Yummy Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

I'm usually a strict cookie baker (with the exception of box mix brownies), and I mentally decided I should probably expand my horizons with this whole baking thing. When I found this delicious recipe from Mel's Kitchen Cafe, I figured making some scrumptious chocolate peanut butter bars was my first step away from the simple cookie making. So long story short, I made some pretty rocking bars and I have the feeling they won't last very long :) You should definitely try making these if you have a rainy afternoon to spare, here's the recipe:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup (8 tbsp.) softened butter

1/3 cup of peanut butter (crunchy or creamy)

1/2 granulated sugar

1/2 cup lightly packed light brown sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk (I just added two eggs, still turned out fine)

1 cup peanut butter chips

1 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9x13-baking pan and set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and oats.

3. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, peanut butter, granulated and brown sugars until light and well-mixed, 2-3 minutes. Mix in vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until combined.

4. Stir in the chocolate chips and peanut butter chips

5. Press the batter into the pan. Bake for 18-20 minutes until lightly browned on the edges. Don't overbake or the bars will be dry! Remove the pan to a cooling rack and let the bars cool in the pan before cutting into squares.

My Tips:

1. The recipe calls for an egg and egg yolk, however I just used two whole eggs (no shells of course :) and it worked just fine

2. I made the mistake of using semi-sweet chocolate chips, so if you aren't a fan dark chocolate like I do, use milk chocolate chips and the bars will be sweeter. (they were fine for the rest of my family, but I wasn't such a big lover)

3. When mixing all ingredients together, I found it worked best to use an electric mixer to take out all the large chunks and cream the ingredients.

4. I added some chocolate chips 2 minutes before the bars were done so they would melt on top and let me just say "hallelujah" yumminess

I hope you enjoy these beautiful little bars, expect to see more recipes as I "explore my horizons"! Happy baking!

Love,

Natalie