These Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars have all the goodness that you adore about the beloved sandwich, but in a cookie bar form. These bars are gluten-free and addictively good!
What makes these bars gluten-free?
These peanut butter bars are made using almond flour. The almond flour is the base to the cookie dough, but also adds a lovely texture and nuttiness to the final product.
What is in these Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars?
In the Cookie Bars:
- Almond Flour – the only flour in these bars
- Baking Powder & Baking Soda
- Salt
- Unsalted Butter – softened
- Creamy Peanut Butter – make sure you are using creamy peanut butter for this recipe, not crunchy
- Light Brown Sugar – packed
- Honey
- Egg – only one, room temperature
- Pure Vanilla Extract
- Raspberry Jelly – strawberry and grape would work great as well
- Crushed Peanuts – crushed by hand or using a food processor
In the Peanut Butter Icing:
- Confectioner’s Sugar – sifted
- Smooth Peanut Butter – slightly warmed
- Milk or Water – preferably warmed
- Pure Vanilla Extract
How to make these gluten-free Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars:
- Preheat the oven to 350° F. Grease and line a 8-by-8-inch square baking pan with parchment, set aside.
- For the cookie bars: In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In the bowl of a standing mixer, beat the butter, peanut butter, light brown sugar, and honey until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla extract, mix until incorporated. Add the dry ingredients, mixing only until combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Smooth the batter out into an evenly layer. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until set. *These bars are sticky and soft when they come out of the oven. Allow the bars to cool for about 5 minutes. Spread the jelly onto the bars, making sure every surface is covered. Sprinkle with the crushed peanuts. Cool completely before icing.
- For the icing: In a small bowl, whisk togther the warmed peanut butter and confectioners’ sugar, add the liquid (milk or water) 1 tbsp at a time, until a smooth icing forms. Add the vanilla extract, whisk until incorporated. Drizzle icing over the cooled bars.
How do you store these cookie bars?
These bars are soft and hold a lot of moisture from the jelly & icing. They should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Store them in a single layer, or separate two layers with a sheet of wax paper. These bars are sticky!
Can Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars be frozen?
Yes, you can freeze these cookie bars. Place the cookie bars into the freezer until firm. Remove the bars from the freezer and wrap in plastic wrap, before placing them into a freezer safe zip-top bag, Freeze for up to 2 months.
Ingredient Substitutions:
While I have not yet played with ingredient substitutes for this recipe, thus far. Here are some options that I think would be great.
- Use a different flavored jelly such as strawberry or grape.
- Substitute the peanut butter for almond or cashew butter. And, replace the crushed peanuts with crushed almonds or cashews.
- If you don’t have almond flour, you can experiment with cup-for-cup gluten free flour or oat flour. You can use regular all-purpose flour too, but these bars will no longer be gluten-free.
You may also like:
- Fudgy Brownies with Peanut Butter Frosting
- Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies
- S’mores Cookie Bars
- Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
I hope you enjoy these Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars. These are perfect paired with a cold glass of milk. These bars are sticky, so they’re best eaten with a fork. Enjoy an updated version of your favorite childhood sandwich by making a batch of these cookie bars!
Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars
Ingredients
For the cookie bars:
- 1½ cups almond flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened
- ½ cup light brown sugar packed
- 2 tbsp honey
- ½ cup smooth peanut butter
- ½ cup raspberry jelly strawberry or grape work too
- ⅓ cup peanuts crushed
Peanut Butter Icing
- ⅓ cup confectioners' sugar sifted
- 2 tbsp smooth peanut butter slightly warmed
- ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
- 3-4 tbsp milk or water slightly warmed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F. Grease and line a 8-by-8-inch square baking pan with parchment, set aside.
- For the cookie bars: In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In the bowl of a standing mixer, beat the butter, peanut butter, light brown sugar, and honey until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla extract, mix until incorporated. Add the dry ingredients, mixing only until combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Smooth the batter out into an evenly layer. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until set. *These bars are sticky and soft when they come out of the oven. Allow the bars to cool for about 5 minutes. Spread the jelly onto the bars, making sure every surface is covered. Sprinkle with the crushed peanuts. Cool completely before icing.
- For the icing: In a small bowl, whisk togther the warmed peanut butter and confectioners' sugar, add the liquid (milk or water) 1 tbsp at a time, until a smooth icing forms. Add the vanilla extract, whisk until incorporated. Drizzle icing over the cooled bars.
What a great idea, these sure look gooey and delicious 🙂
Thank you! They are so yummy, slightly salty and sweet!
Just made the Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars. I substituted Almond butter and Strawberry Jelly. They are delicious and easy to make.
I am so glad you enjoyed them! I will have to try them with almond butter the next time I make them. 🙂