strawberry peanut butter bars

i bought some fresh native massachusetts strawberries on my way home yesterday and decided to try making a dessert with them. i recently got some good recipes from a few of my mags so i tried one out last night.

courtesy of better homes & gardens (laugh it up, i don't care! i like my suburban homemaker mag):

fresh strawberry bars (i renamed it strawberry pb bars)

Ingredients
3/4 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup peanut butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup strawberry jam
4 cups small whole strawberries, halved or quartered

Directions
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 13x9x2-inch baking pan with foil, extending foil beyond the edges. Set aside.
2. In large mixing bowl beat butter and peanut butter on medium to high for 30 seconds. Beat in sugars, baking powder, and salt until combined. Add eggs and vanilla; beat until combined. Beat in as much flour as you can with mixer. Stir in remaining flour.
3. Spread dough in prepared pan. Bake 25 minutes or until top is lightly browned and toothpick inserted near center comes out clean.
4. Cool completely on rack. Remove from pan by lifting foil. Spread jam and top with berries. Cut into bars. Serve at once or refrigerate up to 6 hours. Makes 24 bars
Make Ahead: Wrap the peanut butter base in foil; store at room temperature up to 24 hours. Before serving, top with jam and berries. Or freeze the peanut butter base in a freezer container up to 3 months.

i ate one bar last night to be sure it was edible (verdict: yummy!!) before bringing the rest in to work today. i sent an email out and put it out by my desk. 15 minutes later the whole thing was gone! i didn't even get another bite! apparently it was good! the AZ guinea pigs give it rave reviews! i'll be putting this one in my repertoire for summer bbqs!
enjoy!!