Easy Peasy Peanut Butter Cookie Bars

If you like peanut butter and chocolate, you’re going to love this recipe.  It’s super easy.  I actually had to make it twice because the first time I was just throwing stuff into the mixing bowl and didn’t keep track of any measurements.  They were so good that I just had to share.  That meant making them a second time so I could put together an actual recipe for you.  I really didn’t mind, though. 

Here’s what you’ll need:

• 1 ½ cups peanut butter (something natural)
• 3 Tablespoons butter
• 1 ½ cups sugar*
• ¼ - ¾ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon molasses*
• 1 Tablespoon brown rice syrup (or other syrup)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• 2 eggs
• 2 Tablespoons flour
• 1 cup oats (I used quick oats, but old fashioned are also fine)
• 1 cup milk chocolate chips
• ½ cup mini semisweet chocolate chips
• *If you prefer, you can use brown sugar in place of the sugar and omit the molasses.

Go ahead and preheat the oven to 350°.  Butter a 9x13 pan and set it aside.  Then, into your mixing bowl go the peanut butter and butter.  (As always, the ingredients should all be at room temperature.)  The peanut butter I’m using is made from unblanched peanuts which is why it has such a dark color. 

Mix them together until they are thoroughly combined. 

Add the sugar.

Mix. 

Add the molasses, rice syrup, vanilla, and ¼ teaspoon salt. 

Mix.  (I did mention these are really easy, right?)  This is a good time to taste the mixture for saltiness.  I like my peanut butter stuff to be pretty salty, but it’s a personal thing.  If you like it at that point, leave it.  If it needs more salt, go ahead and stir some in. 

Add the baking soda and powder.  Mix them in thoroughly, scraping the bowl down in the process.

Next up are the eggs.  Go ahead and throw them both in. 

As you mix them in, you’ll see your stuff get stiff.  *ahem*  To be honest, I’m not sure why that happens with peanut butter cookies, but that’s the reason the eggs don’t go in until now. 

Add the flour and oats. 

Stir just enough to bring everything together.  It’ll be a bit crumbly,

But if you squeeze some of it in your hand, it will hold together nicely. 

Add the chocolate chips.  I used a combination of milk chocolate and mini semisweet ones, and although you can really use whatever you want, I highly recommend that particular pair for this application. 

Stir them in so they’re evenly-ish distributed. 

Dump the whole thing into your prepared pan and press it down firmly so that it’s an even thickness. 

Bake for 25 - 30 minutes.  It will look dry on top and will be browning nicely around the edges. 

Cool completely (yeah right.  Good luck with that) and cut into squares.  The salty peanut butter combined with the sweetness of the chocolate and the chewiness of the oats brings together all of your favorite cookies into one fabulous bar. 

What's your favorite cookie bar?

Soft and Sweet

It's like Medusa lives in my baking cupboard.

Brown sugar goes in and a solid lump comes out.

No more! I've finally figured out the perfect way to keep even the darkest brown sugar from turning into a doorstop.

So, we've all tried the zip bag, the "air tight" container, the freezer, putting a chunk of apple in with it, microwaving it, one of those weird round things you soak in water first...

None of them work.

I've been baking without brown sugar for years because I was tired of buying a bag, using a cup, and then chucking a solid block of sugar and buying a new bag a month later.

But last month, I wanted to make pudding cake and I wasn't willing to risk the recipe with the wrong kind of sugar so I caved and bought a bag.

And then stood in the kitchen staring at the open bag wondering how long it would be before I had to throw it out. I admit, I came close to tossing it right then and there. But I'm stubborn. I went to the bags-and-wraps drawer to get a zip bag, and saw the foil.

Shiney.

Well, it worked for guacamole...

What the hell. It's worth a shot.

So, I just twisted the top of the bag and creatively folded the foil until the whole thing was covered.

Kinda shaped like a football, which is handy when you're so short that the best way to get stuff onto the top shelf of the cupboard is to chuck it.

5'1" and I have a wicked free throw.

Two weeks later I made brown sugar cookies with it.

Today, I made muffins with it. (Lost track of time and burned them... now you know why you're getting just the tip)

And I'm pretty sure that in two weeks when I get back from Recipe Guy's place, I'll be making muffins.

Someone else really needs to try this so I know it wasn't some kind of weird fluke...

Please?