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peanut butter bars

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this is one of those recipes that i'm kind of ashamed of...and i'll tell you why.  growing up we were not school lunch eaters.  we packed home lunches most days.  in fact, i thought school lunch was so gross.  even the smell bothered me.  (definitely due to the fact that we grew up with a fantastic cook!  we were spoiled with good food!)  but there were certain days that i would trade my treat for the peanut butter bars made at my elementary school.  i loved them.  they were the perfect combination of peanutty-crunch and smooth chocolate frosting.  mmmm.  my cute old neighbor, suzanne, (ex neighbor? old neighbor? friend from my old neighborhood?) made some once and i was brought right back to being a kid sitting at the light turquoise benches in our old school lunchroom.  i have a great memory, so i can remember all sorts of things about those days.  some good and some bad.  but these puppies, they're all good.  i still make them and bite into them and am flooded with elementary memories.  and with a child turning 10 tomorrow, i need some excuses to feel less old.

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 t. vanilla
1/3 cup peanut butter
cream together, then add:
1/2 t. baking soda
1 c. flour
1 c. oats
mix until blended and spread into a greased 9 x 13 baking dish.  this part gets tricky because it doesn't look like there's enough batter to fill the entire dish.  use a non stick spreader and spread it all out even if it's thin.  they puff once they bake and turn into the perfect thickness!  bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 15-16 minutes or until edges are slightly golden brown.  do not overbake!

over cooled bars, spread
1/4 cup peanut butter

then frost with chocolate frosting:
1/4 cup softened butter
1 - 3 T cocoa
1 1/2 c. powdered sugar
milk

(honestly, i rarely can wait until they're cooled enough to frost them!  so i spread out the peanut butter over pretty hot bars and then add some frosting.  it melts and oozes all over the place and we eat them so fast that no one even cares! <3)

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  1. Come What may ANd LOve IT2/5/11 8:43 PM

    OH MY HECK!! My mouth is watering soo bad right now!!!! :) where has this blog been all my life!!!! Thanks girlie!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. A Little Sass3/5/11 1:06 PM

    I have a perfect memory of those peanut butter bars. I would get school lunch on Thursday just to have those. I think it was Thursday. I am totally going to try these. (I might attempt to make them gluten free) Can't wait!

    ReplyDelete

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