Peanut Butter Bars

So, I was perusing pinterest the other night and came across "lunch lady peanut butter bars" . From what i've heard school lunches use to have desserts that came with them! Unfortunately, my schools were not the kind of school that gave out delicious desserts with lunch. :,(

Now, these bars tasted great, and they even tasted better the next day! If you love peanut butter then you'll love these. I altered the recipe a bit, the original recipe was very sweet, with two types of sugar, and peanut butter in the bars, then another layer of peanut butter, then (finally) the chocolate frosting on top! Whew...they were way to sweet for me, but head on over to the original link if you like it that way.

Peanut Butter Bars

Yield 1 cookie sheet

Bars

1 1/2 cup    Flour

1 1/4 tsp.    Salt (omit if using salted butter)

1/2 tsp.    Baking soda

3/4 cup    Butter

1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp.   Sugar

1/4  cup + 2 Tbsp.    Brown Sugar

1 1/2 tsp.    Vanilla

3/4 cup    Peanut Butter (original recipe used creamy, I used crunchy)

2    Eggs

1 1/2 cup    quick oats

Topping

3/4 cup    Peanut Butter

Frosting

1/2 cup    Butter

3 1/2 cup    Powdered Sugar

2 Tbsp.    Cocoa Powder

1/4 cup    Milk (I used almond milk, you can use whatever milk you have)

1 tsp.    Vanilla

Let's get started!

Place peanut butter, sugar, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla, and butter into a bowl and mix until smooth.

*Note: as you can see above I did not use butter in this section, I used mashed banana as a substitution. If you would like to use this substitution just be aware that the bars will come out chewier. The substitution is 1:1, so use 3/4 cup mashed banana for 3/4 cup butter*

(if you used crunchy peanut it will not be smooth)

Not shown: Mix together flour, salt, and baking soda in a separate bowl.

Add dry ingredients in 3 additions, mix only until incorporated.

Fold in oats.

Spread onto a greased cookie sheet.

Bake at 350F 12-15 min (or until golden). Rotate halfway through. 

Mine took about 16 min because of the mashed banana.

Golden and delicious! Now onto the PB Spread.

All you do is place peanut butter into a small bowl and whip it until lighter in color.

When the bars have cooled for at least 10 mins. Spread the peanut butter on the top of the bars.

Next, we have the frosting!

In a sauce pan, melt the butter.

Add in the milk, and the cocoa powder.

Mix until combined, cook over medium heat until boiling, stir constantly. 

Remove from heat, mix in vanilla. Then add in the powdered sugar in about 4-5 additions, make sure you use a whisk, otherwise you will get lumps like in my picture lol. :) Stir until thickened.

Spread immediately onto the peanut butter layer.

Cool completely before cutting into them.

Enjoy!

Brownies

So, today I set out to make some brownies, I searched my Pinterest page (because I knew that I pinned one or two brownie recipes) and I came across this recipe. It is for "Lunch Lady Brownies" there is a discrepancy on the origin of this particular recipe in the comments on her blog. But, wherever this recipe came from it is a keeper.

The brownies are soft and the perfect consistency between fudgy, chewy, and cake like. They are YUM! They can be made with or without nuts, you can frost them or not, and you can either share...or not!  :)

The recipe did call for a 9"x13" pan, and the brownies came out a little thinner, if you wanted pretty thick brownies you could always use a 8" square or a 9" square, just adjust the baking time.

Brownies:

Yield: (1) 9"x13" pan

1 Cup    Butter (Melted)

1/2 Cup    Cocoa (I used unsweetened)

2 Cups    A.P. Flour

2 Cups    Sugar

4    Eggs

4 Tsp.    Vanilla

1 Cup    Chopped Nuts (optional)

Brownie Frosting:

1/4 Cup    Butter (somewhat softer, just not rock hard)

1/4 Cup    Milk (I used 2%)

1/4 Cup    Cocoa

3 Cups    Powdered Sugar

For The Brownies:

Place the melted butter and the cocoa powder into a mixing bowl with a paddle attachment.

Mix until smooth.

Add the flour and sugar mix until completely combined.

Add the eggs, vanilla, and nuts (optional).

Mix just until combined, do not over mix.

Spread into a greased and floured 9"x13" pan. 

*Note: this is not runny batter, it is pretty thick so you will have to smooth and even the top with a spatula.*

Bake at 350F for 20-30 Min. Let cool for about 10-15 min, then frost (make sure the brownies are not too hot, warm is okay, if too hot the frosting will melt down the sides).

For The Frosting:

Cut butter into chunks. Place everything into a mixer with a whisk attachment.

Mix until smooth. Spread onto warm brownies.

Enjoy!