Cookie Butter PB&J Bars

You know how Mom (or at least the proverbial “mom”) always tells us not to tinker with “well enough” or “tried and true”?

Mom clearly never added cookie butter to her PB&J.

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But I did. Oh, did I ever.

Let’s not leave any room for misconception: I am THE girl when it comes to PB&J fanaticism. If you’ve ever fantasized in class about the Smuckers Uncrustables PB&J sandwiches to the point where you actually start to drool (true story–medieval lit class, junior year), we should talk. If you’ve done the same while pondering over Mr. Darcy or Richard Armitage (a.k.a. Mr. Thornton from North and South–my most recent obsession), we should also talk.

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Disney. Children’s lit. Useless personality quizzes. Going out of my way to step on particularly crunchy-looking leaves the day after it rains.

Basically, if you ever come across a fangirl or obsessive moment in one of my posts that really just screams to you, “YOU KNOW YOU (not-so) SECRETLY LOVE THIS TOO,” you really need to tell me. I don’t have nearly enough outlets for my quirky and eccentric passions as it is, and sometimes I hesitate to spill the beans about my crazy love for Neopets when it comes to people I have to work with for the next who-knows-how-long.

Bottom line: There are lots of things we should talk about, ‘kay?

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While I’m waiting for you to come to the decision to message me about our obviously shared my latest fanaticism over period films, though, let me buy you more time by talking about these delectably creamy, firm, and downright flavor-bursting CBPB&J bars.

I’ve been making my own homemade cookie butter for a while now. It’s been the best thing in my life since they announced the 2013 release of a NEW season of Sailor Moon (***let me make this simple for you–fangirl moment??***). But recently I stumbled across Averie’s really fantastic and genius recipe for homemade cookie butter peanut butter–which, by the way, I still need to post photos for. (It just never lasts long enough in this apartment for me to take a decent snapshot of!)

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At any rate, I tried making this CBPB and–holy moly! Talk about packing in the sweet, slightly salty flavors of two amazing “nut” butter worlds into one flavor-packed dip.

I decided to I wanted to make a double-decker blondie out of it, so when I found this wonderful recipe for Biscoff butter cake, my taste buds were definitely a-tingle. I decided to adapt the cookie butter layer to accommodate the CBPB, added my own favorite blondie recipe, toss in a few swirls of jam for a nice classic twist, and voila! CBPB&J. Can I totally recommend this combo on the next sandwich you pack for lunch, too?

Yes, I think I will. You should do it. Your kids will also thank you for it.

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You’re welcome, Mumsicles.

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I hope I’ve given you enough time to think about what you’d like to gush to me about. If not…well, there’s always these CBPB&J bars, no? Go whip up a batch in your kitchen tonight. I promise I won’t ask you to wipe the drool off your chin before you come back and we gush over this recipe together. Chances are, I’ll be eyeing your slice and drooling, too.

Good to see you here!

Ala

What have YOU been obsessing over (secretly or not) lately? (Whatever it is–remember, we should talk!)

Sweet 2 Eat BakingTuesday Talent Show Link Party at Chef in Training! It is held weekly and has some amazing link ups!

Cookie Butter Peanut Butter & Jelly Bars
Cookie Butter layer adapted from Butterbaking
Yield: 9×9-inch baking pan
Ingredients:
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted
  • 1 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
  • 4 oz. cream cheese, softened
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/2 cup homemade cookie butter peanut butter (or you can also combine 1/4 cup store-bought Biscoff spread with 1/4 cup peanut butter)
  • 1/2 cup raspberry or strawberry jelly

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9×9-inch baking pan.
  2. For blondie layer: In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate large bowl, combine melted butter and brown sugar. Mix in 1 egg and 1 tablespoon vanilla extract. Add dry ingredients and stir until just incorporated. Fold in white chocolate chips. Pour batter into pre-greased pan.
  3. For cookie butter peanut butter layer: In a medium bowl, beat softened cream cheese until smooth. Add egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, and 1/2 cup homemade cookie butter peanut butter. Spread evenly over blondie batter.
  4. Place jelly in microwave-safe bowl and heat in microwave for 15 seconds. Drop by spoonfuls on top of the cookie butter peanut butter layer; swirl lightly by running a knife through the blobs.
  5. Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, until toothpick in blondie layer comes out clean (the cookie butter layer will still be pretty gooey–this is perfect! You’ll have a nice creamy layer texture on top). Cool bars and cut into 16 medium or 25 smaller squares.
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18 Replies to “Cookie Butter PB&J Bars”

  1. Ok, yum.

    1. I really couldn’t say much more than that after eating about 10 of these. Might’ve been shock! Thanks for stopping by, Colette!

  2. i could live off of cookie butter. I love it SO much but do not bake with it nearly enough! I can never pry it out of my hands with a spoon to put it in a recipe. And I love peanut butter and jelly together – one of the greatest flavor combinations on earth. I want a few squares of these right now to get me through the afternoon 🙂

    1. Tell me about it! I’ve been throwing it into *everything* pell-mell these days, it’s a bit sinful, really. I always make sure to make a conveniently larger batch than the recipe calls for…so, you know, when that extra 1 cup of cookie butter is sitting on the counter while I’m waiting for things to bake, my spoon just sings my name. Heh! I’m so glad there’s another CB and PB&J lover here–you’ll love these!!

  3. crunchycreamysweet1 says: Reply

    Oh my! So much deliciousness in those little squares! And homemade cookie butter – best idea ever!!!

    1. Tell me about it–I can’t keep my spoon away long enough sometimes to get the cookie butter from jar to mixing bowl! You’d love these! Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to say hello 🙂 always great to meet another cookie butter fangirl!

      1. crunchycreamysweet1 says: Reply

        We should stick together! 🙂 Happy to have found your blog!

        1. You’re so sweet–it’s great having you here! I’m definitely looking forward to sticking together 😉

  4. This recipe looks wonderful! I have a couple questions:
    1) where is the jam? How much and how/at what point do you mix it in?
    2) how does the texture and taste change without the peanut butter? I know some people who would love this but there are some peanut allergy issues.

    Thanks!

    1. Hi Alisa! That’s a major OOPS on my part–you’ll find the jam in the recipe now, thanks for saving me that embarrassment of missing the J from PB&J! This recipe will work fantastically with just cookie butter; you’ll obviously have a much stronger gingerbread-esque rather than PB taste, but the baking time stays the same and the flavor is really fantastic. Thank you SO much again–I’m glad you could stop by, definitely report back if you make this with cookie butter only!

      1. Thanks-I will be trying it tomorrow!

    2. Ok-I just found the updated ingredient list that includes jam. All that remains is my question about excluding the peanut butter from the recipe. How does it change the texture and taste? Thanks!

  5. i don’t think there is anything in this world that beats peanut butter and jelly. i like the combo in sandwiches, cookies, cakes and your recipe looks incredible!!!

    1. I’m glad I’ve found another PB&J fan! I totally agree, I’d eat that combo in my sandwiches and cakes (or even out of the jar!–oh my goodness, Smuckers’ PB&J stripes are amazing, have you tried them?). Thank you so much for stopping by!

  6. I loved PB&J sandwiches when I was a kid, and still eat them occasionally. But it looks to me that you’ve taken the whole PB&J concept to another level! These look wonderful. Really good work – thanks.

    1. It’s definitely an alternate plane over here–I never thought PB&J could get a respectable makeover, but I think I’m liking this one! A penny for your thoughts, John.

  7. I love making new things with cookie butter! It’s always a good standby. Adding pb and jelly sounds amazing 🙂

    1. Absolutely–I’ve seen your stuff with cookie butter, absolutely addicting!! Thanks for stopping by, Laura~

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