School Lunch Peanut Butter Bars

We went to the blessing of the Green twins and for dessert there were these cookies.  They kind of reminded me of the O Henry! bars Mom used to make, except these were soft.  We found out that Eileen's sister-in-law, Jill, had made them and she got the recipe on Pinterest (go figure).  She told me what they were called so I could look them up.

Days later, when I searched for "School Lunch Peanut Butter Bars", about 10 recipes came up.  And each one was just a little different.  Apparently we were missing out at Heyburn Elementary.  All of theses people on Pinerest were writing about how they remembered these from school when there were a kid.  I'm next to positive that, in my 6 years of school lunch experience, we never had these.  And you can be sure that now days Mrs. Obama would definitely frown on them.  There is a Ton of Butter in these (that's what makes them so good), you can never go wrong with Butter and Sugar.

Anyway, I looked through a lot of the recipes and picked the one that looked the closest to what we had eaten (and the recipe that looked easier to make).  If it's not the exact same recipe that Jill used, I think it's pretty close.  We think that the peanut butter taste was stronger in the ones that I made, but that could just be the brand I used or something.  The layer of frosting was kind of thick in some places.  So when I make them again, hopefully I won't be falling asleep, and I'll try to spread it more evenly.  Also, I might just use about 3 cups of powdered sugar instead of the 3 1/2 it calls for.

I used REAL Butter.  Make them when you have someone to share them with because this recipe makes a big pan-full.

School Lunch Peanut Butter Bars

1 1/2 C Flour

1¼ tsp. Salt

½ tsp. Baking Soda

¾ C Butter (1 ½ sticks)

¾ C Sugar

¾ C Brown Sugar

1 ½ tsp. Vanilla

1 1/2 C Creamy Peanut Butter (split in half)

2 Eggs

1 ½ C Quick Oats

Frosting:

½ C Butter (1 stick)

3 ½ C Powdered Sugar

2 T Cocoa

¼ C Milk

1 tsp. Vanilla

Preheat 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 C 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 (I used butter to grease mine) 11 x 15 Jelly Roll Pan (cookie sheet). Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool for 10 minutes.

The frosting is a two-step process. First, whip the remaining ¾ C Creamy Peanut Butter until it becomes lighter colored and fluffy.  (another recipe said to melt the peanut butter, so I put it in the microwave for 20 seconds, stirred it, then zapped it for 15 seconds more) Carefully spread the whipped peanut butter over the pan cookie.

Then, add butter to a small sauce pan and melt the butter. Add the milk and cocoa. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly. Heat just until boiling. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Then, gradually add the powdered sugar. Stir until thickened(I used a whisk). Pour over the peanut butter and gently spread over the cookie. Cool completely, and slice into bar cookies.