Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars

This one goes out to all of my peanut butter lovin' friends! If this doesn't cure your sweet tooth, I don't know what will. Holy cow are these good! I know it's a little late notice to get the ingredients and make them for your Super Bowl party, but DO file this one away. Make em' for a crowd, because not only are they are sure to please, but you really don't want too many of these sitting around your kitchen. Why test your will power like that? It'd be self-abusive.

This recipe arrived in my inbox by way of the Pillsbury newsletter. It's full of delicious ideas and coupons too. If you're interested, you can sign up here. Not only did the picture and the flavors catch my interest, but the fact that this recipe is so easy and only uses 5 ingredients made this a "done" deal.

Here's the line-up: peanut butter cookie dough, peanut butter chips, creamy peanut butter, a tub of vanilla frosting, and strawberry jelly.



The recipe called for an 18 oz. roll of peanut butter cookie dough. My local grocery didn't have rolls of peanut butter cookie dough in stock. What they did have were 14 oz. packages of Pillsbury simply... Cookies on sale for 2/$5 (or was it 2/$6? I can't remember). Anyway, I had a coupon for 50 cents off that doubled to a dollar. I bought one peanut butter and one chocolate chip. I normally just buy the generic store brand if I need cookie dough (actually, I "normally" just make my own) but the coupon, coupled with the fact that these "simply...Cookies" boast 0 grams of transfat, no high fructose corn syrup, and no artificial flavors, colors, or preservatives encouraged me to toss these into my cart. It seemed like they'd taste more homemade without the "extras". While I love store bought cookie dough, I do notice that it usually tastes different from the homemade. Not bad, just different. Apparently not different enough to keep me from eating it straight from the tube when I'm "just having one of those days..." Whatever! You know that you've all done it too. Which is exactly why I don't keep the stuff in my house. It rarely makes it into cookie form. Just give me a spoon!

My evaluation: the "simply..." cookies actually do taste more like homemade. In dough and in cookie form. Good for them. I'd buy it again...if I had a coupon.

To make these PB&J Bars, just place the dough in the bottom of a greased (I used cooking spray) 13 X 9 in. baking dish. Because I only had 14 oz. of peanut butter cookie dough and the recipe called for 18 oz., I threw in a couple of chocolate chip cookies too.



Press the dough down until the bottom of the pan is covered and then sprinkle it with 1/2 cup of peanut butter chips. Press em' down into the dough and bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool completely.



While the bars cool, mix 1/4 cup of creamy peanut butter with the tub of vanilla frosting.



Spread over the bars.



In small bowl, stir your jelly until smooth. Then, drop the jelly by teaspoonfuls over that yummy peanut butter frosting.



With the tip of a butter knife, swirl the jelly for a marbled design.



Cut into 6 rows by 4 rows and serve!



Pillsbury Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars

Prep Time: 10 Min
Total Time: 1 Hr
Makes: 24 bars

INGREDIENTS:
1 roll (18 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated peanut butter cookies
1/2 cup peanut butter chips
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1 container (16 oz) creamy vanilla ready-to-spread frosting
1/4 cup strawberry jelly or seedless raspberry jam

User Rating: DIRECTIONS:
1. Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark pan). Spray 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray. Break up cookie dough into pan; press evenly in pan. Press chips evenly into dough.
2. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.
3. In medium bowl, stir peanut butter until smooth. Stir in frosting until well blended. Spread over cooled bars.
4. In small bowl, stir jelly until smooth. Drop jelly by teaspoonfuls over frosting. With tip of knife, swirl jelly for a marbled design. Cut into 6 rows by 4 rows.
High Altitude (3500-6500 ft): Stir 2 tablespoons flour into cookie dough before pressing into pan.

NUTRITION INFORMATION:
1 Bar: Calories 220 (Calories from Fat 90); Total Fat 10g (Saturated Fat 4 1/2g, Trans Fat 0g); Cholesterol 0mg; Sodium 115mg; Total Carbohydrate 31g (Dietary Fiber 0g, Sugars 24g); Protein 2g Percent Daily Value*: Vitamin A 0%; Vitamin C 0%; Calcium 0%; Iron 0% Exchanges: 1/2 Starch; 1 1/2 Other Carbohydrate; 0 Vegetable; 2 Fat Carbohydrate Choices: 2
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

I hope that you all have a fun and safe Super Bowl Sunday!

To download or print this recipe click here!