PB&J Oatmeal Cookie Bars

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookie Bars swirled with grape jelly — the perfect treat for the peanut butter and jelly lover in your life! PB&J Oatmeal Cookie Bars are reminiscent of a classic pb&j sandwich with a little oatmeal cookie rolled in, baked into a simple dessert bar that is delicious any time of the day.

Were you a peanut butter and jelly sandwich-loving kid? My brother took the classic sandwich, a PB&J sandwich, every day for lunch in elementary school. His favorite childhood sandwich was made with Jiff Peanut Butter and Welch’s Grape Jelly on white bread.  

I was one of those weird kids that took a thermos to school every day, with soup in it. (I had a very patient Mother. Love you, Mom!! xo)

 

Peanut Butter & Jelly

My love of PB&J grew much later. I am not really sure when it was, but I decided to have one, and it was accompanied by a cold glass of milk. It was amazing!

Now, I wouldn’t go and say I am a fanatic or anything, but I do like the occasional PB&J. Always with a cold glass of milk, and it MUST be grape jelly and Jiff peanut butter. 

 

PB&J OATMEAL COOKIE BARS

The first time I made these cookie bars was back in 2017. The recipe comes from a blogger friend of mine, and they had come highly recommended by a couple of other food blogger buddies, too.  All of them used strawberry jam as the original recipe called for.

I know there are a lot of you out there that like your PB&J with strawberry jam, but I decided these needed to be made the way I have always enjoyed a PB&J — with grape jelly. What can I say? I like what I like!

If you are looking for more peanut butter recipes, I’ve definitely got you covered: Peanut Butter Fudge, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Cookies, or these No-Bake Peanut Butter Chocolate Cookie Bars. 

 

Ingredients Needed To Make Peanut Butter & Jelly Oatmeal Bars

Find the complete measurements and instructions at the bottom of this post in the printable recipe card. 

• Flour – all-purpose flour is what I used for this recipe
• Baking Soda
• Rolled Oats – use quick rolled oats or old-fashioned rolled oats. Don’t use steel-cut oats for this recipe. 
• Brown Sugar – light or dark will work great

Vanilla – I use pure vanilla extract.

Egg – I used one large white egg.

Butter- I used unsalted butter, softened at room temperature. But salted will work well, too. 

Grape jelly – I added one cup of grape jelly to make this jelly bar recipe. As I mentioned – feel free to use your jelly of choice – grab what kind you like on your sandwiches!

Peanut butter – I use crunchy peanut butter to make the oatmeal peanut butter cookie dough. If you prefer creamy peanut butter, it works great, too!

How to make these jelly cookie bars

Begin by preheating the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 13 x 9 baking pan with foil, leaving a little extra over the edge of the dish. Grease foil with butter.

Make the cookie dough: In the bowl of an electric mixer using the paddle attachment at low speed, beat butter, brown sugar, and vanilla until smooth. Beat in egg. Mix in peanut butter. Slowly add in flour and baking soda, and mix until incorporated. Fold in oats.

Spread: Set aside 1/2 cup of the dough, and press the rest in an even layer into the bottom of your prepared pan. Spread jelly over the top of the dough.

Pinch off pieces of small globs of the remaining dough and drop them on top of the jelly.

Bake: for approximately 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the top starts to turn a golden brown.

Cool. Grab the edges of the foil and pull the bars out of the pan for easy cutting. Cut the peanut butter bars into squares with a sharp knife. 

Love it? Pin it!

If you love this recipe for peanut butter bar cookies make sure that you don’t lose it! Pin it to your favorite Pinterest recipe board before you go!

FAQs About These PB&J Oatmeal Cookie Bars

• Do PBJ crumble bars need to be refrigerated? You can store these dessert bars in an airtight container on the kitchen counter, not the fridge for a couple of days, say 3-4. 
• Why are oatmeal bars healthy? These peanut butter oatmeal bars can definitely be part of a healthy diet. Oatmeal is loaded with protein and fiber so it will keep you full for quite a few hours. 
• What can you put peanut butter and jelly on? What can’t you put peanut butter and jelly on? Seriously though I think you can put peanut butter and jelly on toast, bagels, pancakes, waffles, scones, or muffins. 
• How many calories are in peanut butter oatmeal bars? The calories will be pretty similar to peanut butter and jelly oatmeal cookies. The size of your bar or cookie will really affect how many calories it has though I try not to focus too much on calories and allow myself these delicious treats once in a while. Cut this perfect dessert into small pieces so you can eat a little bit at a time and don’t stress about the calories.

Substitutions

• Change up this jelly bars recipe and use raspberry jam, strawberry preserves, or your favorite jam. 
• Instead of crunchy peanut butter use creamy peanut butter or if you aren’t a fan of peanut butter use almond butter for another delicious way to prepare this sweet treat.
• Add chopped peanuts to the peanut butter mixture for even more crunch. 
• Top the bars with peanut butter chips for even more of a classic peanut butter flavor. 

Tips & Tricks

Take the butter and peanut butter out of the fridge before you begin to prepare this peanut butter cookie bar. They will be easier to work with at room temperature. 

Make sure to get rolled oats and not instant or steel-cut oats. 

 

More Dessert Bars to Love

• Sweet & Salty Brownies (pictured above)
• Iced Snickerdoodle Bars
• Classic Nanaimo Bars
• Fresh Orange Bars
• Raisin Spice Bars
• No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie Bars
• Scotcheroo Pinwheels
• Hazelnut Bars

 

This is one of the best peanut butter cookie bar recipes you’ll make. Reminiscent of pb&j sandwiches this easy dessert is sure to become one of the family favorites. Perfect for busy moms looking for easy peanut butter desserts.

The hardest part will be deciding what time of year to make this easy treat; Christmas time, during the school season as an after-school snack, or as a bake sale treat.

This recipe was originally posted on June 7, 2017. It has been updated to improve user experience and re-shared on February 27, 2023.