Oatmeal Peanut Butter Bars easy, addictive

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Bars have oats in them, so they are healthy, right? These easy-to-make bars are chewy, with an extra layer of peanut butter and a chocolate ganache topping that makes them a step above your typical lunch lady peanut butter bars. For some reason, I have been craving peanut butter lately. Maybe it’s because I got to see a good friend from my Lion King days in a zoom call who was a peanut butter addict. I swear it didn’t matter what time of the day he was constantly munching on some sort of peanut butter and chocolate confection. He was a real expert. He knew when Reese’s would come out with a new way to put peanut butter in a different shape, add crispy bits or a different form. It was part of his charm.

Around the same time, I came across a YouTube for Homemade Lunch Lady Oatmeal Peanut Butter Bars. Now mind you, many of us grew up with a fantastic lunch lady serving cafeteria treats at your local school. I, unfortunately, grew up in a place that cafeterias were marginal at best. There was no loving lunch lady who everyone would fondly reminisce about. We were lucky if the fish sticks weren’t burnt. All I remember was ladies who all looked angry and mean, dumping scoops of greasy and lumpy concoctions onto plates. It’s probably one of the main reasons I almost always brought my own lunch. The best thing in our high school was dipping French fries into chocolate milkshakes. Hey, don’t knock that until you try it!

I started to do some research into these legendary peanut butter bars that are so loved. I came across several different ways to make them, depending on your region and ease of baking or no baking. I finally settled on one with loads of oats that give the bars a fantastic chew. Traditionally, oatmeal peanut butter bars are topped with a cocoa buttercream frosting. But I wanted something a bit more luxurious and less sweet, and the frosting I found was almost cloyingly sweet. I added chopped peanuts to add a crunchy texture. You can, of course, omit the peanuts if you desire. This recipe asks for a half sheet cookie sheet. If you don’t have one these from Amazon are a perfect addition to your kitchen. (I get a small commission at no cost to you for everything from a link on this page, please consider helping fund my blog)

It looks like we are getting there. The country shows signs of opening up to be back to a more normal life if we can just hold on a little longer until it is safe. There are still plenty of people who need to do the right thing to get us there. Please think of others and the consequences of your own behavior. We can do this! Well, that is all for this week. I hope you are all safe and well. Till next time!

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Oatmeal Peanut Butter Bars

Prep Time

10 mins

Cook Time

20 mins

cooling

30 mins

Total Time

1 hr

 

Oatmeal peanut butter bars that will make the lunch lady jealous. Chewy bars full of peanut butter and topped with layers of more peanut butter and a chocolate grenache.

Course: Brunch, cookies, picnic

Cuisine: American

Keyword: bar cookies, chocolate, chocolate peanut butter, peanut butter, peanut butter bars

Ingredients

cookie base

• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 cup butter softened
• ½ cup white sugar
• 1 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 2 1/3 cups old fashioned oats

For topping the bars:

• 1 cup peanut butter
• 2 cups chocolate chips or 12 oz chopped bittersweet chocolate
• ½ cup cream
• 1 cup chopped roasted and salted peanuts

Instructions

To make the cookie base

1. Preheat the oven to 375°
2. Line a rimmed half cookie sheet (13x18x1) with parchment paper, or spray with nonstick spray.
3. Combine In a bowl the baking powder, salt, flour, and old-fashioned oats, set aside.
4. In the bowl of your mixer or a large mixing bowl, mix together the peanut butter and butter.
5. Add in the sugar and brown sugar and cream together till smooth and light, about 5 minutes. If creaming by hand, use a large whisk and beat until light and fluffy.
6. Add in the eggs and vanilla and beat to combine.
7. Add the oat flour mixture to the wet ingredients and stir to combine.
8. Press the peanut butter base into the cookie sheet, spreading evenly to the edges. The dough is pretty sticky, so spray your hands or a rubber spatula with nonstick spray while you spread it.
9. Bake in the preheated oven for 15-25 minutes until the middle is just barely set. Keep a close eye on it as you don’t want the base to overcook. It will continue to cook for a bit after removing the base from the oven.
10. Allow the cookie base to cool for about 5 minutes, then drop peanut butter dollops over the top of the base.
11. Allow to sit for about 1-2 minutes until the peanut butter starts to soften, then spread peanut butter evenly over the top.

To make the ganache.

1. Heat the cream to just below boiling. You can do this in a microwave, but be careful. It will boil over very easily. You don’t want the cream too hot, or the ganache will split. (here’s a trick to fix it if it does: warm a little skim milk and whisk in a little bit at a time until the ganache blends together again.)
2. Place the chopped chocolate or chips in a small bowl and pour the hot cream over the top.
3. Let sit for 5 minutes to melt the chocolate.
4. Stir the ganache until smooth.
5. Spread over the top of the cooled peanut butter base.
6. Sprinkle the chopped peanuts over the ganache
7. Let cool until the ganache has firmed up.
8. Cut into 4” x 2” bars.

Recipe Notes

These addictive peanut butter bars will keep for a week in a sealed container if they last that long!