5-Ingredient Peanut Butter And Jelly Oat Bars Recipe

Peanut butter and jelly is a staple of American everyday cuisine. And the delicious bars are quick and easy to make, leaving you with 8 gooey sweet treats, perfect for a little afternoon pick-me-up, to throw in a plastic bag to take on a picnic or a walk, or as a dessert that is equal parts comfort food and delectable treat. 

Catherine Brookes, whose culinary explorations fill the pages of Blue Sky Eating, brings together peanut butter, jelly, and oats with a perfect balance so that every bite is fantastic. As a dessert, these bars would be perfect served with ice cream. Brookes' favorite way? "I just usually enjoy with a cup of tea or coffee," she tells us.

Which means, yes, these are perfect for breakfast too. Few recipes deliver such a versatile snack with such simple ingredients and little to no fuss to prep and cook. Might as well whip up a batch of these just to have around for whenever!

Whoever first figured out that peanut butter and jelly go perfectly together was absolutely brilliant. Part of that brilliance lies in the simplicity, and these bars echo the perfect simplicity of a PB&J sandwich. There are only a few ingredients you'll need to make this delicious treat. Obviously you'll need peanut butter, and Brookes suggests you choose a jar of your favorite creamy peanut butter. "Creamy is just my preference but I'm sure it would work with crunchy too," says Brookes. Then you need peanut butter's complement, a 10-ounce jar of strawberry jelly. A bottle of golden syrup or honey helps to stick the oats together. Top it off with a large container of oats and 2 large eggs. Once everything's collected, you're ready for a super quick prep.

Grease an 8x8-inch baking pan and line it with parchment. Then preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. While the oven heats up, add the peanut butter and golden syrup or honey to a large saucepan. "I used golden syrup," Brookes explains, "but I have suggested honey because I know golden syrup isn't always that easy to get hold of in the US. Both will help to stick the oats together to form the bars, but the golden syrup will probably give slightly more of a treacle-like flavor."

Melt the peanut butter and syrup mixture together over low-medium heat, stirring frequently, until runny and well combined. Leave to cool in the saucepan for about 15 minutes.

Add 5 tablespoons of cold water to the peanut butter mixture 1 tablespoon at a time, whisking after each addition to combine. This turns the mixture into more of a liquid. Brooks tells us "you don't necessarily need the PB mixture to cool [fully] before adding the water, just before adding the eggs so they don't start cooking!" The cooling time and the cold water should combine to get the peanut butter mixture cool enough to add the eggs. 

Beat the eggs, and pour them into the pot, whisking everything together until smooth. It should resemble a clean sauce. Then add the oats and stir until they're fully coated in the peanut butter mixture.

Put about half of the mixture into the bottom of the lined pan, smoothing it out evenly and pressing it down with the back of a metal spoon. Work the layer until it looks like a smooth, well-packed flat surface. Spoon over the strawberry jelly and spread it out to cover the bottom peanut butter and oat layer. Use your hands to carefully place the remaining oat and peanut butter mixture on top to cover the jelly layer. Push it down gently to flatten out and ensure it covers the whole jelly layer. This top PB and oat layer doesn't need to be completely compacted like the base.

Place this full baking pan in the preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes. Once the timer goes off, take the pan out and let it cool. Leave the block in the pan for about 10 minutes to harden a little. Then transfer it all in one piece to a wire rack to cool completely. Don't worry if the jelly is seeping out of the sides a little — this is totally natural. In fact, the jelly will likely ooze out even in the finished bars.

These final bars are "possibly too oozy for a backpack, but you could always put them in a sealable plastic container" to bring along on a hike or a picnic.

Once the block is completely cooled, slice into bars and share. Get ready for everybody to be wowed at this new twist on the nostalgic staple PB&J!