Peanut Butter Bars
Do you remember those little Peanut Butter dessert bars from your school days? I always thought it was a very thin delicious cake with some kind of peanut butter icing. Whatever they were called, I always liked them.
My husband discovered this recipe recently and has made them a few times already. He does more baking than I do in our home and if you have been around this blog long, you have probably heard me say that. His Strawberry Cake with Strawberry Icing is still the most requested dessert in our family.
The last time he made these Peanut Butter Dessert Bars was at the holidays and he had to make two pans of them so everyone could take some home.
IT IS PEANUT BUTTER LOVERS DAY!
Did you know that peanut butter has been around since the 1800’s? Yep and you can eat it straight out of the jar or use it as an ingredient for delicious recipes. When you get to the bottom of this page you will find lots more recipes celebrating Peanut Butter Lovers Day from my foodie blogger friends!
INGREDIENTS FOR THE BARS
- Flour
- Sugar
- Brown Sugar
- Eggs
- Unsalted Butter
- Milk
- Baking Soda
- Salt
- Vanilla Extract
- Creamy Peanut Butter
MIX BY HAND
Begin by mixing the dry ingredients in a bowl and set it aside. Blend using a whisk. No need to take out the mixer for this recipe. We mix it all by hand using a whisk.
MELT AND MIX
Use a large pot to melt the butter and peanut butter together. Rather than transfer to a bowl to mix, we mix all of the ingredients together in the large pot.
Add the flour mixture a little at a time to the melted mixture and stir with a whisk. It will become hard to stir but don’t worry because adding the wet ingredients will make it easier.
Add the wet ingredients and continue to stir until all ingredients are well blended.
USE A LARGE BAKING SHEET
Cover a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Pour the prepared batter onto the baking sheet and spread with the back of a spoon.
Bake in a preheated oven at 400° for about 18 to 20 minutes.
While the Peanut Butter Bar is cooling, go ahead a make the scrumptious frosting.
FROSTING INGREDIENTS
- Creamy Peanut Butter
- Butter
- Milk
- Powdered Sugar
PEANUT TOPPING OPTIONAL
Did you notice we put peanuts INSIDE the mix for the bar? If you are as peanut crazy as we are, go ahead and add peanuts to the top of the bar too! I actually placed in one by one so that each slice would have a few.
A DESSERT WITH MANY NAMES
Do you call them Peanut Butter Cake Bars, Peanut Butter Brownie Bars, Peanut Butter Sheet Cake or just plain old Peanut Butter Bars?
My hubby likes to call them Peanut Butter Lunch Lady Bars 2.0! He added dry roasted peanuts to the batter and the frosting and as it turns out, everyone loves his new version!
Preheat oven to 400° Line a large 12 x 18" baking pan with parchment paper. In a bowl mix together the dry ingredients; flour, baking soda, salt and both sugar's. Set aside. In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, 1/2 Cup milk and vanilla then set aside. In a large saucepan, melt 2 sticks of butter and 1 Cup of peanut butter, stirring to blend. Remove from heat and slowly add the flour mixture into the melted peanut butter and butter mixture a little at a time stirring well each time. You can use a hand mixer for this step if you like. Add the egg mixture in and stir well. Pour the batter onto the prepared baking pan and place into the preheated oven. Bake about 18 minutes. Oven temperatures vary, so I recommend you start checking at about 12 minutes. This bakes quick because it is so thin. If a toothpick inserted comes out clean, the bar is done. Cool completely before frosting. FROSTING INSTRUCTIONS In a large saucepan, melt one stick of butter and 1/2 Cup of creamy peanut butter until it comes to a full rolling bowl. Immediately remove from heat. Add 1/3 Cup of milk and begin adding the powdered sugar into the saucepan a little at a time stirring well with a whisk between each addition. (You may use a hand mixer if you like) If you like your frosting thinner, add milk one Tbsp at a time and mix well.Peanut Butter Bars
Ingredients
Instructions
Peanut Butter Lovers Day Recipes
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Peanut Brittle by Daily Dish Recipes
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl Fudge by That Recipe
- Easy Dan Dan Noodles by Cheese Curd In Paradise
- Low-Carb Thai Peanut Soup by Art of Natural Living
- Peanut Butter and Jelly Chicken by A Day in the Life on the Farm
- Peanut Butter Babka by Karen’s Kitchen Stories
- Peanut Butter Bars by Intelligent Domestications
- Peanut Butter Blondies by Books n’ Cooks
- Peanut Butter Toblerone Cheese Cake by Red Cottage Chronicles
- Thai Peanut Chicken Ramen by A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
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10 More Homemade Dessert Recipes
Stacy's Strawberry Cake with Strawberry Butter Cream Frosting
I do remember these bars from school! Thanks so much for sharing this recipe.