Peanut Butter and Jelly Bread

I haven't forgotten about the sourdough bread, but while I'm in a bread state of mind I thought I'd give this one a try.  Everyone has their favorite version of a peanut butter sandwich.  My favorite used to be crunchy peanut butter with sliced dill pickles (yum!) but the classic Peanut Butter and Jelly is hard to beat.  There have probably been a blue million PBJ's made at our house over the past 15 years.  Our youngest child was one of the pickiest eaters ever born and if it hadn't been for PBJ's there were many times I'm not sure what he would have eaten.  This is the same child who at about five years old was sitting at a restaurant eating a kid's meal of chicken strips and suddenly stopped, thoughtfully examined the chicken, then asked, "Did this come from inside a dead chicken?"  So, how do you answer that in an appetizing kind of way?  I don't know and apparently didn't know then either because several years went by before he would touch chicken again.

But, back to the bread at hand.  This recipe is super easy - one bowl and one spoon, pour in your loaf pan and bake.

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup creamy or crunchy peanut butter
1 large egg
1 cup milk
1/3 cup jelly

Stir together first 4 ingredients in a medium bowl.  Add peanut butter and cut into flour mixture with a fork or pastry blender until crumbly.  Mix together egg and milk; stir into dry ingredients just until moist.  Microwave jelly in a small bowl (oops, there is another bowl required) about 35-40 seconds until melted, stopping about every 15 seconds to stir.

Spoon half of batter into a greased, 9- x 5-inch loaf pan.  Pour melted jelly over batter, top with remaining batter.  You could bake as is or could use a knife and swirl the batter and jelly together.

Bake at 350 degrees 45-50 minutes or until tester comes out clean.  Cool in pan a few minutes before removing.