This delightful dessert came about because I hate to waste stuff. I found myself with an open jar of grape jelly. It was far more than I could use up on toast. I started looking around and found a number of recipes for using jelly in cookie bars. I used those recipes as inspiration for the bars I ended up making. I took some to a friend’s house and got some very positive feedback.
The crust is a classic shortbread dough, topped with grape jelly, peanuts and shredded coconut. I used the coconut and peanuts for both texture and flavor. I also had them on hand, so why not? I kept my bars pretty simple. You could certainly add more nuts or coconut. You could use any flavor of jelly or jam, too. I think these might be fun with peach jam and toasted pecans. Maybe the next batch.
So here is the recipe for a simple bar cookie with great flavor. Travels well, too, so great for picnics and road trips.
Grape Jelly Coconut Peanut Bars
1¼ c. all-purpose flour
¼ c. sugar
½ t salt
½ c. butter, room temp
1 c. grape jelly
1 c. peanuts
1 c. flaked coconut
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease a 9×9 pan and set aside. Mix the flour, sugar and salt together, then work in the butter. Mixture might be a little crumbly. Pat the crust evenly into bottom of the baking dish. Spread the jelly over the top of the crust evenly. Sprinkle peanuts on top of the jelly , then top with the coconut. Bake for 35-45 minutes or until the topping is golden brown. You should see a little bit of color around the edge of the crust. Remove and cool completely, then slice and serve! These freeze well.
