Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars have the flavors of a classic childhood sandwich with a twist! These easy homemade bars start with a peanut butter oat base that gets topped with a quick homemade strawberry jam and topped with a peanut butter oat crumble. Sweet and nutty, these peanut butter and jam bars make a great dessert bar or a sweet breakfast treat.
Begin by preparing the strawberry layer. Hull and slice the strawberries, then add them to a saucepan over medium heat with the sugar. Stir occasionally and mash them down as the juices develop.
Once the strawberries are sufficiently broken down and juicy, mix together the corn starch and water, then add to the cooked strawberries. Allow it to bubble for about 30 seconds, then turn off the heat and stir in the jam.
1 tablespoon cornstarch, 2 tablespoons water, ¼ cup strawberry jam or preserves
Preheat the oven to 350℉ and grease and parchment line (with overhangs so it's easy to remove) an 8×8 inch square baking pan.
In a food processor, pulse ¾ cups of the rolled oats until they become smaller. Sand texture is too fine, but you definitely want to break them down a bit.
1 cup rolled oats
Combine the flour, ground oats, baking soda and salt in a bowl and set aside.
1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon kosher salt
In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or with a handheld mixer), beat the butter, peanut butter, and brown sugar until combined. Add the egg and vanilla, mix until incorporated, then scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
1 cup peanut butter, ½ cup + 2 T unsalted butter, ½ cup light brown sugar, 1 large egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract
Add ¾ of the mixture to the prepared pan and press down evenly into all corners and sides. Bake for 20 minutes.
While the base is baking, combine the leftover ¼ of the base mixture with the remaining ¼ of whole rolled oats and bring it together with a fork. You will have to break up the mixture a bit, but you want to keep the pieces crumbly.
Spread the strawberry jam layer over the base, then sprinkle the oat crumble overtop of the strawberry layer.
Bake for an additional 10-15 minutes until the crumble top gets slightly golden.
Let cool completely in the pan on a wire rack, then remove and cut into 9 or 16 pieces.
Notes
Store the bars covered at room temperature for 3 days. To freeze, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and store for up to 2 months. To eat, remove the plastic wrap and allow the bars to thaw at room temperature on a plate.