Finally.
The moment you have all been waiting for…. [drumroll, please!]
The exciting conclusion to dessert week 2K10!!!!
[I just had to throw that in. Isn’t she so cute? This is the only time I think she’s played with that new toy we got her recently. She has a toy that looks like that, but is falling apart and absolute d-i-s-g-u-s-t-i-n-g. It used to have feathers, and was attached to her scratcher. Now she has ripped it off the scratcher, destroyed the feathers that were once attached to it, and bats it around all the time. She also loses it everywhere. We thought we’d get her something new but it isn’t working. This new toy just doesn’t have the charm of the old one. 😦 My husband and I have dubbed the old toy the “dead animal,” because that’s what it looks like. You can decide for yourselves, though!]
On to something more pleasant. Such as the fact that this probably won’t be the last dessert week of the year because it’s still August [not for long though!] and even though school is starting on Monday [year 2 of 3 of my grad program], I will still love baking and will do it for my own sanity. Hahaha! Take that, classes! 🙂 As a refresher, last week I made an amazing Chocolate Cake and Creamy Lemon Squares. I decided to make these Peanut Butter Fingers as a last-minute replacement for the tasty-but-falling-apart Creamy Lemon Squares for two reasons.
1) You can’t go wrong with peanut butter and chocolate.
2) One fun blog I read is called Peanut Butter Fingers. You should check it out… it’s hilarious! 🙂
Scratch that–3 reasons.
Mmmm… maybe 4 or 5 reasons.
Okay, well, any way you view it… these are delicious and are highly recommended. They aren’t the best thing ever for you but they are oh so good.
Peanut Butter Fingers
from Jenn Cooks
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup margarine
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup + 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter, divided [I did not use natural peanut butter… but you’re welcome to experiment with that if you’d like! I used regular PB like Jiff or Skippy or the Kroger store brand!]
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 6 ounces chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 2-4 tablespoons skim milk
- 1/4 cup honey-roasted peanuts
- cooking spray
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Use cooking spray to grease a 9×13″ pan.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream margarine, sugar, and brown sugar until fluffy. Add in the egg, 1/3 cup peanut butter [hint: grease measuring cup with cooking spray first–it will come out a lot easier!], baking soda, and vanilla. Mix until combined. In a separate bowl, mix flour and oats with a wooden spoon and gradually add to the batter in the electric mixer. When combined, use rubber spatula to turn dough into the prepared pan. Use your hands [washed, of course!] to press dough into the bottom of the pan. Lick your fingers if you want, then place pan in the oven and bake for 18 minutes. Not 17 or 19; 18. This. Is. Crucial. [You can also recruit a husband or wife or friend or sister or father or anyone to put the pan in the oven so you can lick your fingers completely, but this is totally optional. Feel free to bribe them with the beater or something, if you can share. ;-)]
Meanwhile, make the glaze. In a medium bowl, whisk together powdered sugar, 1/4 cup peanut butter, and 2 tablespoons milk. Add up to 2 more tablespoons of milk, but don’t make it too runny. You want the consistency to be spreadable but not super liquidy. I added an extra 1 tablespoon milk [total of 3 altogether], and this was good for me.
After those 18 minutes of baking, if the bars are baked almost to perfection [golden brown, yet still slightly under-baked in the center], dump the chocolate chips evenly over the peanut butter base and return to oven to bake for 2-4 minutes, or until peanut butter base looks good to you [base this on your desire: underbaked, crispy, or just right cookie bars].
Then, pour the glaze over top the chocolate goodness and swirl it around with a spatula or icing knife. Top with honey-roasted peanuts for extra peanut flavor and crunch!
And so concludes dessert week 2K10. I think I should plan another soon, k?
The Pajama Chef 