Peanut Butter Bars

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

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 25

Total Time 40

Servings servings

Calories 383kcal

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a jelly roll (10x15-inch) baking pan. Set aside.
In a large bowl, beat butter and sugars together until well-combined, about 2-3 minutes.
½ cup butter, ¾ cup brown sugar, ½ cup granulated sugar
Add eggs and vanilla, and mix until combined, scraping down the bowl as needed.
2 large eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla
Mix in 3/4 cup peanut butter until well-combined, about 1-2 minutes.
1 ½ cups peanut butter
Stir in flour, baking soda, and salt until almost incorporated.
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt
Stir in oats until just incorporated.
1 ½ cups rolled oats
Spread batter into prepared pan.
Bake 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown.
Let bars cool in pan for 10 minutes.
Beat remaining 3/4 cup peanut butter until whipped and fluffy.
Drop spoonfuls, and gently spread to cover bars. Please see the notes above the recipe for tips on spreading the peanut butter. Set aside.
In a medium saucepan, add butter, milk, and cocoa powder.
½ cup butter, ¼ cup milk, ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
Bring just to a boil over medium heat.
Remove from heat, and stir in vanilla and powdered sugar³ until combined.
1 teaspoon vanilla, 3 cups powdered sugar
Pour over bars.
Let cool in the pan completely before cutting and serving.

Butter: I use salted butter in this recipe.
Brown sugar: Light brown sugar or dark brown sugar will work in this recipe.
Peanut butter: 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.
Milk: Any milk, from skim milk to whole milk, will work in this recipe. Nondairy milk, like almond milk, will also work.
Powdered sugar: If your powdered sugar is lumpy, sift it before adding it to the frosting. This will help it mix in easily.
Nutritional values are estimates.