Peanut Butter Bars

There are certain things in this life that are just meant to be together.

Salt and Pepper
Jack and Jill
Yin and Yang
Macaroni and Cheese

Well, in the world of sweets you can bet your knickers that one of those pairings is
Peanut Butter and Chocolate
 Mmmm….
Who doesn’t just love the combination of creamy peanut butter and rich chocolate?
{All of you who overdosed on Reese’s cups and now can’t stand to eat them don’t count…}

Point being, it’s pretty good and my husband, Ben, loves the peanut butter/chocolate duo. He requested I make some peanut butter bars… “the kind with oatmeal in the bottom”.
And so it began.
I whipped out a ward cookbook and knew there was going to be a gem in there. Peanut butter bars are one of those desserts you can expect most people in your neighborhood to be able to make. Everyone has a different recipe and they are somehow all amazing.

Here they be in all their glory.

These are fabulous with their fudgy texture.

I just love ward cookbooks. 😉
Testimonial:
“Fact: I don’t like peanut butter. Second fact: I would give my first born for these bars. Delicious!”  ~Jillian Rose
Well there you have it ladies and gentlemen. Need I say more?

This recipe is also very easy to make. Guaranteed success.
It is great because it makes a lot at one time so it would be perfect for gifts, parties, vacations, etc.

These bars are sweet so if you (like me) prefer desserts that are less sweet and more rich or “deep”, for lack of a better term, then this may not be the recipe you are looking for but it is sure to be a crowd pleaser!

Peanut Butter Bars
Ingredients for cakey-doughy part
3/4 cup Creamy Peanut Butter
3/4 cup Brown Sugar
3/4 cup White Sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup Salted Butter, softened
1 tsp Vanilla
1/2 tsp Salt
3/4 tsp Baking Soda
1 1/2 cups Flour
1 1/2 cups Oatmeal
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a jelly roll pan (standard half sheet baking pan with sides ~ 10×16″) with a sheet of parchment paper. You can use a smaller pan for thicker bars if desired. Beat together peanut butter, brown sugar, white sugar, eggs and butter. Add vanilla, salt, baking soda, flour and oatmeal.  Press mixture into bottom of pan to spread (mine did not reach to all the edges). Cook for 10-12 minutes (I cooked for 10 min). They will look undercooked when you remove them so don’t overcook them. Let them cool and top with more peanut butter (optional- I did not do this but probably will next time) and the chocolate frosting.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch.
Ingredients for Chocolate Frosting
1 cup Sugar
1/4 cup Chocolate (I used semisweet chocolate chips)
1/4 cup Salted Butter
1/2 cup Milk
2 Tbsp Light Corn Syrup
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar (or until desired consistency, decrease for less sweetness)
1 tsp Vanilla
Bring all ingredients except powdered sugar and vanilla to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil for 3 minutes, stirring. Place bottom of pan in cold water until mixture cools and thickens a bit. Add powdered sugar and vanilla and mix until thoroughly blended. Pour on bars before mixture hardens.
{Recipe from Brooke Johnson in Parish Canyon Ward 2012 Cookbook- Thanks Brooke!}

 

 Enjoy!

One thought on “Peanut Butter Bars

  1. How funny…I just logged in and saw your pb bars when I finished making some myself 30 minutes ago. I like the recipe from Our Best Bites. mmmmm so good!

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