Vegan PB&J Blondies

Step 1

preheat the oven to 350F and grease or line a 8×8″ baking dish with parchment paper.

Step 2

add the berries, sugar, and lemon juice to a blender and blend until smooth. If your machine is having trouble blending, add 1-2 tablespoons of water to help assist – just know that if you do this, you will need to simmer the jelly down more. Pour the smooth mixture into a nonstick pan preheated to medium heat. Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 7-10 minutes, stirring occasionally with a spatula. Set aside to let cool slightly.

Step 3

add the oat flour, brown rice flour, baking powder, and salt to a large mixing bowl and whisk to combine. Form a well in the center of the bowl and pour in the milk, sugar, peanut butter, and vanilla extract. Use a spatula to mix the center of the bowl (wet ingredients) together first, then gradually fold in the dry flour mixture until you have a smooth, uniform batter. Set around 1/2 cup of the batter aside – this will be used to swirl the bars.

Step 4

Pour the peanut butter batter into the lined baking tin and use a spatula to smooth it out evenly. Then, pour the “jelly” layer over the peanut butter layer and do the same. Use the reserved batter to drop 1-tablespoon-sized dollops of batter sporadically throughout the tin, then use a toothpick or skewer to “swirl” the batter and jelly together.

Step 5

bake in the middle rack of the oven for 30-35 minutes, until the dough portion looks set and the edges start to pull slightly away from the pan; the jelly layer may not look completely set in the middle. Let the blondies sit in the baking pan for 10-15 minutes, then carefully use the parchment paper to transfer the bars to a cooling rack and let cool completely. If you do not let the bars cool completely, their crumb structure will not form well.

Step 6

Serve: use a serrated knife to cut the bars into 9 even squares; I recommend cleaning it off between each cut, as some of the jelly layer will stick to it. Serve as desired; leftovers will keep at room temperature for up to 3 days, or can be frozen for up to one month.