Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars
This may surprise you but I find making cookies tricky. Not putting them together but baking them. Bake too long by only a little, and they’re over done. Bake too short, by not very much, and they are under done. Bar cookies, on the other hand, are much easier to decide when they’re done. And what is the difference between a cookie and a bar? Not very much. One is rectangular and the other round. So here is a recipe for an excellent and perfectly baked Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip bar. Try it. You’ll love it.
Adapted from and inspired by a recipe on www.bakingbites.com
Adapted from and inspired by a recipe in Mel’s Kitchen Cafe Simple Weeknight Dinner Menus, by Melanie Gunnell
Click here for recipe
¾ C (12 T/168 g) unsalted butter, melted
½ C (4 ¾ oz/132 g) creamy peanut butter
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 ½ C (11 ½ oz/326 g) light brown sugar
1 T (15 ml) vanilla extract
2 C (10 oz/283 g) all-purpose flour
1 t (4 g) baking soda
½ t (3 g) salt
2 C (12 oz/340 g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
Place oven rack in middle position and heat to 350° F (177° C). Line a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with foil. Place one foil sheet lengthwise in pan with extra overhanging pan ends. Place second foil sheet across wide (perpendicular to first) again leaving extra overhanging sides. This sling helps bars come out more easily after cooling and makes clean up a snap. Spray foil sling with nonstick baking spray with flour. Set aside.
In large microwave-safe bowl, melt butter. Whisk in peanut butter, eggs, brown sugar and vanilla extract.
Gently stir in flour, baking soda and salt until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips and stir until no dry streaks of flour remain and chips are evenly distributed.
Spread batter in even layer in prepared pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until center is set and edges are lightly browned. Rotate pan one half turn midway through baking. Do NOT over bake. Cool on wire rack and once cooled, remove bar slab with foil sling. Cut into 24 squares and serve.
Makes: 24 bars
Click here for Baker's Notes
Susan, my wife, suggested this bar/cookie recipe. It looked particularly easy and the instructions were simple enough. The ingredients were straight forward and those too didn’t require any changing. I used my Williams-Sonoma Gold 9 x 13-inch baking pan and prepared it with a foil sling as the recipe suggested. My large glass mixing bowl was the perfect size to melt the butter, and mix in the remaining ingredients. The resulting batter was typical even though the recipe said to press the dough evenly in the prepared pan. The batter poured into the pan and was easily spread. I baked the bars in the island oven on convection @ 325 degrees for 28 minutes. The center seemed set and the edges were definitely turning a light brown as was the overall top. The cookie slab removed easily from the pan with the foil sling and cut nicely with a long chef’s knife into 24 (1 ½ x 1 ½-inch) squares. The texture was good, soft and chewy, although Susan thought the center squares were slightly under done. Maybe could have baked 2 to 3 minutes longer. They had good chocolate and mild peanut butter flavor. Good shelf life.