Peanut Butter Jelly Time, Peanut Butter Jelly Time

Come on, dance with me - "Peanut butter jelly time...peanut butter jelly time..."

This little boy? He loves his peanut butter and jelly.

And this little boy? He's a longtime fan.

And this not-so-little girl? Has to admit to having one or three.
She apparently must also admit to wearing those purple ruffles (I do what I want!!).

If you were to do hair tests, like they do on crime shows, I'm sure our years of PB&J addiction would show.

Our family love of PB&J means that we are constantly walking around gooey, sticky and smelling of peanuts. All household surfaces are likely to have at least one jelly-smudged fingerprint.

So what's a mom who hates cleaning to do?

Whip up a batch of these tasty (and healthy) snacks:

Peanut Butter Jelly Bars
Ingredients
Crust:
1 cup almonds
1 cup rolled oats (regular oatmeal kind)
1 cup wheat flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 fresh dates, pitted
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Filling:
1/3 cup organic peanut butter
1/3 cup organic fruit preserves (your favorite flavor)

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350. Place almonds, oats, flour, baking powder and salt in a food processor. Process until it forms a powder. Add remaining ingredients and process until it becomes a dough ball. Divide in half.

Roll out half of the dough on piece of parchment paper until about 1/8 inch thick. Spread peanut butter on top. Roll out the other half of the dough on another piece of parchment paper until it's the same size as the first. Spread jelly on top. Using the parchment paper as a holder, gently lay the peanut butter half of the dough (pb side down) onto the jelly half, forming a gigantic sandwich. Remove parchment paper and place on a lightly greased cookie sheet.

Place in oven and bake approximately 20 minutes, or until dough is raised a bit and top is medium brown.

Allow to cool and eat whole in a celebration of peanut butter, jelly and gluttony - or cut into bars and share with kids. Your choice.