Retro School Cafeteria Peanut Butter Bars

Description

It’s taken me a while to find this recipe. There are many versions of “the peanut butter bar” but, I believe this recipe comes the closest to what I remember eating in the 1960’s (via our elementary school lunchroom). Boy those ladies could really cook back then!

Ingredients

  • 1 ⅛ cups white sugar
  • 1 ⅛ cups brown sugar
  • 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 2 large eggs
  • ¾ cup peanut butter
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 ⅔ cups rolled oats
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
  • 2 tablespoons milk, or more as needed
  • 2 tablespoons peanut butter
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 15×10-inch baking pan.
  2. Cream white sugar
  3. brown sugar
  4. butter
  5. and eggs together in a mixing bowl. Mix in peanut butter and vanilla extract. Add flour and blend well. Add oats
  6. baking soda
  7. and salt and mix to combine. Spread into the prepared pan.
  8. Bake in the preheated oven until golden and the edges start to pull away from the sides of the pan
  9. about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool or chill in the refrigerator
  10. about 30 minutes.
  11. While bars cool
  12. blend powdered sugar
  13. butter
  14. milk
  15. and peanut butter together in a bowl
  16. adding more milk to give frosting the desired consistency. Frost cooled bars and cut into 20 pieces.

Prep Time: 15 mins

Cook Time: 20 mins

Total Time: 1 hr 5 mins

Servings: 20

Leave a Comment