Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars

So I came to Grenada with a huge tub of peanut butter, and the only way I thought it was possible to finish it (or most of it, at least) was to bake with it. I got tired of baking peanut butter cookies, which for some reason never turned out right over here, so I went searching for something different. I came across a recipe for peanut butter bars and adjusted the ingredients to my taste and to what I had available to me at that time. It turned out delicious, almost like a peanut butter blondie. If you are a peanut butter lover, you are sure to enjoy this one!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

3/4 cup of peanut butter

3/4 cup of light brown sugar

1 stick (1/2 cup) of margarine

1 egg

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup strawberry jam

Preheat the oven to 350F. Line an 8x8 baking pan with foil, and grease with some butter. Mix together the dry ingredients and set aside. In another bowl, mix the peanut butter, sugar, and butter and beat until smooth (a blender would be useful here, but I had to use my hands). Mix in the egg and vanilla, then add the dry ingredients a little at a time until it is all incorporated. 

Take about 1/4 of the dough and place it in the freezer for a couple of minutes while you put the rest of it together. Add the remaining dough to the pan, and press down so that it evenly covers the bottom of the pan. Spread the strawberry jam evenly on top of the dough. Next, remove the dough from the freezer and crumble it over the jam layer. Bake for about 30 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Allow it to cool first, and then cut it into squares.