Okay, I lied. I know I said I was back for good….but then I woke up the next day and realized it was already July 10. How that happened, I have no idea.
For those of you that are mad at me, I apologize. For those of you who lost a few pounds while I was away from the blog, I congratulate you. However, I must warn you, I am about to photo-bomb you with a series of recipes that will send you running to the nearest store to stock up on the essentials: butter, sugar, flour, chocolate chips, and a few jars of peanut butter.
Speaking of which, did you know that Jif introduced a new line of crack!? And by crack, I’m referring to the Chocolate Hazelnut & Mocha Cappuccino spreads that I found at Target the other day....
Okay, enough of that rant. Back to the bars. Chewy peanut butter cookies stuffed with milk chocolate chips would suffice, but then top ‘em with a thick layer of chocolate cream cheese frosting and you’re in for a treat. I knew I had to redeem myself somehow, so I hope these bars will do…for now J
For the Peanut Butter Bars
Recipe adapted from: Brown Eyed Baker
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup light brown sugar
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups milk chocolate chips
For the Chocolate Cheesecake Frosting
(Recipe adapted from How Sweet it is)
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 block cream cheese (4 ounces), softened
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons dark cocoa powder
1 tablespoons milk, if needed
(1) Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease a 9×13-inch baking pan; set aside.
(2) In a small bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
(3) In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the brown sugar, peanut butter, butter and granulated sugar on medium speed until creamy and light. Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix until combined.
(1) In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter and cream cheese together until smooth; Add in vanilla
(2) With the mixer on low speed, slowly add powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time and add cocoa powder, increasing the speed to mix
(3) If the frosting it a bit too thick, add milk 1 teaspoon at a time, until desired consistency is reached. If it is too thin, add additional sugar gradually
(4) Once consistency is reached, spread frosting atop peanut butter layer on peanut butter bars and refrigerate for an hour, or until ready to serve
(5) Cut into bars and store at room temperature in an airtight container
Oops, sorry, I took a bite.
Please forgive me.
They are too good to share.