Peanut Butter Bars

Aah, peanut butter . . . could there be a more heavenly food? So tasty, so versatile, so enticing.

This recipe was found out of the May Better Homes & Gardens; they had it in a featured section on strawberry recipes, and so they named it "Fresh Strawberry Bars." But I am going to rename the recipe as Peanut Butter Bars, which to me, seems more fitting. Anyway, I tried this one on Tuesday for book club, and it was fabulous.

Ingredients:
3/4 c. butter, softened
3/4 c. peanut butter (it didn't specify creamy or chunky, probably either would work)
1 c. packed brown sugar
1/2 c. granulated sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. strawberry jam
4 c. strawberries, halved or quartered

1. Heat oven to 350. Line 13x9 baking pan with foil, extending foil beyond edges. Set aside.
2. In large mixing bowl beat butter and peanut butter on medium to high for 30 seconds. Beat in sugars, baking powder, and salt until combined. Add eggs and vanilla; beat until combined. Beat in as much flour as you can with mixer. Stir in remaining flour by hand (I used my Kitchenaid mixer, and I was able to mix in all the flour with that).
3. Spread dough in prepared pan (dough will be very thick). Bake 25 minutes or until top is lightly browned and toothpick inserted near center comes out clean.
4. Cool completely on rack. Remove from pan by lifting out foil. Spread jam on top and add berries. Cut into bars. Serve at once or refrigerate up to 6 hours.

Note: The peanut butter base can be made ahead and frozen. For individual servings, cut the base in portions and freeze. Pull out however many portions you need, let defrost for about 5 minutes, and then top with jam & berries. I liked the bars themselves so much, even without the jam & berries, that I ate a few of them plain. They would be good with a variety of toppings.