Lunch Lady Peanut Butter Bars

I have died and gone to Heaven with this recipe! I had to give half of them away because I was going to eat them all myself. If you make these, be prepared to fall in love....

I first saw this recipe in one of my Gooseberry Patch cookbooks.  I earmarked it but forgot to try it. Then I recently saw it on another one of my favorite blogs, Six Sisters' Stuff.  These sisters post some amazing recipes. I have found some quick and easy dinners on their website, which means a lot to me because I do NOT like to cook. Cooking and baking are like night and day to me.

Anyhow.... good Lord, are these delicious! Praise all around from everyone who tried them. Definitely a keeper for my recipe binder. To see their original write up and the story of why they are named for the lunch lady, click HERE.

This recipe makes a lot and calls for a large jelly roll pan (18x13x1). The largest pan I have is 15x13x2 so I used that and they turned out delicious. I had to bake them about 5 minutes longer and of course, they are a little thicker than the original recipe intends. Still amazing.

Lunch Lady Peanut Butter Bars

Base:
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 cup peanut butter (I mixed crunchy and smooth)
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups rolled oats (not quick cooking)

Second Layer:
1-1/2 cups smooth peanut butter

Frosting:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 TB baking cocoa
2-1/2 cups powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350-F.  Grease a large jelly roll pan (18x13x1) or spray with PAM cooking spray for baking.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars.  Add vanilla, eggs and peanut butter and mix well. Add the flour, baking soda and salt and beat well. Stir in the oats.  Spread dough in pan and smooth evenly.  Bake for 15 min. or until golden brown.

While hot, spread  1-1/2 cups peanut butter over the top. An offset spatula works well for this.  Let cool completely. You can put in the fridge to speed up the process!

While it's cooling, mix the ingredients for the frosting, using a mixer.

Spread with the chocolate frosting and cut into bars.

Happy Baking!