The funny thing about me being into peanut butter and jelly is that I was never a fan of it as a child. I know...so weird. But pregnancy changed EVERYTHING. Now I have a sweet tooth and I've got a hankering for all things PB&J. So these bars really hit the spot for me. Oh yeah, and I've got a ton of homemade jam on hand, which works out perfectly for these, too.
You can use virtually any jam to make these--store bought or homemade. I went with blueberry jam. You can also use this recipe for strawberry jam. Whatever jam you choose to use, you will be happy you made these truly delicious granola bars.
Now, in terms of the peanut butter, I've been experimenting. Regular peanut butter, it melts pretty well, but it just is so sweet. And I'm trying very hard to get the sugar out of my food wherever possible. So I went with an all natural organic peanut butter with no added sugar.
Peanut Butter & Jelly Granola Bars
Time: 1 1/2 hours | Makes 16 bars | Difficulty: Easy
You will need:
1 1/4 cups old fashioned rolled oats
1 cup oat flour
1/2 cup applesauce
1 cup all natural peanut butter
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 half pint of jam, your choice
Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Line an 8 by 11 baking dish with parchment paper. Set aside.
In a medium mixing bowl, combine the oats and oat flour. Set aside.
In a microwave safe bowl, combine the peanut butter and brown sugar. Microwave for 2-3 minutes until the sugar is dissolved. Add the sugar/ peanut butter and applesauce to the oat mixture and mix well.
Press 3/4 of the mixture into your prepared pan using a spatula. Spread the jam evenly over the whole thing. Crumble the remainder of the oats over the jam and then, using the spatula, press it down.
Bake for 35 minutes on 350 degrees.
When done, cool on a baking rack for two hours. To slice, remove the parchment paper from the pan and slice. Store in the fridge.
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