Cookie bars to celebrate National Peanut Butter Day from a retired school cafeteria cook

Freshly baked Peanut Butter Oatmeal bars frosted with creamy chocolate. / Getty Images/iStock/DebbiSmirnoff
Freshly baked Peanut Butter Oatmeal bars frosted with creamy chocolate. / Getty Images/iStock/DebbiSmirnoff

Local foodie Rita Downer recently emailed me with a link to a YouTube video of a retired school cafeteria cook showing how to make a dessert enjoyed by students and teachers alike - peanut butter bars.

"It's just yummy if you love peanut butter - and who doesn't?" she asks.

Downer says she's made the bars only once because, that first time, she couldn't stop eating them.

"I took half to my next-door neighbor, then my husband and I ate the rest. Half of a 16- by 11-inch pan - all of them in only two days," she says.

Her husband, she says, is rail-thin and blessed with a fast metabolism, so he can afford to eat an entire pan of peanut butter bars.

I watched the video. It's a little lengthy as the lunchroom lady gets rather chatty, so it took a while to write down the recipe, but once done, I made them myself and must agree with Downer that they are delicious. It's a yummy way to celebrate National Peanut Butter Day on Nov. 1.

Lunchroom Lady Peanut Butter Bars

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter, divided

2 eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1 1/2 cups quick-cooking oats

Frosting:

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

1/4 cup milk

2 tablespoons cocoa

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a small mixing bowl, mix together flour, baking soda and salt. In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter, sugars, 3/4 cup peanut butter, eggs and vanilla until light and fluffy. Gradually add dry ingredients, just until incorporated. Then stir in the oats. Spread onto a greased 11- by 15-inch jelly roll pan. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 10 minutes.

Make the frosting: First, whip the remaining 3/4 cup peanut butter until light and fluffy. Carefully spread the whipped peanut butter over the pan cookie.

Melt stick of butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the milk and cocoa. Cook, stirring constantly, just until boiling. Remove from heat, and add vanilla. Then, gradually add the powdered sugar. Stir until thickened. Pour over the peanut butter, and gently spread over the cookie. When cooled completely, slice into bar cookies.

Email Anne Braly at abraly@timesfreepress.com.

photo Anne Braly

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