Name: Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 20
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1/2 pound 2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature; 1 1/2 cups sugar; 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract; 2 extra-large eggs at room temperature; 2 cups 18 ounces creamy peanut butter; 3 cups all-purpose flour; 1 teaspoon baking powder; 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt; 1 1/2 cups 18 ounces raspberry jam or other jam; 2/3 cups salted peanuts coarsely chopped

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If you love a classic PB&J, you are going to love Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars! It has layers of peanut butter, raspberry jam, and chopped peanuts.

We also have PB&J Banana Bread and PB&J Smoothie!

Originally published December 14, 2009. Updated February 26, 2025.

If you are a peanut butter cookie lover, these peanut butter and jelly bars are a must make! Imagine taking two of those criss cross peanut butter cookies and making a sandwich with some raspberry jam – that’s exactly what these bars taste like.

It’s basically like a peanut butter blondie batter but you only put some of the batter on the baking pan. Then you top that with jam and then dollop the rest of the batter on top. Plus some chopped peanuts on top for crunch and a hint of salt.

Not only are they delicious, they’re also really easy to make and calls for ingredients you probably already have in your house.

Ingredients

Butter – make sure to soften it before beginning the recipe.
Sugar
Vanilla
Eggs
Creamy peanut butter – ignore the fact that I forgot to put it in my photo! We’re putting chopped peanuts on top of the bars so you want to use a creamy peanut butter for the bars themselves.
Flour
Baking powder – this is the leavening agent for the bars.
Salt
Raspberry jam – you can use any flavor jam that you want but I think raspberry is very nice in these days. I wouldn’t use a super sweet jelly though – go for a jam or even preserves.

How To Make Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars

Prep. Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 9×13-inch pan with parchment paper or spray with baking spray.
Wet ingredients. Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add vanilla, eggs, and peanut butter and mix until well incorporated.
Dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, and salt.
Combine. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and beat until combined.
Transfer. Spread ⅔ of the batter into the prepared pan. (Photos below.)
Add jam. Spread jam over the batter in the pan.
More batter. Dollop batter over the jam. It doesn’t need to completely cover the jam – you want some jam peaking through the finished bars.
Top. Sprinkle chopped peanuts on top.
Bake. Bake in preheated oven for about 45 minutes until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

How Long Are They Good For?

These bars will be good for up to 5 days. Make sure to store them in an airtight container. You can store them at room temperature or in the fridge.

If storing in the fridge, you may be able to get another day out of them. And you can serve them straight from the fridge or let them sit at room temperature for a few minutes to take the chill off.

Can You Freeze Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars?

You can freeze these peanut butter and jelly bars for up to 3 months. I would cut them into squares and individually wrap each one in plastic wrap and then place them all in a freezer ziploc bag.

When you are ready to serve them, let them sit at room temperature for several hours, until they reach the desired temperature.

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Yield: 20 bars