Peanut Butter & Jelly Cookie Bars

Ingredients
Adapted from Baking In 'braska.
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 large egg, room temperature
  • 1 cup peanut butter; soften for 15 secs in microwave
  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 (12 oz) jar strawberry preserves, or any other flavor you would like
  • 8x8 baking pan
  • Aluminum foil or parchment paper
  • Rubber spatula
  • Fork
  • 2 mixing bowls
  • Baking spray or cooking oil
  • Butter knife
Instructions
If you love peanut butter & jelly sandwiches as a kid, you'll love these in cookie form!

DOUGH
  1. Preheat oven at 350 degrees.
  2. Allow your butter to soften at room temperature and cream it with sugar.  With a fork, mix the two together until it is somewhat mixed thoroughly.
  3. Add an egg, vanilla, and the softened peanut butter into the butter mixture. Mix well.
  4. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in another bowl and add to the wet ingredients.
  5. Mix well with fork and fold dough with rubber spatula if needed.
LAYERING
  1. In an 8x8 pan, cover the pan with either aluminum foil or parchment paper.  Spray the surface with baking spray or brush lightly with cooking oil.
  2. When your dough is fully mixed, add 2/3 of it into the pan.  You might get a clump of dough that pulls on your pan.  Using a rubber spatula, slowly push down on the down and pull towards the end to evenly spread out the bottom.
  3. Using a butter knife, stir the jam in the jar until the jam is liquidy, this allows for easier spreading over the cookie dough.
  4. Depending on how much jelly filling you want, spread it over the prepared dough in the pan.  I followed the recipe and used a whole jar, but it turned out to be too sweet.
  5. Once it's all spread out, take the rest of the cookie dough and crumble it over the jelly layer.  You can break apart the dough and tear pieces of it into the pan.
BAKE IT
  1. Place your pan in the middle rack of your oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the top layer is golden brown.
  2. Allow to cool and enjoy!
  3. You can store the remaining cookie bars in the fridge in an airtight container.