wow butter and jelly bars | peanut free baking
And I fully admit that as a food blogger (with an education degree to boot) it is odd to send my kids to a class where they will essentially be doing just what we do at home everyday. Read and cook. But they love to read and cook, and I want them to continue to love both. And if it means letting them expand their horizons a bit in the kitchen with someone other than Mommy, then that is going to be worth it. 
Plus, with the Buddy starting Kindergarten in the Fall, there is less and less time for the two of them to do things together during the week. And as they tell me on a daily basis, they’re ‘best friends’. It makes my heart squeeze every single time one of them says it.
I love to watch them walk into class together and I feel comforted that the Buddy is there to watch out for the Baby. He’s a great big brother. The best, really.
This ‘Books and Cooks’ class has been a wonderful experience for them. To be out on their own together. And by ‘on their own’ I mean them in the class room and me hunkered down in the hallway listening to everything that is going on. They may as well be off at college. 
They recently had their last class and they will surely miss it. They will be taking swim classes instead; together as best friends, of course.
To make up for no more ‘Books and Cooks’ we are going to be holding our own class, every Monday, in our very own kitchen. We’ll read a story (and I will attempt to make it relevant to the recipe) and cook up a little something. Just for them.
These Wow Butter and Jelly Bars were the product of our first ‘Books and Cooks with Mommy’. We read Lama Lama Red Pajama (my first attempt at book pairing was clearly a fail) and made these ooey-gooey Wow Butter and Jelly Bars.
I have been doing a bit of baking with Wow Butter
lately; it’s a great alternative to peanut butter. With the Baby’s peanut allergy we have been forced to be creative with our ‘butter’ needs. It’s been a great learning experience. I am a fan of Sun Butter for taste, but the texture can be all wrong for baking. Plus there is an occasional chemical problem with baking powder and baking soda that can turn your treats green. Not awesome.
Wow Butter though is both smooth and creamy, and has a perfectly roasted flavor and these Wow Butter and Jelly Bars baked up beautifully. The texture, color and flavor is so similar to real peanut butter that I’m not sure you would know the difference. But this could just be me talking who hasn’t eaten real peanut butter in a year and a half. Either way, these treats are incredibly rich and decadent. So rich and decadent, I halved the recipe (the half recipe is what is posted below) so that I wouldn’t have an entire 9×13 pan of these babies sitting around my kitchen for the next couple of days. If they would have even lasted that long…
They most definitely wouldn’t have.
Want more peanut alternative treats? Check these out:
Chocolate Pretzel Wow Butter Bar
Happy Tuesday!!
Wow Butter and Jelly Bars
Yield: makes 16 bars
Ingredients
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 8 inch square baking dish with non stick spray and set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together both kinds of flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together sugar and butter until fluffy, about 2 minutes.
Add egg and Wow Butter and beat on medium speed until combined, about 2 minutes.
With the mixer running on low, gently add the dry ingredients and beat until combined. Add vanilla and mix for an additional 15 seconds.
Transfer 2/3 of the dough to the prepared baking pan and use your hands to press firmly into the bottom of the pan, creating an even layer.
Use a spoon to spread preserves evenly over the first layer.
Add rolled oats to the remaining Wow Butter mixture and use a spoon or clean hands to combine.
Crumble the oat and Wow Butter mixture over the preserves to create a crumb like topping.
Bake until top is golden, about 35-40 minutes. Remove pan to wire rack and allow to cool completely. Cut into sixteen 2 inch squares.
Enjoy!
Your kiddos sound just darling…what sweeties!! And such a fun class..I wish we had one of those around here. Reading and baking are my most favorite things in the world, so I’d be that weird adult trying to sign myself up…
The bars look wonderful, as always!!
Thanks so much! And don’t worry; I would join you because the class was always fun, and anytime they baked anything it made the whole building smell so good.
Your kiddos sound so darling…what sweeties!! And what a fun class — I wish we had one of those around here!! Baking and reading are my two most favorite things, so I’d be that weird adult trying to sign myself up…
The bars look amazing, as usual!!
Wow Butter..I have not seen that before. I will have to keep my eyes peeled.
These bars sound scrumptious!
Thanks so much, Leslie! Definitely keep your eyes out for it because it has become my favorite peanut butter alternative.
This is such a great post, makes me get weepy thinking of all of my kiddos! I love the idea of Books and Cooks class and I can’t wait to try these bars!
Thanks so much, Nancy! I know, I can’t believe they’re already getting so big where they can do things without me. Time needs to freeze 😉
I love Wow Butter and would definitely agree that it tastes so much like peanut butter that I honestly don’t think people would be able to tell the difference unless they knew. My husband adamantly disagrees but he’s been eating Sun Butter so long that I think he’s just used to that. My 3 year old has a severe peanut allergy so I can totally relate to the need to find creative alternatives. These bars look fantastic! I’ll definitely be making them. My family will absolutely love them! And I’m going to keep the fact that it’s Wow Butter from my husband and see if he can tell 😉 Thanks for such a great recipe!
I hope your family loves them, Kate! You’ll have to let me know what your husband thinks of them 🙂