peanut butter cup bars

I swear we’ve been eating healthy.  I know that the fried chicken and the cookies and the french fries beg to differ.  As do these bars.  But I promise we’re better than this.  We had salmon last night with spinach salad.  And over the weekend I made some of the best grilled chicken I have ever had (coming soon!) and we’ve even skipped dessert in a few recent nights.

But here I am again anyway, giving you something else with chocolate and peanut butter.  But really these have been long gone.  I made them for our beach trip but am just now getting around to sharing them with you because really, they’ve been done before and I wasn’t sure what to say.  Yes, I know what these are.  Basically my favorite Christmas treat in bar form.  But let’s just pretend that we don’t know that right now.  When it comes to peanut butter and chocolate I think that things can be repeated in different form, even if they are the most basic of recipes.

And believe me.  This is as basic as you can get.  And just about as delicious as you can get, too.  We had these stashed in the fridge all week at the beach, and they disappeared quickly.  Too quickly actually, to the point where I might have grabbed one for myself after lunch without offering them to everyone else in hopes that they would all forget about them (yes family, I am confessing here).  Oh goodness I can be embarrassingly greedy when it comes to good desserts.  But on the other hand, I do know that my mom and dad dug these out of the cooler on the way to the beach and didn’t offer any of us kids some.  So there.

So it’s a good thing that they are gone now, and perhaps, just perhaps, we can get back to our normal generally healthy eating habits.  As long as I’m not tempted to make another batch.  It’s a dangerous thing that these can be made in about 15 easy minutes.

Peanut Butter Cup Bars

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Wait Time: 30 minutes

Makes about 2 dozen

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 lb. (about 3 1/2 cups) powdered sugar
12 oz. (about 2 cups) semisweet chocolate chips

1. In a large bowl, combine butter, graham cracker crumbs and peanut butter.  Blend with an electric mixer on medium speed.
2. Slowly add the powdered sugar, mixing on low speed until it is all incorporated.
3. Dump mixture into a 9 x 13 pan and pat into an even layer.
4. In a heat proof bowl set over a pot of simmering water, melt the chocolate.  (Or melt in the microwave, heating for about 1 1/2 minutes and stirring every 30 seconds).  Pour the chocolate over the top of the peanut butter layer and spread it out with a knife.
5. Chill until the chocolate has firmed back up, about 30 minutes.  Then cut into bars to serve.