Peanut Buttery Bars and Cookies

It’s getting cold outside. I come home at night from the dog park and need a steaming cup of something in order to defrost. I seem to have become a major weather wimp over the summer. Today I was bundled up in four layers, including a down coat, and I was still cold even though the temperature was in the thirties. I need to tap into my Siberian ancestry. With my evening coffee or tea, I usually like a crunchy biscotti, but lately I have been craving something soft and chewy. That craving led to the baking of these Peanut Buttery Bars and Cookies.

That same craving drove me to bake these Peanut Buttery Bars 4 times, as I fiddled with the texture. Just like with brownies, small ingredient and timing tweaks result in bars that are “fudgy” (in a non-chocolate sort of way), cakey, or chewy. Eventually, I achieved the chewy texture I was going for. While I was dabbling in this particular batter chemistry, I made a couple of unexpected discoveries.

Peanut Buttery Bars are wonderfully chewy when baked for a full twenty minutes. Bake these bars a few minutes less, until a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs, and the Peanut Buttery Bars are dense and fudgy in texture. Both kinds of bars, chewy and fudgy, are in the photos for comparison.

This recipe makes a thick, slightly sticky dough that has to be spread into the pan. It is so thick that I wondered if the exact same dough could be used for cookies. The answer is, this dough makes fantastic chewy peanut butter cookies too! I may like the cookies even better than the bars!

As a slightly obsessed collector of every flavor of baking chip sold, I have been waiting for the right recipe to try out the new Toll House DelightFulls. (Unfortunately, this is not a sponsored post.) I found them first at Target and now my grocery store carries them in the baking aisle. DelightFulls are large semi-sweet chocolate chips with flavored centers. There are three flavors of Delightfulls that I am aware of; peanut butter, caramel, and cherry. I used the peanut butter filled chocolate chips for this recipe. They taste just like a tiny Reese’s cup in a chip shape. If DelightFulls aren’t available, or if you would rather use what you already have, chopped mini Reese’s or half chocolate chips and half peanut butter chips would provide the same flavor.

Whichever form you choose, Peanut Buttery Bars and Cookies are an easy, quick recipe for satisfying a chewy peanut butter craving. When stored at room temperature in an airtight container, these treats will stay fresh for up to 1 week. That makes them great for filling a cookie jar or care package. With a few extra chips decoratively placed on top after baking, Peanut Buttery Cookies would also be a winner for holiday cookie platters.

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Peanut Buttery Bars and Cookies

Makes 1 -9”x 13” pan (24 2” square bars) or 28 cookies

Author Wendy Sondov themondaybox.com

Ingredients

• 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¾ cup creamy peanut butter
• ¼ cup unsalted butter room temperature
• 1 ½ cups dark brown sugar packed
• 3 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 ½ cups chocolate-peanut butter Toll House DelightFulls chips or a combination of chocolate chips and peanut butter chips Optional: extra chips for decorating cookies

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. For bars: Using butter or non-stick spray, lightly grease a 9” x 13” baking pan. Line the pan with parchment paper with a 2” overhang on the long sides of the pan. Lightly grease the parchment inside the pan. For Cookies: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. • In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
3. • In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together peanut butter, butter, and brown sugar until combined. Add the eggs and vanilla. Beat until color lightens (about 3 minutes).
4. • Gradually stir in the flour mixture just until a smooth batter forms.
5. • Fold the chocolate-peanut butter chips into the batter.
6. FOR BARS: Use a spatula to evenly spread the batter into the prepared pan.
7. Bake for 18-23 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out with a few crumbs. Minimal cooking time produces a more dense bar.
8. Cool completely in the pan.
9. Run a knife along the edges touching the pan and use the parchment overhangs to lift the bars out of the pan onto a cutting board.Cut into bars.
10. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
11. FOR COOKIES: Using a large 2 tablespoon scoop, place balls of dough 3” apart on prepared baking sheet.
12. Bake for 10 minutes. Tops will still look light, but don’t overcook or the cookies will dry out.
13. If desired, immediately after removing the cookies from the oven, chocolate chips can be pressed gently into the tops of the cookies for decoration.
14. Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before moving to a wire rack to cool completely.
15. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.

Packing Tips

Use wax paper squares between bars in small stacks of 2-4 bars each. Wrap the stacks in plastic wrap then place in an air tight container or zip lock bag for mailing. Double wrap pairs of cookies (with bottoms together) in plastic wrap, then place in an airtight container or zip lock bag for mailing.

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