Imagine making your favorite childhood sandwich a dessert, and you’ve got my Gluten-Free Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookie Bars. These are nostalgia in one sweet bite. Kid-friendly and gluten-free, too! Keep scrolling for the recipe.
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Now, peanut butter & jelly is one of the most classic, “match made in heaven” flavor combinations. These Peanut Butter & Jelly Bars are taking the famous sandwich and turning it into your new favorite dessert. But instead of bread, the jelly is sandwiched between two layers of soft, chewy peanut butter dough.
If you’re looking for a kid-friendly dessert, then these bars are a great option. Not only will kids love this dessert, but it is also easy enough to include them in making the recipe, too! Plus, these bars make a great lunch-bag treat.
So, you might be wondering: How did this all come together? Well, kind of (exactly) like the sandwich. Peanut Butter & Jelly Bars are a soft and chewy cookie bar base paired with a sweet, fruity jam filling and crunchy peanuts on top. The crunch of the peanuts make for the perfect texture combination. Plus, a nice hint of salt to balance out the sweetness of the jam.
PrintGluten-Free Peanut Butter & Jelly Bars
Imagine making your favorite childhood sandwich a dessert, and you’ve got my Gluten-Free Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookie Bars. These are nostalgia in one sweet bite.
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 25
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 12 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cups 1:1 gluten-free flour
- 1/2 cup gluten-free quick cooking oats
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup strawberry jam
- 1/3 cup peanuts, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8×8 baking dish, or line with parchment paper
- Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, cream butter and sugars for 2 minutes
- Then beat in peanut butter, egg and vanilla until fully combined
- In a separate bowl combine flour, quick oats, baking powder and salt
- Stir flour mixture into peanut butter mixture just until combined
- Spread 2/3 of the dough into baking dish, pressing down to make an even surface
- Spread jam evenly over the dough, then top jam with globs of the remaining dough, and lastly an even sprinkle of peanuts
- Bake for 24-26 minutes until top just turns golden brown. Allow to cool for at least an hour before cutting into squares
Keywords: peanut butter and jelly bars recipe, gluten free peanut butter jelly bars recipe, gluten-free peanut butter dessert recipe, gluten-free kid dessert recipe, easy kid friendly dessert recipe
Ingredients and Substitutions for Gluten-Free Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookie Bars
What flour should I use?
Be sure to use a 1:1 gluten-free flour in this recipe. In this case, I used this one from Pilsbury, which I found at my local grocery store and I think it works best in this recipe. In addition, my other favorite is by Bob’s Red Mill.
However, please note that you can’t use just any gluten-free flour because some of them require different measurements, etc. Therefore, be sure to opt for one that clearly says it’s a 1:1 swap for regular flour.
If you are not gluten-free, then you can use all-purpose flour.
What oats should I use?
You can use any quick oats, but if gluten-free make sure to find ones that are certified gluten-free as not all oats are.
What jam should I use?
In this case, you can use jam or jelly, in any flavor you like! I prefer using an organic lower sugar jam. Here I used strawberry jam, but I think grape would go great, too.
As always, if you make these Gluten-Free Peanut Butter & Jelly Cookie Bars or any of my other recipes I’d love to know how they turned out. Please leave a review, and be sure to tag me on Instagram @Hungry.Blonde! xoxo GG
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absolutely obsessed with these treats!! I was truly surprised with how simple and quick they were to throw together, too!
★★★★★