Well, well, here we are at yet another Monday and it’s colder than ever! Is it cold where you are? Tell me in the comments and I promise not to be (too) upset if you’re someplace warm.
So you know how I love to make vegan desserts but I don’t really indulge in them much? Well I made a super yummy vegan sweet treat that I don’t just love but I’m obsessed with it! Okay, not obsessed but it is so freakin’ good and it keeps calling me every single time I set foot in the kitchen. That’s how good it is.
I haven’t had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in ages. At first it was just because there is NO grape jelly/jam/preserves in all of Europe (exaggeration tax added). I haven’t found any yet, but surprisingly there is a much bigger selection of jams and preserves than what I remember in the States. Still, no grape, which honestly feels like the only legit pb&j sandwich for me.
So yeah, it’s been a minute.
But now I’ve found something better…peanut butter and jelly bars!
What the eff? Yeah, I know I had the same thought. But I was doing adding some of my romance book covers & teasers to Pinterest and then later I got an email from them with ‘peanut butter treats’ images. And that’s when I saw it.
I did what I do, looking at a few different recipes and came up with a veganized version pretty easily, and it is DELICIOUS!
If you’re looking for a vegan dessert that’s a crowd pleaser for all diets, this is probably it.
Kitchen Tools:
*9×13 oven safe dish
*Rubber spatula
*Hand mixer
*Kitchen scale
*Large mixing bowl
Ingredients:
*All-purpose flour
*Peanut butter
*Vegan butter
*Sugar
*Baking powder
*Jam/Preserves (I used strawberry)
*Vanilla extract
*Peanuts (optional)
*Confectioner’s sugar (optional)
Instructions:
*Grease the 9×13 baking dish with vegan butter and set aside
*Pre-heat oven to 350F/175C
*In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. I used dark brown sugar because I like the flavor but use what you prefer.
*Add peanut butter and vanilla extract and mix until blended.
*Mix in the flour and baking powder. I did this part by hand out of habit but I guess you could do it with the hand mixer. Mix it until the dough comes together.
*Add about 2/3 of the dough to the bottom of the baking dish, pressing it down and up the sides with a rubber spatula. If you want a taller bar, go further up the sides.
*Drop the jam onto the dough in small dollops, about four across and five or six down. You don’t need to spread it because it will do that while baking.
*Optional – Sprinkle chopped peanuts on top of the jam. I didn’t do this part but many of the recipes did.
*Drop the rest of the dough on top without pressing it so that it has a nice crumbly top (see photos).
*Baking 25 to 30 minutes until the edges are a gorgeous, golden brown.
*Cool and dust with confectioner’s sugar. Again, I didn’t do this but the curated recipes did.
*Once it’s cool, you can cut it. The first 2 pieces were a little crumbly, probably because I didn’t let it cool enough but a few hours later the third and fourth pieces came out perfectly, as you can see above.
That’s it. They are incredibly delicious and the perfect way to enjoy peanut butter and jelly in one delicious vegan dessert.
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The Spicy Spatula 
Whatcha think?