On PB&Js

In bar form and otherwise!

Welcome to the Friday post for paid subscribers, a recipe as old as time itself. On Tuesday, all subscribers will receive a photo essay featuring one of my favorite spots in Chicago, where I was lucky enough to spend a day photographing this week. As ever and always, you can see more of my work and hire me to work for you (!) here.

During a long car ride last week, Colin and I played one of our favorite games. It’s called “If you could eat anything in the world right now, what would it be?” and the answers are almost always fanciful foods that there is no way we could possibly eat without at least a little effort. Think “sushi from that one place in Milan” or “the pastiera you made at Christmas that took four days.” This is a game of extremes, people.

Imagine then my surprise when Colin answered with “a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.” On plain, smooshy bread. With regular peanut butter and jelly that oozed with sugar and high fructose corn syrup. He wanted nostalgia—the kind of sandwich that you’d find crushed at the bottom of your lunchbox as a kid.

When we pulled up to our next gas station, I found a loaf of Wonder Bread, a tube of spreadable Skippy’s peanut butter, and a small jar of Smucker’s jelly. We made sandwiches and ate them as we drove, jelly and peanut butter spilling out onto our laps. The flavor hit me like a ton of bricks. There’s something about a school lunch that you ate every day for years of your life that never leaves you, I suppose.

That same flavor is infused in these delicious dessert bars, but it’s presented in a bit more of a grown-up sort of way. There’s texture, for one, and whole wheat flour. There’s salt married into the sweet and jelly made from strawberries instead of grapes. But one bite, and I promise you: you’ll taste the nostalgia and go back for more.

This recipe was originally written to be gluten- and dairy-free (I know; who is she?!), but it works just as well with regular flour and eggs. Spring for some good strawberry jelly and don’t sleep on roasting your peanuts.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars