Peanut Butter Bars

Vintage peanut butter bars recipe! These baked chocolate peanut butter bars are made with oatmeal and are the original old-fashioned lunch lady peanut butter bars.

There are some foods that are love-at-first bite.  For me, that was the case with these peanut butter bars. I first had these bars in my college cafeteria, and I was hooked!

These chocolate peanut butter bars have a layer of peanut butter oatmeal cookie topped with a layer of peanut butter and then covered with a layer of rich chocolate frosting. So, there’re a pretty perfect dessert for people who love peanut butter and chocolate.

 Tips and Tricks for make peanut butter bars

• Use regular peanut butter (Skippy, Jif, etc.) in this recipe. The natural peanut butters without oil and sugar don’t work well in this recipe.
• The bars are rich! The servings are fairly generous since the bars are so rich, so feel free to cut the bars into smaller servings.
• In order to keep the peanut butter from pulling up the bars, the peanut butter is whipped until light and easily spreadable. Then, the peanut butter is dropped by spoonfuls and spread to cover the bars.
• When spreading the peanut butter, going in one direction will help to keep the bars from coming up.
• The cooked chocolate frosting takes a little longer to make than a chocolate buttercream, but it’s more true to the original bars. If you prefer buttercream, this chocolate buttercream frosting is my favorite.
• I prefer to chill the bars prior to serving, but they can be served cold or at room temperature. I also store them, covered, in the fridge.

More peanut butter recipes!

• Peanut Butter Cookies
• Oatmeal Cookies with Peanut Butter Filling (Doh-Si-Doh Copycats)
• Fluffernutter Sandwich Cookies

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Peanut Butter Bars

Peanut butter oatmeal cookie layer topped with a layer of peanut butter and chocolate frosting. 

Author: i heart eating

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Course: Dessert

Servings: 20

5 from 2 votes

Print Recipe

Ingredients

Peanut Butter Bars

• 1/2 cup butter softened
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups peanut butter* divided
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups rolled oats

Chocolate Icing

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 cups powdered sugar

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a jelly roll (10x15-inch) baking pan. Set aside.

2. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugars together until well-combined, about 2-3 minutes.

3. Add eggs and vanilla, and mix until combined, scraping down the bowl as needed.

4. Mix in 3/4 cup peanut butter until well-combined, about 1-2 minutes.

5. Stir in flour, baking soda, and salt until almost incorporated.

6. Stir in oats until just incorporated.

7. Spread batter into prepared pan.

8. Bake 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown.
9. Let bars cool in pan for 10 minutes.

10. Beat remaining 3/4 cup peanut butter until whipped and fluffy.

11. Drop spoonfuls, and gently spread to cover bars.** Set aside.

12. In a medium saucepan, add butter, milk, and cocoa powder.

13. Bring just to a boil over medium heat.

14. Remove from heat, and stir in vanilla and powdered sugar*** until combined.

15. Pour over bars.

16. Let cool in the pan completely before cutting and serving.

Recipe Notes

*For this recipe, you'll want to use regular peanut butter with sugar. Natural peanut butter (just peanuts and salt) won't work well in these bars.

**Spreading the peanut butter in one direction helps to keep the peanut butter from pulling up the bars. 

***If your powdered sugar is lumpy, sifting it before adding it to the icing will help it to stir in easily and will help keep the frosting from having lumps.

****I prefer to chill the bars prior to serving, but they can be served cold or at room temperature. I also store them, covered, in the fridge.

****Nutrition values are estimates.

Nutrition facts per serving (1g)

Calories: 383kcal

Fat: 20g

Saturated fat: 8g

Cholesterol: 40mg

Sodium: 266mg

Potassium: 195mg

Carbohydrates: 46g

Fiber: 2g

Sugar: 32g

Protein: 7g

Vitamin A: 6.3%

Calcium: 3%

Iron: 7.5%