It’s Peanut Butter Jelly time!

Now that song will be stuck in your head for days, if you’ve heard it. :> These bars are awesome. I veganized a recipe that I found in the latest Penzey spice catalog. That is a great tip – look for recipes that inspire you wherever you are and whatever you’re doing. I looked up and saw this and I knew that it would be great. I did add in the peanut flour for extra ‘peanut taste’. If you can’t find peanut flour, you can add that amount of ‘regular’ flour and some chopped peanuts. The bars were a big hit, and everyone in the group, even the pickiest eaters had at least 1… most of us had more. Enjoy!

Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars
¾ cup sugar
¼ teaspoon of salt
½ cup peanut butter
¼ cup vegan shortening
¼ cup vegan butter
4 ½ teaspoons of Ener-G egg replacer mixed with 6 tablespoons of water
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ teaspoon almond extract
¼ cup peanut flour
1 cup all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder (double acting)
¼-1/3 cup of vegan milk
3 tablespoons jam

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 8X8 baking dish with parchment paper or use vegan butter to grease it well. In clean bowl, mix the sugar, salt, peanut butter, shortening, and butter until creamed together (light and fluffy). In a separate bowl, whisk the ener-G with the water until combined then add that to the butter and sugar mixture. Add the extracts. Combine the peanut flour and the all purpose flour with the baking powder. Add that to the wet mixture and combine. Add ¼ cup vegan milk, and then a little more if needed to make the mixture slightly viscous. Add it to the baking dish and swirl the jam on top of the bars. Bake for about 50-55 minutes, until a sewer comes out clean (jam will be on it, but no peanut butter bar). Cool for at least 15 minutes before trying to slice. Lift out using the parchment paper and cut into squares. Enjoy.