40 minutes. 
4.  This is the hard part: let the bars completely cool on a wire rack before enjoying with a tall glass of cold milk :)