The 15-Minute No-Bake Bars That Taste 'Just Like a PB&J!'

These no-bake PB&J bars are a stellar combination of salty and sweet. A sweet strawberry jam layer tops a fluffy peanut butter filling above a salty pretzel crust; once chilled, it's like a supremely satisfying PB&J sandwich in bar form.

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Prep Time 15

Total Time 4

Servings: 9 servings

Course: Dessert, Dinner

Cuisine: American

Calories: 698

Ingredients Method Nutrition

Ingredients

3 1/2 cups mini pretzels
1/4 cup granulated sugar
9 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 8 ounce package cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup about 4 oz. powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 8 ounce container frozen whipped topping, thawed, such as Cool Whip
1 13 ounce jar strawberry preserves

Method

Gather all ingredients.
For pretzel crust, process pretzels in a food processor until small crumbs form, 15 to 30 seconds. Add sugar, butter, and salt; pulse until evenly combined, about 5 pulses.
Transfer pretzel mixture to an 8-inch square baking dish, and press firmly into an even layer. Chill, uncovered, until firm, about 10 minutes.
For peanut butter filling, beat cream cheese, peanut butter, confectioner's sugar, and salt in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth and creamy, 1 to 2 minutes, stopping to scrape down sides of bowl as needed.
Fold in whipped topping until evenly distributed, about 1 minute. Spread filling evenly over cooled crust.
Spread strawberry preserves evenly over filling.
Cover and chill until set, at least 4 hours or up to 12 hours. Slice into 9 equal portions and serve chilled. Recipe developed by Amanda Holstein