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Peanut Butter Bars Recipe (School Cafeteria)

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4.3 from 3 reviews

Peanut Butter Bars Recipe (School Cafeteria) just like you remember them from elementary school – only better! These peanut butter bars recipe have a soft, chewy peanut butter oatmeal cookie base, chocolate layer, topped with a super creamy peanut butter buttercream on top. These are the best peanut butter bars EVER!

  • Total Time: 25 minutes
  • Yield: 2 dozen 1x

Ingredients

Units Scale

Cookie Layer:

  • 3/4 cups butter, softened but not melted
  • 3/4 cups sugar
  • 3/4 cups peanut butter (smooth or crunchy depending of preference)*
  • 2 eggs, at room temperature
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cups of flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 3/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1 1/2 cups rolled oats

Chocolate Layer:

  • 1 1/2 cups of of semi-sweet chocolate chips

Frosting Layer:

  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
  • 3/4 cup butter, softened
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup of milk

Instructions

Cookie Layer:

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees f. Grease a 12×17 in cookie sheet or jelly roll pan, or use parchment paper to line the pan. Set aside. 
  2. Wet ingredients: In a large mixing bowl cream together on medium speed (using hand or stand mixer): butter, sugar, peanut butter, eggs and vanilla until light and fluffy. 
  3. Dry ingredients: Sift in flour, salt, baking soda to the creamed mixture. Mix well to combine, scraping down the sides of the bowl once half way through mixing. 
  4. Add oats. Mix together until combined (cookie dough texture). Press the dough onto the prepared baking pan sheet until it forms a uniform layer on the bottom of the pan. 
  5. Bake at 375 F for about 10 minutes until slightly golden on top. Turn off the oven. 

 

Chocolate Layer:

  1. Sprinkle the chocolate chips on top of the cookie layer and place back in the warm oven (that is turned OFF) for 2 minutes. 
  2. Take out the cookie sheet and spread the warm chocolate all over the cookie with a spatula or knife- creating a smooth thin layer. 
  3. Place in fridge to let chocolate layer harden a bit. 

 

Peanut Butter Frosting Layer:

  1. In a medium mixing bowl cream together (using hand or stand mixer) the powdered sugar, peanut butter, butter, vanilla and milk. 
  2. The end result should be a uniform creamy peanut butter buttercream. 
  3. With a spatula gently spread the frosting over the chocolate layer after the bars and chocolate have cooled completely. 

Notes

How to Store

  • Storage: Keep your bars covered in an airtight container on the counter for 5-7 days. Some rimmed baking sheets come with a plastic lid that is perfect for just this sort of occasion. Or, you can just cover them with plastic wrap once the frosting has dried and firmed up a bit. You can also keep the bars in the fridge or freezer and serve them chilled, if you prefer.

  • Freezing: These freeze great for 2-3 months. For easier storage, I recommend slicing and separating the bars, then freezing them individually for an hour to set the frosting. Then you can transfer them to a freezer-safe container and stack them so they don’t take up as much space in the freezer.

  • Author: Elena
  • Prep Time: 15 min
  • Cook Time: 10 minutes
  • Category: Sweet
  • Method: American
  • Cuisine: American

Find it online: https://www.cucinabyelena.com/peanut-butter-bars/