Tag Archives: peanut butter

Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars

I first found this recipe on Joanne’s blog, who in turn adapted the recipe from the magical Barefoot Contessa. (On a sidenote, Joanne is always cooking up something fabulous. And healthy–you should check her stuff out.)

As I mentioned just the other week, the very evening I made these bars, a Bon Appetit magazine turned up in our mailbox and–lo and behold–there was another recipe for PB&J Bars!

The fates were telling me to spread the love. So let me tell you a few things about these bars: if you love a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, you will love these. If you’re not such a PB&J fan, you won’t like ’em. It’s that simple. They really do taste like the sandwich, but chewy and sweeter.

My husband liked them okay, but wasn’t absolutely thrilled either. “They just taste like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich,” he explained. So there’s the evidence to consider before jumping in and making these.

They’re very sweet, so (unlike Joanne, heh heh) I’m not tempted to eat many–a small bar satisfies me, and I need some milk to wash it down. My favorite way to eat them is alongside a nice, tart apple. The apple/peanut butter combination is timeless, and it’s the best way to enjoy these little guys. In my humble but correct opinion.

Oh no! “My humble but correct opinion” is another motherism! According to the speed at which I’m becoming my mother, my name should be ‘Twinky’ in about 5 months, 3 weeks, and 2 days!

And yes, my mother’s name is ‘Twinky.’ The name fits her personality 100%–cheerful, bright, energetic–and sparkly. Very sparkly. Love ya, Mom.

Anyway, this is a great dessert to bring to a party or potluck, and I would imagine it’s also a very kid-friendly dessert. Oh, and pantry-friendly! So let’s go.

Ingredients

(Makes about 24 small bars)

1 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2 eggs, room temperature

18 oz creamy peanut butter

3 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp kosher salt

18 oz raspberry jam

2/3 c chopped lightly salted peanuts

First, preheat the oven to 350. 

Grabe a 9×13” cake pan and grease it. I like to unwrap the butter we’re about to use:

And use the wrappers to get the greasing done.

Line it with parchment paper, then grease it again.

The butter on the wrappers was running thin, so I gave it a healthy dose of baking spray to finish the job.

Your next mission is to make sure your eggs are room temperature. I will never, ever remember to set them on the counter hours in advance, so I use the old trick of running warm water over them for a few minutes.

Like a charm!

Now it’s time to get mixin’. Combine the butter and sugar in a mixer bowl.

Cream the butter and sugar together for about 2 minutes, until fluffy and light yellow.

Now add the vanilla

and the eggs

and the peanut butter.

Mix until all ingredients are combined.

After about 2 minutes, you should have creamy swirls of delight:

Grab a separate bowl, and sift together the flour . . .

. . . the baking powder . . .

. . . and the salt.

Turn your mixer on low speed, and slowly add these dry ingredients to the peanut butter batter.

Mix until it’s all combined–by the end it will be quite thick.

Spread 2/3 of the dough into the parchment-paper lined pan, using your fingers to press it into the corners and create as even a layer as possible.

Now spread on the jam with a spatula or spoon.

Get it on there nice and even.

I really enjoyed the jam, so I’m thinking about upping the quantity from 18 oz to 23 oz next time (the size of a large jar at my grocery store).

Drop globs of the remaining dough over the jam. Try to get them distributed evenly. I used a spatula to kind of press them down at the end:

Now sprinkle on those peanuts. I didn’t chop mine, but I definitely recommend that you chop yours!  More crunchy peanut coverage = very desirable.

Looks like we’re ready to toss this in the oven.

Bake for 45 minutes–by the end it will look very similar to the uncooked product (a toasty, golden brown).

Let it cool on the counter, and then cut it into squares.

As discussed, I like tinier squares, though you wouldn’t be able to tell from these pictures.

They’re a little sticky, so make sure to have a napkin on hand when you eat them.

Who knows where my newfound baking impulse will lead me next!

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African Peanut Chicken Stew

This stew is wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. Now it’s not going to cause a flavor revolution in your mouth like you might encounter at a fancy restaurant where they have lychee-flavored foam with truffle-scented oils that can be absorbed through your finger tips and which cause your taste buds to go into electric shock. However, it is rich and tasty and comforting, and somehow simple in the best sense of the word. I ate 3 bowls of it the first time I made it. 3 bowls, folks. And though at that point I was quite satisfied in the stomach area, my mouth was already craving more. So I immediately demanded that leftovers be separated into two containers, one for the fridge and one for me to carry to work the next day so that I could have it again as soon as possible, especially since rain and storms were predicted. It’s my idea of comfort food. The recipe was inspired by Kay over at Kayotic Kitchen–click here for the original (Chicken Palava). My variation has squash instead of spinach, some flour for thickening, some more spice, etc. If you’re looking for some serious inspiration, you can count on Kay’s blog to send you running into the kitchen at top speed, where a flurry of cutting boards, knives, pots and pans will quickly result in something incredible.

Ingredients

(Serves 5)

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 1/2 TBS flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 large yellow onion

6 cloves garlic, minced

2 zucchini

1 summer squash (yellow squash)

1 red bell pepper

2 large, juicy tomatoes

3 + 1 TBS peanut oil

1 TBS sesame oil

1/4 tsp white pepper

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp ground ginger

3 tsp brown sugar

1/2 tsp thyme

6 TBS crunchy peanut butter

2 c chicken broth

2 tsp chicken bouillon or base (in addition to the broth)

2 tsp cornstarch + 1 TBS water

Salt, black pepper, and brown sugar to taste

Blanched almond slices and/or cilantro, to garnish

Chop the chicken into smallish cubes and mix it with the peanut oil, sesame oil, ginger, brown sugar, salt, thyme, black pepper, white pepper, chili powder, and flour. Let it marinate for at least 15 minutes. Don’t worry about the seemingly large amount of oil–that will also serve to help cook a ton of veggies.

Roughly chop up the squash and mince the garlic . . .

. . . chop the onion and red pepper . . .

. . . and give the tomatoes a rough chop, too. Keep them separate, because they’ll go in later than the rest of the veggies.

Heat 1 TBS peanut oil in a large pot or Dutch oven. When hot, add the chicken.

Cook for 2 minutes, until the chicken starts to look less raw; your kitchen will immediately start to smell delightful. Add the onion and garlic, and continue to cook for another 2-3 minutes.

Don’t be frightened by the fuzzy white object in the lower lefthand side of the above picture. It’s just a defenseless oven mitt.

Add the bell pepper and squash. Cook for another 5 minutes.

Add the tomatoes, chicken broth, and peanut butter. I combined them all in this lovely measuring cup.

Then I poured in the whole shebang. If you didn’t know what the ingredients were up front, this may have looked . . . disturbing. Questionable. Not tasty.

Bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and let it simmer gently for 25 minutes, uncovered.

If the stew isn’t thick enough, mix in the cornstarch/water slurry to help it along. At this point, taste and re-season. I added an additional couple teaspoons of brown sugar and a heft, hefty dose of salt and pepper. Don’t underseason! The right amount of salt really brings this dish to life.

Serve over rice with some blanched almonds and cilantro. I didn’t have cilantro on hand . . . but it would be perfect.

 Let’s take a bite, shall we?

Have any of you begun to make stews this fall? If there are any recipes you think I must make, please send them my way!

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