Here's a treat designed to please the little kid in all of us. I don't know about the rest of you, but I still have days where I crave a peanut butter and jelly sandwich (on white bread, of course) with a handful (or three) of crispy potato chips and a tall glass of cold milk for lunch. It was my favorite lunch as a kid, and still satisfies like nothing else can to this day.
Thankfully I've given up my childhood vice of eating "Peter Pan" creamy straight from the jar with a spoon (it wasn't a good look on me), but I bet I still eat a good old-fashioned PB & J about once a month. If you haven't had one in years do yourself a favor and make one soon, it will make you smile.
Alright, enough getting all misty eyed over PB & J sandwiches, today we're here to talk about a new, more grown up addiction for all of you out there who are PB & J junkies like me. A dessert that pays tribute to our favorite childhood lunch, and takes it to new levels by incorporating copious amounts of butter and sugar. What could be better?
Well, if we lived in a world where this kind of deliciousness didn't come with a high-calorie price tag, that would certainly be "better"…… but we don't, so let's say we suck it up and soldier on like big boys and girls, shall we?
Cheers – Steve
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for the pan
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 2 sticks unsalted butter
- 2 cups peanut butter (creamy or chunky...you make the call)
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 3/4 to 2 cups jelly or jam of your choice (our choice was Smucker's Raspberry)
- 1 cup salted peanuts (not dry roasted...ugh), roughly chopped
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 350, then butter a 9" x 13" pan and cut a piece of parchment to fit in the bottom. Place the parchment in the pan and butter the top of the paper. Flour the entire inside of the pan, knock out any excess flour and set the pan aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt.
- In a standing mixer beat the peanut butter, butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time and mix until fully incorporated, then add the vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture all at once and mix on ow until just combined. At this point the dough will be quite crumbly, don't worry.
- Pour about 2/3 of the dough into the pan and press in place with your fingers, making sure to create a uniform bottom layer that reaches tight to the corners of the pan. Spread your jam of choice over the dough, making sure to leave a little clearance (1/4") at the edge of the pan so as to lessen the chance of sticking there when you try to remove the mass from the pan later.
- Sprinkle the rest of the dough over the top as you would when making a crumble, then spread the peanuts evenly over the top of the crumble. Press lightly with your fingers to set the nuts on top and place the pan in the oven to bake.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes, until golden brown on top. Remove from the oven and cool completely on a rack before cutting and serving.