These bars are nothing elaborate but they are plain comforting good. I made another kind of scones this morning (I go through phases) and while looking for some almonds I found an almost empty jar of raspberry jam and a bag of peabut butter and milk chocolate chips. I don’t usually get these but I remember B. sneaking them in the shopping cart because "they would be good melted on toast"….bad bad man!!
My neighbor asked me last week to make some treats she could take to the twins' teacher and wanting to change from the usual brownie or cupcake (nothing wrong with them, mind you), I had made a batch of white chocolate and raspeberry jam bars, aka "Razz-Ma-Tazz Bars". They were easy to make, traveled well, and something she could totally pass as her own….Yes, some people have ghostwriters, she has a ghostbaker….! They smelled so good that it took everything to prevent my cookie monster of husband from eating some before I could get the pan to her house. I promised him I would make some this weekend.
We were rather in a childish and playful mode this morning that I figured making peanut butter and jelly bars would be a great accompaniement to our regressive pinball marathon with the computer. I took the above mentionned recipe and tweaked it for PB&J lovers figuring if it worked it would be childlike comfort and if it failed we would hide it under ice cream and call in sick tomorrow…Well, we will go to work tomorrow, in the meantime we might have a stomach ache from eating too many of these!
Regressive Bars, adapted from a Nestle recipe:
Yields 16 bars
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) Nestle milk chocolate and peanut butter swirled chips, divided
2 large eggs
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam
Preheat oven to 325° F. Grease a 9-inch-square baking pan.
Melt butter in medium, microwave-safe bowl for 1 minute; stir. Add 1 cup morsels; let stand. Do not stir.
Beat eggs in large mixer bowl until foamy. Add sugar; beat until pale, about 5 minutes. Stir in morsel-butter mixture. Add flour, salt and vanilla extract; mix at low speed until combined.
Spread 2/3 of batter into prepared pan. Heat jam in microwve for 30 seconds. Spread on top of the base. Cover with the remaining batter and sprinkle the reamining cup of morsels on top.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until edges are browned. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars.