Peanut Butter Bars: two versions

These are a favorite around our house at Christmas. What could be better than peanut butter and chocolate? I have two versions of this recipe. Both are good, and I will devour either one if it’s sitting in front of me, but my favorite version is Recipe #1. The second recipe contains oatmeal in the base, which gives it a nice chew (or crunch if you over-bake them).

Recipe 1

Makes one 13x9 pan

1 cup sugar
1 cup dark corn syrup
16-24 ounces semisweet chocolate chips (depends how much chocolate you like on top)
1½ cups peanut butter (either smooth or crunchy works)
6 cups Special K cereal

Cook sugar and syrup until bubbling. Add peanut butter. Stir until melted. Pour over Special K cereal. Spread over a large cookie sheet (I use a 17x12 inch size pan). Melt chocolate chips and spread over mixture. Chill in the refrigerator.

For a twist, I saved the insert of a chocolate box and pushed the Special K mixture into it. Then, I used a freezer bag to pipe the chocolate on top. After chilling in the refrigerator, they popped out of the mold easily. These bars are great frozen (and taste pretty good frozen too if you can’t wait for them to thaw).

Recipe 2

Makes one 13x9 pan

2/3 cup unsalted butter
1 cup brown sugar
½ cup light corn syrup
1 tablespoon vanilla
4 cups quick cooking rolled oats, uncooked
6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
2/3 cup peanut butter (either smooth or crunchy works)

Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Grease a 13x9 pan.

Cream butter and blend in sugar. Add corn syrup and vanilla. Stir in oats. Spread into pan. Bake 15 minutes. (Don't bake the base any longer, even though bars may not look cooked.) Let coll. Melt chocolate chips and peanut butter in a double boiler or slowly in the microwave. Spread over baked oat mixture. Refrigerate until chilled. Cut into bars.

Which one is your favorite?

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