Tag: peanut butter

Lunch Lady Peanut Butter Bars

I love painted furniture. I know it’s not for everyone, but our house would be filled with painted pieces if not for self-control. They fit into our little country house well.

I have painted several pieces over the years. Most of which is in our house today. One of my all-time favorites is our old entertainment center. At one time, everybody that was anybody had an entertainment center. But like everything else, their day in the sun ended.

We ended up removing the center section that held our television. Greg pulled the backing from the other two pieces and added barn wood from the farm instead. Then he connected the pieces, making one long piece, and I painted it a beautiful Annie Sloan Old White. It served as a coffee bar in the kitchen for a while but has finally found a home in the dining room as a beautiful display for all my blue and white treasures, some of which I inherited from my mom.

The furniture pieces I love the most are those I painted in neutral colors. In fact, everything I painted in other colors has either been painted over, or I no longer own them, which leads to my dilemma.

I have been trying to get my mom’s dark cherry China cabinet moved to my house for over a year. Her favorite color was blue, and I planned to paint the cabinet a beautiful blue with white or cream on the inside. This would be a great way to honor my mom with a piece she loved. But now that I have it here and am ready to work on it, I’m starting to doubt my choice.

I’m afraid it will be too much. I’ll get it painted, and it will simply be more than I want. I don’t know why I am second-guessing myself. Stay tuned for future developments. I will share pictures of the pieces I have painted and get your opinions.

One thing I am not second-guessing is these incredible peanut butter bars from www.houseofnasheats.com. I loved these and am not even a huge peanut butter lover. I recently took two trays of these bars to a church luncheon, bringing both platters home empty! That’s a good sign!

These delicious bars are called Lunch Lady Peanut Butter Bars, and they taste like the tasty treats I remember having at school. Back when school lunches were actually good.

This recipe makes a large 13 x 18-inch pan and bakes quickly. In fact, because the first dessert I made was not good, I started these at 11 PM, and by placing the pan in the freezer to cool, I was in bed at a decent time.

The peanut butter bars are soft, chewy, and incredibly addictive!

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Lunch Lady Peanut Butter Bars

Course Dessert
Author Amye Melton

Ingredients

BARS

  • 1 cup salted butter softened
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 2 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter divided
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour scooped and leveled
  • 2 cup old-fashioned oats
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt

FROSTING

  • 1/2 cup salted butter softened
  • 3 cups powdered sugar
  • 4 tablespoons cocoa powder
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350℉. Spray a half-sheet baking pan (13 x 18-inch) pan with a rim, with nonstick cooking spray.
  • Beat the butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and 1 cup peanut butter in a mixer until creamy and light.
  • Add eggs and vanilla extract, then beat again, scraping the bottom and sides of bowl.
  • Add the flour, oats, baking soda and salt. Mix just until combined. Spread the mixture into the prepared pan with spatula.
  • Bake 15 to 17 minutes or until golden brown around the edges and barely set in the center. DO NOT OVERBAKE!
  • Remove from oven. While bars are still hot, melt the remaining 1 1/2 cups of peanut butter in the microwave for 1 minute. Drizzle over the top of bars and spread into an even layer. Cool completely. (The freezer helps!)
  • Make the chocolate frosting by beating the butter, powdered sugar, cocoa powder, milk and vanilla with an electric mixer, until smooth. Spread in an even layer over cooled bars. Cut into squares.

Peanut Butter Cookies with Oats and Bran

Tis my favorite time of year! I love everything about the Christmas season. Decorating, sending cards, buying the perfect gifts, candy making, and baking! It all makes me very happy.

With the season being shorter this year, it seems that my calendar does not have a date to spare. So organization is going to be vital to keeping my sanity.

I have started by making a list of every recipe I will make for all of the different gatherings I will attend. It all starts this week when the youth group meets at my house to decorate a float for the Christmas parade. It would be easy to feed them pizza, and they would be perfectly happy. That is not how I roll, though!

I have never set up a hot chocolate bar before, but I think that will be fun. I will have different Christmas treats, and Aunt Euly’s delicious peanut butter cookies are on my menu too. She was one of my favorite aunts, and cooks, and these cookies are just a little different than plain peanut butter cookies. The oats and bran give them a great texture, and a kiss on top is always sweet!

 

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5 from 1 vote

Peanut Butter Cookies with Oats and Bran

Course Cookies
Author Amye Melton

Ingredients

  • 1 cup butter melted
  • 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup chunky peanut butter
  • 2 eggs beaten
  • 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 cup bran cereal
  • 3/4 cup rolled oats
  • unwrapped Hershey's kisses one per cookie, if desired

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Mix melted butter, sugars, vanilla extract, peanut butter and eggs. Add flour and baking soda, mix. Stir in cereal and oats.
  • Drop by teaspoonfuls (or scoops) onto an ungreased cookie sheet.
  • Bake for 10 - 15 minutes or until lightly browned on edges. Cool on pan for 5 minutes. Remove to cooling rack to cool completely.
  • Add an unwrapped Hershey's kiss to cookies when you remove from the oven, if desired.

Overnight Peanut Butter Oats

Breakfast is undoubtedly my favorite meal of the day! However, it’s usually the most challenging time of day to have a good meal. Mama always said it was the most important meal, but most of us are rushed to get going. I have become a huge fan of poached eggs, and even though they are somewhat easy to prepare I hate messing up the kitchen first thing in the morning, especially during the week!

I have tried several overnight oatmeal recipes, and these are my favorite! Not only are they delicious, but they are also packed with health benefits! According to Mayo Clinic, eating whole grains has been linked to a reduced risk of diabetes, heart disease and some forms of cancer. Chia has too many health benefits to list. However, just to name a few, they are said to improve memory, mood, and overall energy, helps control appetite, lower cholesterol and blood pressure! The following list is what put chia on the map for me more than anything though.

3 x’s more antioxidants than blueberries
3 x’s more iron than spinach
3 to 5 x’s more calcium than milk
8 x’s more omega 3s than salmon
15x more magnesium than broccoli

With just five ingredients you will have these oats mixed and in the refrigerator in no time! I found this recipe on minimalistbaker.com.  I love visiting her blog!  She has tons of healthy recipes and her photography is remarkable! For a filling breakfast that will not leave you starving in a couple of hours I think this is well worth 7 points.  If you are concerned that 7 points may take you over your daily limit try using peanut butter powder and stevia.  You can also leave the chia seeds out for one point less.  

 

Overnight Peanut Butter Oats
 
Author:
Serves: 1
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Ingredients
  • ½ c. unsweetened plain almond milk
  • ¾ tbsp. chia seeds
  • 2 tbsp. natural peanut butter, almond butter, or peanut butter powder
  • 1 tbsp. maple syrup, coconut sugar, brown sugar, honey, or stevia
  • ½ c. old-fashioned rolled oats
  • Toppings: fresh sliced banana, fresh sliced strawberry, fresh raspberries
Instructions
  1. In a mason jar or small bowl add the almond milk, chia seeds, peanut butter, and sweetener and stir to combine. Leaving some peanut butter in large bites is a nice treat.
  2. Add oats and stir slightly. Press down the oats with with back of a spoon to ensure all oats are in milk mixture.
  3. Cover with lid or plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator overnight or at least 6 hours.
  4. The next day, remove from refrigerator, top as desired and enjoy!
Notes
Will keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

Made as written with natural peanut butter and stevia Weight Watchers Smart Points = 11 points
Decrease the oats and milk to ⅓ cup each and use peanut butter powder and stevia for Weight Watchers Smart Points = 5 points

 

Peanut Butter Fingers

peanut butter fingers

 

My fascination with cooking came at an early age. It developed when I would watch my mother, grandmothers, and aunts cook and share recipes over the years.

Both sides of my family, the Glovers and the Boltons, were large families. We lived on the same dirt road as many of my Bolton family members and would visit my Glover grandparents house almost every Sunday afternoon, along with many other family members. I was never without a cousin to play with, and I cherish those memories. What I wouldn’t give for one more lazy Sunday afternoon at Ma and Pa’s house or a hot summer day on that old dirt road picking grapes off Bo and Papa’s grapevines.

When I was a little girl, Ma gave me an old Pillsbury Bake Off Cookie cookbook. The book is almost as old as I am, dated 1967. I didn’t spend a lot of time cooking when I was growing up. When I was old enough to help out around the house, my duties were dusting, washing dishes, and vacuuming. However, there was one recipe that Mama would let me cook, and I made it often. At some point Mama even allowed me to start making it without her help. That recipe came from that old 1967 cookbook that Ma had given me, and it was for Peanut Butter Fingers.

Until recently, I had not baked the tasty treats in years. The old cookbook has my childhood handwriting in it, and the page with the Peanut Butter Fingers recipe is worn and has vanilla extract stains on it. Just flipping through the book takes me back…way back!

The peanut butter fingers are chewy with a frosting of melted semi-sweet chocolate chips and then topped with a sweet peanutty drizzle. It’s best to bake these in a 7 x 11-inch pan because baked in a 9 x 13-inch pan they tend to be a little dry. Watch closely and do not overbake.

 

Peanut Butter Fingers
 
Author:
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Ingredients
  • ½ c. butter, softened
  • ½ c. creamy peanut butter
  • ½ c. sugar
  • ½ c. firmly packed brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 c. all-purpose flour
  • ½ tsp. baking soda
  • ¼ tsp. salt
  • ½ tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1 c. rolled oats (I used old-fashioned but original recipe calls for quick-cooking)
  • 1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • Drizzle:
  • ½ c. sifted confectioners' sugar
  • ¼ c. creamy peanut butter
  • 2 to 4 tbsp. milk
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease a 7 x 11-inch baking pan and set aside.
  2. In a large mixer bowl beat butter until creamy. Add peanut butter and sugars, mix until combines. Add egg and mix well. Combine flour, soda, and salt, and mix into creamed mixture. Add oats and vanilla and mix until you have coarse crumbs. Press mixture into prepared pan.
  3. Bake at 350° F for 20 to 25 minutes. Watch closely because overbaking will cause the peanut butter fingers to dry out.
  4. Sprinkle immediately with chocolate chips. Let stand 5 minutes. Spread evenly.
  5. Mix confectioners' sugar, peanut butter, and milk with a whisk or fork until smooth. Drizzle over the top.