These divine peanut butter bars covered in melted chocolate taste just like the ones your lunch lady used to serve up!
I admit that I ate school lunch every day, even through my high school term…not necessarily by choice, but I just never thought (nor did I think I had the time) to bring a brown paper bag filled with an apple, carrots and a homemade PB&J sandwich.
There were few things that I enjoyed seeing on my daily mid-day meal tray, but one of them that I really looked forward to was the Peanut Butter Bars.
When it comes to cafeteria food or really any food for that matter, those bars were the best!
Don’t you think?
They really were. I wanted to go back for seconds every time. Hold the greasy pizza and overdone fries, because I’m saving room for dessert! Ha!
I even remember working in the lunch line in grade school. Once a quarter for a week, my class would take a shift serving food or scrubbing trays in scalding hot water while wearing thick plastic gloves that went up to our armpits. In turn for our child slave labors, we got free lunch for a day! That’s a $2.50 value. Sweet! And, we got to miss out on our precious recess for doing so. It doesn’t get better than that.
Can you just hear the whining?
{LUNCH LADY CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER BARS}
1 c butter, softened to room temperature
1 c sugar
1 c brown sugar
2 eggs
1 c peanut butter
1 tsp soda
1 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla
2 c flour
2 c oatmeal
9 oz chocolate chips
Cream butter and sugars. Add eggs, peanut butter, and vanilla. Add dry ingredients. Spread in a lightly greased half-sized sheet pan (18″x13″). Bake 350 degrees for 12-15 min.
For the topping: Melt 9 oz of chocolate chips (I used milk chocolate) in the microwave at 30 second intervals until melted. Spread on top of warm peanut butter bars.
Or, top with chocolate buttercream frosting.
Though I grew from a little girl to a young lady throughout my school days, the peanut butter bars remained a constant. And I was glad about that. I mean, when there’s drama on the playground, cooties are spreading like wildfire, your crush doesn’t even know you exist, or your best friend moves away, at least you know there will still be that wonderful treat on your lunch plate once a week. 🙂
Kids need stability, after all.
All the memories of pigtails and bows, oxfords (you know those black and white shoes we used to wear?) and times tables will come flooding back when you eat these Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars. Trust me…it’s worth taking the trip down memory lane to indulge in these puppies. Yum!
Enjoy!
**A big thanks to my amazing sister, Catherine, for these tempting photos and the wonderful recipe!
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