One for the "Posse"

So my mom refers to my sixteen-year-old brother and all of his friends as the "posse." Our house tends to be the hangout for the crew.

I didn't get these beautiful things cut up in time to take to the Rainbow House, so I'm leaving them behind for the "posse."

I'm spoiling them rotten.



The original recipe was for a 13x9 dish, but I halved it. I also omitted the salted peanuts that they suggested sprinkling on top.

PB&J Strawberry Cookie Bars
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg, room temperature
1 cup peanut butter (mine was a heaping cup)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 (12 oz) jar strawberry preserves

Preheat oven to 350.

Cream your butter and your sugar. Add the egg, vanilla, and peanut butter. To make the peanut butter easier to work with, I always zap it in the microwave for a little bit - maybe fifteen or twenty seconds.

Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to the butter mixture, and mix until just combined.

Spread 2/3 of the dough into an aluminum foil-lined and sprayed 8x8 dish. Spread the strawberry preserves over the crust. Top the jam with dollops of the remaining dough.

Bake for about 25-30 minutes. I lost track of how long I baked these, but I'd say that 25-30 minutes is a good estimate. The doubled recipe called for 45 minutes, in case you're wanting to double it.