These decadently delicious Peanut Butter and Jelly Blondies feature a buttery blondie bottom topped with swirls of peanut butter and jelly.
Every family, I imagine, has a few food quirks. You know… something strange or different that you eat, that perhaps was passed down. Maybe you eat cinnamon rolls with chili. Perhaps you eat ketchup on your lima beans. Maybe it’s mayo with your peas or rice. Gravy on your macaroni and cheese. You see where I’m going here!
Well, we’ve got one, too. And while it’s not super crazy, it’s something that always gets a sideways glance when I mention it.
As a young kid, my mom taught me to mix peanut butter and jelly together into a spread of sorts and eat it on warm biscuits. And whether they’re traditional homemade buttermilk biscuits or those ones with the flaky layers from a can, it’s a great way to jazz up a biscuit. And in my personal opinion, it’s pretty dang delicious, too.
But then, I’ve always been a big fan of the PB&J combo. From this peanut butter and jelly spread on biscuits, to a classic peanut butter and jelly sandwich, to another favorite – a grilled peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I love them all! I bet you have that peanut butter jelly time song in your head right now. Don’t you? Just me? Ok.
All that love for PB&J is what led me to this recipe… Peanut Butter And Jelly Blondies. These decadently delicious bars have a buttery blondie bottom based on my Pecan Chewy recipe that’s topped with swirls of peanut butter and jelly.
A difference in ingredients from my Pecan Chewies, and something worth noting here, is that the self-rising flour in the original recipe proved to be a little too much leavening. However, with a little help from a recipe at Bake from Scratch, I was able to alter my chewy recipe a touch to get these just perfect! And perfect they are! You can’t just eat one of these delicious dessert bars so make with caution and enjoy!
How do you swirl the peanut butter and jelly together?
This recipe is super easy. The hardest part is getting the peanut butter and jelly swirled together, but even that’s pretty easy. The trick is to get your peanut butter and jelly slightly warm where it’s spoonable.
With them both, I recommend zapping them in the microwave for about 15 seconds to get them warm, then stirring until they’re smooth. You don’t want them too warm because they’ll get liquidy – especially the jelly, so use caution. But even if that happens, they’ll still taste delicious. They just might not be as pretty.
Simply drop spoonfuls of each of the peanut butter and jelly in an alternating pattern. Next, use a butter knife or a skewer to swirl them together.
As you swirl, you want to get a little of each in every bite-sized area but don’t get them so swirled together they won’t longer look like two separate things. If they do get all combined though, it won’t affect the taste a bit, just the aesthetic. They’re going to taste great regardless!
Can I substitute other flavor jellies for grape jelly?
For me, PB&J is only PB&J if it’s grape jelly, but feel free to use whatever jelly you prefer. I can say without a doubt that both grape and strawberry are delicious! But I’m almost willing to bet apple, blackberry, blueberry, and raspberry jellies would be equally delicious. Let me know in the comments section if you try those other jellies and how they turned out!
Recipe Card
Peanut Butter and Jelly Blondies
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup unsalted butter (1 ½ sticks), melted
- 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
- ½ cup white sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 eggs, well beaten
- ¾ cup peanut butter
- ¾ cup jelly (I prefer grape or strawberry)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and lightly spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, use a sturdy whisk to whisk together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar. Add the vanilla and mix well. Add the beaten eggs and whisk together.
- Add the flour mixture to sugar and butter mixture and stir with a spoon to combine. Spread the mixture evenly into the prepared pan.
- Place the peanut butter and jelly in two separate bowls. Warm each of them in the microwave for 10 to 20 seconds until smooth and spoonable. Just be cautious not to heat it until it's liquidy. Stirring the jelly will help smooth it out.
- Drop tablespoons full of peanut butter and jelly alternating on the top of the blondie batter to cover the top. Use a butter knife or skewer to swirl through the peanut butter and jelly well.
- Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until the center is set. Allow to cool completely before slicing and serving.
Nutrition
* If nutritional values are provided, they are an estimate and will vary depending on the brands used. The values do not include optional ingredients or when ingredients are added to taste. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, I recommend grabbing your favorite brands and plugging those ingredients into an online nutritional calculator.
Beate Russell
Turned out more cake like, but we still liked it.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Beverly
I love peanut butter and jelly! When I was in first grade, that’s the only kind of sandwich I would take in my lunch–my mother used to beg me to take a meat sandwich but I wouldn’t. My favorite jelly is black raspberry–my mother used to make it and it was the best. Now I use store-bought but it’s still my favorite, so I’m going to try these with black raspberry jelly. There goes my diet–again!
I need to find some black raspberry jelly! I’ve never had it!
Tracey Patterson
Wilkinson’s seedless black raspberry is the best!!!!
I’ve not tried that one. 🙂