Were any of you lucky enough to attend a school where they served peanut butter bars for lunch (back before the peanut butter allergy epidemic)? I (Kate) loved them so much that Gia, Sam’s mom, called my alma mater for the recipe and a kind lunch lady scaled it down and gave it to her. She sent it to us just as we learned that the pink cheeks two-year old Lucia acquired when eating peanut butter sandwiches was not an expression of gustatory delight, but a peanut allergy. Obtaining the recipe right as she was diagnosed--so close, and yet so far--our disappointment stung.
We recovered from the emotional toll after a time, but then I learned my colleague also made and loved them. She talked about them all the time but never brought any to work! No other dessert compensated for the combination of chewy oat-y goodness with peanut butter and chocolate. Far later than would have been the case for you, smart readers, we realized this is the era of substitutions. We discovered these are also delicious made sunflower butter. Comparing recipes with that of the colleague and online versions, we have fine-tuned this one until it is just perfect.
PUBLIC SCHOOL NUT BUTTER BARS
Makes a 9x13-inch pan of cookie bars
3/4 cup butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter or sunflower butter (we like Trader Joe’s)
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup chocolate chips
Frosting
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1/3 cup peanut or sunflower seed butter
1/4 cup orange or cranberry juice
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted if you live in a humid place that fosters clumping
1/2 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Add oats and mix again. Cream the butter and sugars for three or four minutes in a stand mixer on medium until light and fluffy. Add eggs, vanilla, and nut butter and mix again on medium until thoroughly combined. Stir in the dry ingredients just until thoroughly incorporated, spread in a greased 9 by 13 inch pan (we spray ours with pyrex cooking spray), and bake at 350 for 19 or 20 minutes; be sure not to over-bake, or they will be dry.
Immediately when the bars exit the oven, spread chocolate chips over the top and let them sit. After ten minutes, they will be melted and you can spread them around. If you make these in the summer and you want the chocolate layer to harden, you’ll either have to refrigerate them or turn your air conditioning thermostat down so low that you’re a menace to the planet. We let our chocolate layer stay gooey, and that means in places it swirls a bit with the frosting. Let them cool completely before frosting. Our work friend thinks the chocolate is enough frosting. But we like the frosting.
Use a hand-mixer, if you have one, to cream the butter and nut butter together. Then add vanilla, juice, salt, and powdered sugar. Mix on low so the sugar doesn’t fly all over your counter. When it looks like frosting (and the cookie bars are cool), spread it around. You should probably sample them immediately--you’ve waited long enough. But covered tightly with plastic wrap, they will be good for several days outside of the refrigerator.
