Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars

     Like biting into a crunchy peanut butter and jelly sandwich, these bar cookies from Land O'Lakes are a breeze to make and bake up wonderfully in your dutch oven.  Line your oven with parchment, pat in the bottom layer of dough, spread with jam, crumble on the topping and bake.  In my 12 inch dutch oven, they cooked for 45 minutes with 12 coals in a ring around the base of the oven, 19 placed around the edge of the lid and 8 spaced evenly in the center.  Basically when you can smell the peanut butter coming from your oven and the top is golden brown, they're done.  Let them cool completely before lifting from the oven and cutting into squares.  I'll bet you could even mix the dough at home, spoon it in a zip lock bag and pack it in your cooler.  These PB&J bars will bring you back to your childhood and give you some quick energy and sustenance while you're hiking the trails. 

Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars
1 18.25 oz package yellow cake mix
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
1 egg
1 1/2 cups uncooked quick-cooking oats
1 1/4 cups strawberry OR grape jam
1/2 cups chopped peanuts

     Lightly oil or spray 12 inch dutch oven; line with parchment paper.
     Combine cake mix, butter, peanut butter and egg in large bowl.
     Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until well blended.
     Stir in oats.
     Reserve 2 cups of oat mixture; set aside.
     Press remaining oat mixture evenly into prepared dutch oven.
     Spread jam over oat mixture.
     Crumble reserved oat mixture over jam.
     Top with chopped peanuts.
     Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until top is golden brown and set.
     Cool completely in dutch oven before removing and cutting into bars.


Press dough into parchment lined oven, top with jam then
sprinkle with reserved topping and peanuts

Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until golden brown

Protein, fiber and not a lot of sugar in these tasty bars